E  {*  A3 


REPRODUCTION  BV  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

FROM  A  MINIATURE  BY  AUBRY  IN     PARIS,  1803. 


q  (f 

^^r>U>L^^^)  C>ywL*M  0\jb^JJ  Js-^at^r-  girz^  ^y^^i — . 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


MEMOIR 


or 


Thomas  Addis  and  Robert  Emmet 


WITH 


THEIR  ANCESTORS  AND  IMMEDIATE  FAMILY 


BY 


Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  M.D.,  LL.D. 

Member  of  the  Virginia  Chapter  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of 
the  University  of  Virginia;  President  of  the  Irish  National  Federa- 
tion of  America  during  its  existence ;  made  Knight  Commander  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Gregory  by  Pope  Pius  X;  Recipient  of  the  Laetare 
Medal ;  Fellow  of  the  American  College  of  Surgeons  and  many  pro- 
fessional and  historical  societies  at  home  and  abroad ;  Author  of 
surgical  works — last,  Principles  of  Gynaecology,  three  editions,  Phila- 
delphia and  London — with  German,  French  and  Spanish  translations, 
together  with  many  monographs,  historical  and  professional,  and 
in  addition,  The  Emmet  Family  (1898)  ;  Ireland  Under  English 
Rule,  two  editions  (1903  and  1909);  Incidents  of  my  Life  (1911). 

■    •  \ 


VOLUME  I 


THE  EMMET  PRESS 
New  York,  1915. 


Ireland  was  old  'when  Greece  was  young.  Before  Rome  had  written  her  wondrous  lams 
Ireland  had  established  civilization  in  the  emerald  isle  of  the  West.  Like  the  pyramids 
of  Egypt  the  round  towers  of  Ireland  stand  among  the  architectural  wonders  of  the 
world.  Pliny  and  Julius  Caesar  assert  that  Ireland's  civilization  was  the  wonder  of 
the  East,  and  Plutarch  writes  that,  compared  with  the  Irish  people,  other  nations  are 
new. 

Hon.  Martin  H.  Glynn,  New  York,  March  4,  1914. 


Copyright,  1915 

The  Emmet  Press,  Inc. 
16  East  40th  Street 
New  York 


Go  into  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  world,  ransack  the  literature  of  all  countries,  find 
if  you  can  a  single  book  in  which  the  conduct  of  England  towards  Ireland  is  any* 
where  treated  except  with  profound  and  bitter  condemnation. 

Gladstone  (Motley's  Life). 


What  does  the  liberty  of  a  people  consist  in?  It  consists  in  the  right  and  power  to  make 
lams  for  its  own  government.  Were  an  individual  to  make  laws  for  another  country, 
that  person  is  a  despot  and  the  people  are  slaves.  When  one  country  makes  laws  for 
another  country,  the  country  which  makes  the  laws  is  absolutely  the  sovereign  coun- 
try, and  the  country  for  which  those  laws  are  made  is  in  a  state  of  slavery. 

Blackstone. 


Illustrations 


The  triumph  of  England  over  Ireland  is  the  triumph  of  guilt  over  innocence. 

John  Philpot  Curran 


Every  attempt  to  govern  Ireland  has  been  made  from  an  English  standpoint  and  as  if  for 

the  benefit  of  Englishmen  alone. 

Unknown. 

Law  in  Ireland  was  the  friend  neither  of  the  people  nor  of  justice,  but  the  impartial  per- 
secutor of  both. 

Aubrey  de  Vere. 


Had  Ireland  desired  to  submit  she  could  not  have  done  so.  England  did  not  leave  her  the 
choice.  Risings,  revolutions  and  civil  wars  were  forced  upon  the  country  from  cen- 
tury to  century.  They  were  provoked  by  massacres,  plantations  and  persecutions; 
by  the  oppressions  of  landlords,  by  the  injustice  of  the  laws.  It  was  England  herself, 
it  was  the  English  in  Ireland  that  made  the  Irish  rebels.  But  how  comes  it,  one  may 
ask,  that  after  so  long  an  agony  Ireland  still  survives,  that  the  name  of  her  people 
has  not  been  obliterated  from  the  pages  of  history?  The  reason  is,  that  down  to  the 
eighteenth  century,  so  vigorous  was  her  race,  so  powerful  the  influence  of  her  climate 
and  of  her  pleasant  nature,  so  great  the  charm  of  her  soul  on  the  souls  of  the  new- 
comers, that  Ireland  always  assimilated  her  invaders.  "Lord!"  said  the  poet  Spenser, 
"how  quickly  doth  that  country  alter  men's  natures."  England,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  lacking  in  the  first  duty  of  a  conqueror,  which  is  to  legitimatize  his  conquest 
by  the  spread  of  civilization  and  by  works  of  reparation.  This  is  a  truth  that  none 
can  fail  to  recognize. 

L'lrlande  cotemporaire,  by  L.  Paul  Dubois, 
Tr.  Kettle. 


It  is  an  irksome  and  painful  task  to  pursue  the  details  of  that  penal  code;  but  the  penal 
code  is  the  history  of  Ireland. 

John  MHchel. 


Native  Irish  civilization  ceased,  for  all  practical  purposes  -with  the  defeat  of  the  insurrec- 
tion of  1641,  and  the  break-up  of  the  Kilkenny  confederation. 

James  Connolly. 


Illustrations — Volume  I 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  from  a  miniature  by  Aubry,  in  Paris,  1803  Frontispiece 


Dedication  from  "The  Emmet  Family" 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  M.D.,  by  Miss  Anna  Frances  Levins  (after 

preface)                                                                       facing  page 

Thomas  A.  Emmet,  from  Madden,  by  Herbert   1 

Arms  of  the  Emott.  Emmott,  Emett,  Emmett,  and  Emmet  Families  149 
Salver  presented  to  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  by  the  Governors  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's Hospital,  Dublin,  Ireland   150 

Pedigree  of  the  Morrice  Emmet  Family,  London,  1687       .       .  .152 

Bible  Record  of  an  Emmet  Family  living  in  Ireland,  1647  .  .  .  154 
Christopher  Emett  and  Rebecca  Temple  Emett,  his  wife  (previous  to 

1744),  from  miniatures     .........  161 

Dr.  Robert  Emmet  of  Dublin,  from  a  miniature  about  1760  .  .  .  165 
Dr.  Robert  Emmet's  residence  in  Molesworth  Street,  Dublin  .  .175 
Residence  of  Dr.  Emmet  and  his  son,  T.  A.  Emmet,  facing  Stephen's 

Green  .      .  176 

St.  Patrick's  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Dublin   178 

The  garden  at  Casino   182 

Casino,  the  country  residence  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  near  Dublin      .       .  183 

Robert  Holmes,  Father  of  the  Dublin  Bar   184 

Facsimile  of  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Mason)  Emmet,  the 

last  letter  to  her  son  Thomas  Addis   186 

Anne  Western  Temple,  wife  of  Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  from  a 

miniature                                                                 .       .       .  191 

Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  from  a  miniature   195 

Facsimile  of  the  legal  diploma  issued  by  Trinity  College  to  Thomas 

Addis  Emmet,  1790    206 

Mrs.  Margaret  (Thompson)  Colville,  taken  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Emmet) 

Le  Roy,  from  a  miniature  painted  about  1730       ....  220 

William  Waynfleet,  Bishop  of  Winchester   221 

Facsimile  of  a  letter  by  T.  A.  Emmet  on  his  increasing  family,  1796  222 
"The  Press,"  Organ  of  the  United  Irishmen,  giving  first  letter  written  by 

Thomas  A.  Emmet,  signed  "Montanus"   234 

Facsimile  of  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  on  the  arrest  of  his 

son  Thomas  Addis   248 

Newgate  Prison.  Dublin   249 

v 


vi  Illustrations 

Kilmainham  Gaol,  Dublin  

Sir  John  Temple  and  family,  painting  by  Trumbull 
Death  mask  bust  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet 
Trinity  College  Library,  Dublin  .... 
William  James  Macneven,  from  Madden,  by  Herbert 
Death  mask  of  Robert  Emmet  by  Petrie   (See  Volume  II  for  its 

history)  

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  by  Martin,  painted  and  engraved  after  1804 
Facsimile  of  the  closing  of  Mr.  Emmet's  plea  before  Mayor  De  Witt 

Clinton  ........... 

A  Political  Broadside  used  in  1807  for  the  defeat  of  Rufus  King 

Mrs.  Jane  (Patten)  Emmet,  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet  while  a  pupil  o 

Fulton  

"An  Evening  at  Home",  from  a  pen  drawing  by  Dr.  John  Patten 

Emmet,  1818  

John  Patten  Emmet,  M.  D.,  drawn  by  Miss  Jane  Macneven,  1842 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  painted  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet  while  a  pupil 

of  Fulton  

Mrs.  Jane  (Patten)  Emmet,  enlarged  from  a  daguerreotype— 1840 
Silver  pitcher  presented  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  by  the  Irishmen  of 

Greenwich  village,  near  New  York 
View  of  St.  John's  Chapel  .... 
Grace  and  Trinity  churches,  Broadway 
St.  Mark's  Church  in  the  Bowerie  . 
Dr.  W.  J.  Macneven  by  Jarvis 
From  an  original  pen  drawing  of  Dr.  Sam'l  Mitche 

Emmet  in  1819  while  the  professor  was  lecturing 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  supposed  to  be  from  Morse's  portrait 
St.  Mark's  Church  in  the  Bowerie,  before  the  streets  were  opened 
Bust  of  Thomas  A.  Emmet,  made  by  his  son,  Dr.  John  Patten  Emmet 
Emmet  Monument,  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  New  York,  as  first  rep- 
resented   

Facsimile  of  the  title  page  on  Macneven's  report  . 

The  Monument  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  St.  Paul's  Church 

Mrs.  Jane  (Patten)  Emmet  from  a  portrait  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Emmet) 

Le  Rov  


1  made  by  Dr.  J.  P 


PAGE 

266 
291 
294 
310 
332 

372 
391 

399 
420 

438 

439 
446 

453 
455 

465 
472 
482 
484 
511 

513 
517 
530 
535 

542 
543 

553 

561 


There  is  nothing  more  desirable  than  that  the  sovereign  of  these  realms  should  understand 
the  real  nature  of  Irish  history;  should  comprehend  the  secret  springs  of  Irish  discon- 
tent; should  be  acquainted  <with  the  eminent  virtues  vjhich  the  Irish  nation  have  ex- 
hibited in  every  phasis  of  their  singular  fate;  and,  above  alt,  should  be  intimately  ac- 
quainted vjith  the  confiscations,  the  plunder,  the  robbery,  the  domestic  treachery,  the 
violation  of  all  public  faith,  and  of  the  sanctity  of  treaties,  the  ordinary  •wholesale 
slaughters,  the  planned  murders,  the  concerted  massacres,  tvhich  have  been  inflicted 
upon  the  Irish  people  by  the  English  governments. 

Daniel  O'Connell,  M.P.,  Memoir  on  Ireland,  1844. 


When  Englishmen  set  to  'work  to  <wipe  the  tear  out  of  Ireland's  eye,  they  al<ways  buy  the 
pocket-handkerchief  at  Ireland's  expense. 

Col.  Ediv.  Saunderson,  M.P. 


Illustrations — Volume  II 


Robert  Emmet  by  H.  Brocas  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Robert  Emmet's  birthplace,  Stephen's  Green,  Dublin       ....  3 

Facsimile  pages  of  Locke's  work,  showing  Robert  Emmet's  annotations    .  4 

Facsimile  page  of  Robert  Emmet's  note-book  used  at  Trinity  College  .  7 
Facsimile  of  a  pen  and  ink  sketch  by  Robert  Emmet       .       .       .  .21 

Seal  for  the  United  Irishmen,  designed  by  Robert  Emmet       ...  22 

Parliament  House  and  Trinity  College,  Dublin   23 

Parlor  at  Casino  as  it  was  in  1880    30 

Robert  Emmet's  Bedroom  at  Casino       .......  31 

Anne  Devlin   36 

House  on  Butterfield  Lane,  leased  by  Robert  Ellis  (Emmet)    ...  45 

The  unchanged  entrance  to  Emmet's  depot  in  Marshal  Lane  )  ^ 
Map  of  the  neighborhood  j 

Marshal  Lane  from  Bridgefoot  Street   47 

James  Hope   54 

Col.  Miles  Byrne,  1840    60 

Site  of  Robert  Emmet's  depot  in  Patrick  Street  } 
Map  of  the  neighborhood  f 

Canal  Bridge  at  Harold's  Cross   78 

Dublin  Castle  Courtyard   84 

House  at  Harold's  Cross  where  Robert  Emmet  was  arrested    ...  92 

Michael  Dwyer   108 

Facsimile  of  signature  of  Tresham  Gregg,  Gaoler  of  Newgate       .       .  137 

The  Devil's  Brief,  prepared  for  Robert  Emmet's  trial       ....  146 

Courtroom.  Green  Street,  Dublin,  where  Robert  Emmet  was  tried    .       .  156 

A  supposed  portrait  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  painted  about  1780  .  .  171 
Broadside  issued  by  the  Provisional  Government  to  the  People  of  Ireland. 

Copied  from  the  original  used  at  the  trial   185 

Henry  Charles  Sirr,  Esq.,  Town  Major  of  Dublin       ....  198 
Lord  Norbury,  from  a  sketch  made  by  Petrie  during  Emmet's  trial  | 
Facsimile  of  signed  autograph  by  Lord  Norbury  j 
Broadside  issued  by  Government :    "The  Trial  and  Dying  Behavior  of 

Mr.  R.  Emmett"   217 


vii 


viii  Illustrations 

FACING  PAGE 

Bill  rendered  by  the  Government  for  the  diet  of  the  State  prisoners  during 
September,  1803,  showing  that  of  Robert  Emmet  on  the  day  of 
his  trial  229 

Monogram  R.  E.,  designed  by  Dr.  Emmet  for  back  of  Comerford  minia- 
ture; Watch  seals,  including  one  designed  and  worn  by  Robert 
Emmet  and  used  on  title  page  of  Vol.  II,  motto  "Alas  my  Country" ; 
another  showing  a  harp  with  shamrock  and  motto  "Ubi  libertas  ibi 
Patrya",  designed  and  worn  by  Robert  Emmet,  given  to  his  brother 


and  in  1800  given  by  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  Mr.  Patten  .  .  234 
The  Hibernian  Journal  or  Chronicle  of  Liberty,  a  Dublin  newspaper 

issued  September  21st,  1803,  giving  an  account  of  Robert  Emmet's 

trial  and  execution  236 

Thomas  Street,  where  Robert  Emmet  was  executed,  in  front  of  Bridge- 
foot  Street  and  St.  Catherine's  Church  238 

Petrie's  sketches  of  Robert  Emmet  and  Lord  Norbury,  taken  during 

Emmet's  trial  253 

Comerford's  sketch  of  Robert  Emmet  enlarged  254 

Broadside  issued  by  the  Government  and  engraved  by  Brocas,  showing 

Emmet  speaking        .       .  256 

Government's  false  version  of  Emmet's  speech,  intended  to  mislead  and 

irritate  the  French  257 

Robert  Emmet,  enlarged  from  Brocas's  courtroom  scene,  to  show  the 

head  had  been  redrawn  258 

Facsimile  of  warrant  issued  by  Alexander  Marsden,  Under  Secretary  for 

Ireland,  to  pay  for  betrayal  of  Robert  Emmet  ....  261 
Sarah  Curran,  from  a  painting  by  Romney       .       .  .       .       .  262 

A  page  from  "The  London  and  Dublin  Magazine",  1825,  containing 

"Robert  Emmet  and  his  Cotemporaries"    ......  272 

A  page  from  Whitty's  Life  of  Robert  Emmet  to  show  the  accuracy  with 

which  Robert  Emmet  was  quoted  276 

A  page  from  Locke's  work,  annotated  by  Robert  Emmet,  to  show  the 

accuracy  of  the  quotations  made  by  Herbert  278 

Stephen's  Green,  Dublin,  1798    281 

Dr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  in  1880,  visiting  for  the  first  time  the  grave  in 

Glasnevin  churchyard  claimed  to  be  that  of  Robert  Emmet  .  .  284 
St.  Peter's  Church  on  Aungier  Street,  where  the  Emmet  burial  vault  was 

placed  28* 

Mural  tablet  placed  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Dublin  287 

Interior  of  Trevor's  vault,  under  St.  Paul's  Church,  Dublin,  showing  the 

supposed  remains  of  Robert  Emmet  296 

Robert  Holmes,  as  he  appeared  at  John  Mitchel's  trial,  from  the  Irish 

Tribune,  June  17,  1848    329 

Supposed  sketch  of  Mrs.  Holmes  327 

Facsimile  of  cablegram  from  Messrs.  McCarthy  and  Dillon,  asking  for 

funds   330 


Illustrations 

Facsimile  of  cablegram  from  the  Committee  of  the  National  Federation 
thanking  Dr.  Emmet  for  the  fifty  thousand  dollars  sent  from  the 
Irish  National  Federation  of  America,  which  secured  Mr.  Gladstone's 
election  

Map  of  Dublin,  showing  the  route  taken  by  Robert  Emmet  to  the  place 
of  execution,  and  the  situation  of  the  depots,  churches  and  other 
points  mentioned  in  the  text  

Tombstone  of  Christopher  Emett  in  the  parish  churchyard  at  Tipperary 
Ireland  ............ 

Pedigree  of  the  Emmott  family  of  Emmott  Hall,  near  Colne,  Co.  Pal 
Lancashire,  England  

Portrait  of  Robert  Fulton  painted  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet  (Mrs.  W.  H 
Le  Roy)  ;  the  same  as  engraved  by  Leney,  altered  plate  published  by 
Delaplaine  as  after  Benjamin  West  

Miniature  of  Fulton  painted  by  himself  after  Miss  Emmet's  portrait 


The  'will  of  the  people  is  the  only  earthly  authority  'which  can  rightfully  constitute  civil 
government.    This  <will  be  absolute  and  independent  of  human  convention. 

Robert  Holmes. 


The  misfitting  of  ye  shirt-maker  comes  not  that  she  be  a  Papist'. 

Unknovm  Cromivellian  Writer  in  Ireland. 


It  has  pleased  the  English  people  in  general  to  forget  all  the  facts  in  Irish  History.  They 
have  been  also  graciously  pleased  to  forgive  themselves  all  these  crimes!  And  the 
Irish  people  'would  forgive  them  likewise,  if  it  mere  not  that  much  of  the  worst  spirit 
of  the  'worst  days  still  survives. 

Daniel  O'Connell,  M.P. 
A  Memoir  on  Ireland,  1844. 


The  Union  is  not  being  repealed;  the  Union  is  being  made  perpetual. 

Tim  Healy.  M.P. 


Has  England  ever  done  a  voluntary  or  gratuitous  favour?  and  if  not  tvhither  shall  vje 
attribute  this  measure  of  an  union,  to  a  regard  for  us,  or  herself? 

Wm.  J.  Macneven,  1799. 


Aphorisms 


Who  could  have  seriously  thought  any  promise  <woutd  bind  England,  a  country  <whtch 
even  then  <was  notorious  all  over  the  vjorld  for  broken  faith  and  dishonoured  treaties? 

James  Connolly. 


The  Rebellion  of  1798  <was  'wickedly  provoked,  rashly  begun,  and  cruelly  crushed. 

Earl  Russell. 


The  last  ten  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  <will  furnish  to  the  historian  by  far  the  moat 
important  events  which  have  yet  marked  the  progress  of  the  human  race.  The  events 
vjhich  have  been  crovjded  into  this  short  period  are  not  only  in  themselves  deeply  in- 
teresting to  the  present  generation,  but  vjttl  probably  be  vietved  in  their  effect  at  no 
distant  era  as  decisive  of  the  future  destinies  of  every  nation  upon  earth. 

T.  A.  Emmet,  J 800. 


Do  you  see  nothing  in  that  America  but  the  graves  and  prisons  of  our  armies?    What  you 
trample  on  in  Europe  tvill  sting  you  in  America.  Grattan  to  Pitt. 


My  grandsire  died,  his  home  beside; 

They  seized  and  hanged  him  there; 
His  only  crime,  in  evil  time 

Your  hallowed  green  to  ivear. 

The  Voice  of  the  Nation. 


Aphorisms 

Chiefly  on  Economic  and  Historical  Subjects 

BY 

Addison,  Joseph  11-476 
Barrington,  Sir  J.  11-186;  273 
Blackstone  I-iii 
Carnot  11-562 

Casement,  Sir  Roger  11-310 ;  336 
Castlereagh,  Lord  II-l 
Charlemont  11-201 

Clarendon,  Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of  I-xviii 
Connaught  Proverb  1-3 

Connolly,  James  I-v;  xi;  4;  11-42;  60;  290;  328 
Curran,  John  Philpot  I-iii ;  11-253 ;  580 
Curran,  Henry  1-71 

Davis,  Thomas  1-1;  11-81;  303;  352;  382;  392;  393;  394;  430;  438;  443;  454;  464;  472; 

508;  589 
De  Beaumont  11-553 
De  Vere,  Aubrey  I-iv;  4;  11-366;  429 
Devlin,  Joseph  11-353 ;  514 
Drennan,  William  11-145 

Dubois,  L.  Paul  (Tr.  Kettle)  I-iv;  11-297;  362;  364;  398;  418;  422;  433;  434;  521;  528; 
546 ;  554  ;  560 ;  570 

Emmet,  Mary  Anne  1-22;  25;  29;  44;  49;  68;  69;  11-10;  131;  122;  200;  227;  262  ;  310 
Emmet,  Robert  1-19 ;  11-217 

Emmet,  T.  A.  I-xii;  xix;  xxv;  3;  147;  148;  161;  169;  170;  182;   183;  190;  191; 

201;  202;  219;  229;  230;  237;  238;  244;  245;  251;  252;  260;  270;  279;  280;  292;  293; 

302;   303;  314;   315;  329;   330;   334;   335;  339;  340;  347;  348;  366;   367;  382; 

383;  390;  391;  405;  406;  421;  422;  433;  434;  448;  449;  462;  463;  470;  478;  479;  492; 

493;  498;  499;  516;  517;  527;  528;  535;  542;  543;  558;  559;  562;  II-xvi;  11;  41;  68; 

69;  82;  93;  113;  121;  137;  261;  291;  349;  350;  359;  412;  439 
Emmet,  T.  A.,  M.D.  I-xviii;  xlvii;  149;  11-333;  353 
Fitzpatrick,  Wm.  J.  I-xlvi;  259 
Flood,  Henry  11-21 
Froude,  J.  A.  11-402 
Gladstone,  William  Ewart  I-ii;  4;  11-20 
Glynn,  Martin  H.  I-ii ;  11-228 
Golden,  Peter  11-334 

Grattan.  Henry  I-xii;  55;  II-viii;  242;  399;  407 

xiii 


XIV 


Aphorisms 


Hay  Il-ix 
Hayley  11-132 
Healy,  Tim  I-x 

Holmes,  Mary  Anne  Emmet.  See  Emmet,  Mary  Anne 

Holmes,  Robert  I-ix ;  9;  11-311;  335;  361;  564 

Hope,  James  11-51;  52;  155 

"Irish  Freedom"  11-309;  443;  456;  578 

"Irish  Review  "  I-xvi ;  11-333 

Johnson,  Samuel  11-572 

Kavanagh,  Patrick  F.  1-72;  146;  II-3;  31;  59;  144;  156;  185;  210;  211;  556 

Kettle.   See  Dubois 

Lake,  Gen.  11-171 

Lalor,  James  Fintan  11-329 

Law,  A.  Bonar  I-xlvii 

Locke,  John  1-504 

McBride  11-216 

McCracken,  H.  J.  11-298 

MacLeda,  Fergus  11-304 

Macneven,  William  J.  I-xi 

Madden,  R.  R.  I-xxvii ;  471 

Mill,  John  Stuart  11-393 

Mitchel,  John  I-iv;  34;  11-272;  445;  516 

Moira,  Lord  11-170 

Moore,  Thomas  11-336 

"The  Nation"  11-360 

Newman,  Cardinal  11-331 

O'Brien,  William  Smith  1-2;  70;  11-362;  444;  466;  474;  496 
-  O'Connell,  Daniel  I-vi ;  x;  1 ;  271 ;  11-455 
Orr,  William  11-145 
Parliamentary  Papers  (1904)  11-424 
Parnell,  Charles  Stewart  11-417 
Pearse,  P.  H.  11-252 
Plato  11-94 

Robinson,  J.  M.  11-471 

Rosebery,  Lord  1-160 

Russell,  Lord  John  I-xii ;  II-viii:  527 

Saunderson,  Edw.  I-vii 

Shakespeare  II-xvi;  112:  570: 

Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe  II-13F, 

Smith,  Adam  11-406 

Spenser,  Edmund  I-xlviii 

"Spirit  of  the  Nation"  I-xxvi :  IT-.V22 

Swift,  Dean  11-395 

Tone.  Theobald  W  olfe  1-71;  II-2;  30;  312:  413;  460;  563 

Truth  Teller  1-5;  220;  534 

Unknown  I-iv;  x;  11-362;  423;  564 

Victoria.  Queen  11-383 

"Voice  of  the  Nation"  I-xiii ;  xvii ;  11-310 

Whitty's  Life  of  Robert  Emmet  1-52;  505;  337;  513 

Wright,  Thomas  11-463 


Aphorisms 


XV 


The  following  portion  of  a  poem  was  written  by  Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  the 
elder  brother  of  Thomas  Addis  and  Robert  Emmet,  who  died  before  the  political  diffi- 
culties of  Ireland  occurred,  and  when  all  in  association  were  loyal  to  George  the  Third, 
"King  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland".  He  wrote  among  other  poems  "The  Decree",  men- 
tion of  which  will  be  found  in  the  notice  of  Temple  Emmet. 

It  is  a  remarkable  prophecy,  and  although  it  has  not  been  verified,  England's  record 
during  the  past  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  and  more,  but  the  clearer  marks  the  inevit- 
able. 

THE  DECREE 

But  should  Britain  ere  forget 

What  to  Sister's  claims  are  due, 
Madly,  should  she  ever  threat 

Tyrant  la<ws,  or  force,  to  you; 

Should  she  ever  claim  a  right, 

Ireland's  commerce  to  restrain, 
Should  she  ever  presume,  by  might, 

Such  oppression  to  maintain; 

In  that  day,  her  doom  is  seat'd ; 

By  that  act,  her  charter  void, 
Heav'n's  condition'd  grant  repeal'd, 

Heav'n's  intended  boom  destroyed; 

In  that  day — 'tis  so  decreed, 

Lettered  large,  enrotl'd  by  Fate, 
You  to  Britain  shall  succeed, 
Yours  shall  be  the  rising  state. 

Christopher  Temple  Emmet, 

Dublin,  1777 -mQ. 


To  understand  British  dealings  with  Ireland  requires  a  long  memory.  Who  sups  with  the 
Devil  needs  a  long  spoon.  Anyone  'who  thinks  that  British  policy  has  changed,  and 
that  England  to-day  intends  to  deal  straight  ivith  Ireland  and  grant  her  a  "measure 
of  freedom"  for  the  control  of  her  own  affairs,  need  only  study  the  British  handling 
of  the  trans- Atlantic  mail  call  at  Queenstown  to  know  the  truth. 

The  Irish  Review,  March,  1914. 


White  the  nations  of  Europe  are  rapidly  advancing  in  knowledge,  civilization  and  free- 
dom, why  are  <we  alone  stationary?  Is  it  because  we  have  no  home  to  be  proud  of, 
no  flag  to  fight  for,  no  country  to  honour,  to  labour  for  and  to  love? 

The  Voice  of  the  Nation,  1843. 


Bibliography 


Let  us  cultivate  a  foreign  policy  and  foreign  information  as  useful  helps  in  that  national 
existence  which  is  before  us,  though  its  happiness  and  glory  depend  in  the  first  instance 
on  "ourselves  alone".   Ireland  has  a  glorious  future,  if  she  be  worthy  of  it. 

The  Voice  of  the  Nation,  1&42. 


XX 


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Notes  and  Queries. 


Never  since  the  Conqueror,  at  the  head  of  his  Norman  robbers,  laid  in  plunder  and  massacre 
the  first  foundation  of  the  aristocracy  <which  crushes  the  country  to  this  day  did  the 
distresses  of  the  people  reach  such  a  degree  of  intensity  or  their  discontent  assume  so 
bold  and  menacing  a  front. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Nation,  1842. 


God  made  the  Land  and  alt  His  <works  are  good: — 

Man  made  the  La<ws,  and  all  they  breathed  tvas  blood. 

Unhallowed  Annals  of  six  hundred  years — 
A  code  of  Blood — a  History  of  tears. 

Richard  R.  Madden,  M.D. 


Historical  Preface 

HE  author's  earliest  recollection  of  any  knowledge  of  Irish 
affairs  is  the  expression  of  his  father's  opinion  that  Ire- 
land could  have  no  prospect  of  a  bright  future  until  she 
should  have  gained  full  management  of  her  own  affairs, 
and  that  desideratum,  he  was  confident,  could  only  be  at- 
tained after  a  total  separation  from  Engtand. 

The  author,  as  an  American  of  Irish  descent,  offers 
no  apology  for  the  views  he  expresses  in  this  work ;  his 
convictions  are  as  the  warp  in  the  construction  of  cloth; 
the  fabric  would  be  worthless  were  it  omitted.  He  claims  little  originality  and 
no  responsibility  for  the  views  held  by  him,  bred  as  they  are  in  the  bone. 
His  utterance  of  them  is  but  a  reflection  of  what  would  be  said  by  his  father, 
grandfather,  great-uncle  and  great-grandfather,  were  they  living. 

As  a  foundation  to  this  work  it  will  be  necessary  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  reader  to  certain  historical  facts  not  generally  known.  The  recital  may 
seem  out  of  place  in  the  Preface,  but  the  writer  being  in  possession  of  all  the 
facts,  can  alone  be  the  judge  of  the  fitness  of  this. 

In  no  other  country  does  there  exist  a  condition  similar  to  that  in  the 
United  States,  where  many  individuals,  even  native-born,  underrate  the  standard 
worth  of  their  Government,  and  their  own  people,  in  contrast  with  England, 
which  is  their  ideal.  Their  influence,  so  far  as  it  can  be  exerted,  is  obstructive ; 
like  the  particles  of  vagrant  dust  in  the  atmosphere  which,  although  worthless 
in  themselves,  may  obstruct  the  action  of  the  finest  mechanism.  Few  realize 
the  truth  of  Aubrey  de  Vere's  statement,  that  with  a  free  people — "A  nation 
forms  its  institutions  as  a  shell-fish  forms  its  shell,  by  a  sort  of  slow  exudation 
from  within,  which  gradually  hardens  as  an  external  deposit,  and  must  there- 
fore be  fitted  to  the  shape  of  that  which  it  invests  and  protects."  England's 
form  of  government  is  best  fitted  for  her  people,  and  would  be  worthless  for 
any  other  nation.  The  shell  of  the  clam  would  be  no  more  suitable  for  the 
oyster  than  would  the  oyster's  shell  for  the  clam,  nor  could  either  be  expected 
to  thrive  under  the  protection  of  that  meant  for  the  lobster. 

At  one  time  we  owed  legally  such  an  obligation  to  England,  but  it  was 
never  merited  by  the  so  called  "mother  country" ;  she  certainly  neglected  her 

xxvii 


xxviii  Historical  Preface 

American  Colonies,  leaving  them  to  shift  for  themselves  until  through  their 
own  effort  they  had  prospered  sufficiently  to  be  worth  robbing,  and  the  attempt 
then  made  to  fit  us  to  England's  shell,  caused  our  separation.  A  similar  result 
must  follow  the  attempt  in  Ireland. 

Unceasing  efforts  are  made  to  prove  that  we  in  the  United  States  are  an 
English  race,  whereas  no  statement  could  be  more  devoid  of  truth.  Those  in 
the  world  at  large,  who  may  find  themselves  holding  very  different  views  from 
those  advanced  by  the  writer,  do  so  through  ignorance,  as  they  do  not  know 
how  great  is  the  power  exerted  in  this  country  through  English  influence 
with  the  press,  in  the  writing  of  our  school  books,  and  as  is  claimed  to  be 
the  case,  in  the  teaching  given  in  our  public  schools,  and  all  for  England's 
profit  alone.  A  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  this  statement  can  only  be  acquired 
by  special  investigation. 

Since  the  American  colonies  gained  their  independence,  England  has  never 
for  a  moment  ceased  to  intrigue  and  look  forward  to  the  opportunity  when  by 
some  chance  she  may  recover  her  loss. 

If  it  can  be  shown  that  we  in  the  United  States  are  not  an  English  people, 
and  that  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  are  descended  from  Irish 
and  German  ancestors,  we,  as  a  rival  people,  can  certainly  hold  no  interest  in 
common  with  England,  once  the  romance  attached  to  the  mythical  relation  of 
mother  and  daughter  has  been  removed. 

For  the  past  century  or  more,  England  has  striven  to  dominate  the  world 
by  grasping  every  commercial  advantage  within  her  reach,  and  has  like  a 
bully,  by  means  of  her  powerful  navy,  restricted  the  trade  of  every  other  nation 
to  some  extent,  until  she  has  become  as  much  of  a  menace  as  the  military  spirit 
of  Germany  may  prove.*  She  has  seized  and  held  as  a  colony  every  foot  of 
land  she  could  wrest  from  a  weaker  power.  By  craft  and  sharp  practice  she 
has  gained  the  greater  portion  of  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world,  and  has 
hesitated  at  no  procedure  whereby  she  could  aid  in  placing  the  centre  of  the 
financial  world  in  London.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  has  gained 
control  of  the  greater  portion  of  the  world's  wealth,  she  covets  the  whole,  and 
will  not  brook  a  rival  without  making  every  effort  for  her  destruction.  Despite 
her  efforts,  however,  Germany  and  the  United  States  have  proved  a  check. 
Consequently,  for  some  years  past,  there  has  been  a  secret  effort  made  by  Eng- 
land to  gain  a  close  legislative  alliance  with  the  United  States,  by  which  she 
would  occupy  a  position  enabling  her,  under  the  guise  of  friendship,  to  reap 
every  advantage.  But  every  attempt  to  place  us  in  a  false  position  has  been 
frustrated,  and  this  has  been  accomplished  chiefly  through  the  vigilance  of  the 
descendants  of  the  Irish  and  German  people  in  this  country. f 

"This  militarism  is  claimed  to  be  necessary  for  self-defence. 

tThe  "Anglo-Maniacs"  are  alone  responsible  for  all  the  trouble  in  this  country,  due  to  religious 
bigotry.  Some  of  the  most  active  among  them  have  not  been  citizens  of  the  country,  and  have 
been  besides  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  situation  here.  As  English  sympathisers,  they  have 
arrogantly  claimed  a  right,  as  if  it  were  in  England,  to  denounce  the  "foreign  vote"  and  the  "low 
Irish".  Those  among  them  who  were  citizens  certainly  were  traitors  to  their  adopted  country  in 
expressing  a  doubt  as  to  the  validity  of  her  laws.  If  the  laws  of  naturalization  are  complied  with, 
all  should  be  treated  alike,  and  when  an  individual  legally  becomes  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
he  can  no  longer  be  termed  a  foreign  voter.  The  "low  Irish"  in  this  country  have  proved  the 
equal  of  any  other  race  by  fully  demonstrating  their  worth.  The  most  ignorant  individual,  if 
questioned,  would  seldom  hesitate  to  name  some  person  of  Irish  or  German  blood,  well  known  for  his 


Historical  Preface 


xxix 


Previous  to  our  Civil  War  this  country  commanded  to  a  great  extent  the 
■carrying  trade  of  the  world  and  her  flag  was  seen  in  every  port.  But  England 
made  good  use  of  her  opportunity  and  gained  what  the  United  States  had  lost. 
For  reasons  which  cannot  here  be  considered,  this  country  neglected  to  make 
any  serious  effort  to  regain  her  former  position  until  within  a  recent  period, 
and  it  has  been  asserted  that  this  neglect  was  due  to  a  wish  to  conciliate  Eng- 
land, the  "mother  country".  After  the  Franco-Prussian  war  Germany  gradually 
established  herself  as  a  serious  rival  to  England's  future  prosperity,  her  ad- 
vantages being  a  greater  average  degree  of  intellectual  development  of  her 
people,  and  a  greater  mechanical  skill,  joined  to  thrift  and  industry.  Within 
the  same  period  this  country  also  made  great  advances,  the  result  being  that 
at  the  present  time  England  is  dependent  on  Germany  and  this  country  for 
many  industrial  products  with  which  she  formerly  supplied  the  world.  The 
possibility  has  already  been  recognized  that  with  her  many  threatening  domestic 
troubles  she  may  find  it  difficult  to  maintain  herself  as  a  first  class  power. 

The  English  Government,  through  selfishness,  seems  devoid  of  all  principle 
of  either  honesty  or  fair  play  towards  a  neighbor,  so  much  so  that  she  is  always 
intriguing  against  other  nations  with  both  falsehood  and  craft  until  an  oppor- 
tunity is  created,  without  cost  except  in  money,  for  her  puppets  to  strike  an 
unexpected  blow  in  the  dark,  and  if  possible  it  will  be  a  mortal  one.  With 
undoubtedly  good  men  constantly  at  the  head  of  the  English  Government,  they 
are,  as  individuals,  helpless  to  make  any  change  from  the  accepted  policy  of 
centuries. 

With  every  outward  pretence  of  good  will,  England  in  truth  secretly  holds 
for  this  country  only  most  malevolent  feelings.  It  has  been  stated  that : — 
"Great  Britain  makes  friends  only  with  inferiors,  never  with  an  equal".  As 
the  two  countries  are  destined  to  be  rivals  in  every  respect,  and  as  we  have 
never  equalled  her  in  statecraft,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  England,  with 
her  well  known  vindictive  character,  can  honestly  hold  anything  in  common 
with  this  country.  She  stands  apart  in  this  respect  from  every  other  nation  of 
the  earth  and  we  have  never  had  any  treaty  or  relation  with  her  that  it  has  not 
been  to  her  gain  alone. 

The  assertion  has  been  made  that  about  thirty-four  thousand  families  in  Eng- 
land represent  the  descendants  of  the  Normans,  who  have  remained  essentially 
one  people  in  directing  the  policy  of  the  English  government.  They  form  the 
foundation  of  the  House  of  Lords  and  hold  among  them  over  seven  hundred 
permanent  titles.  Thus  it  has  been  hidden  from  the  world  how  continuously, 
century  after  century,  certain  families  have  filled  every  office  of  importance  and 
profit.  These  are  designated  the  "Upper  Classes".  The  descendants  of  the 
Saxons,  with  a  conglomeration  of  all  other  races,  form  the  English  people,  hav- 
ing little  intercourse  with  the  "Upper  Classes"  beyond  an  occasional  intermar- 
riage.  It  is  seldom  that  any  individual  of  the  "Middle  Classes",  outside  of  the 

personal  contributions  to  the  welfare  and  development  of  the  country.  On  the  other  hand,  those  most 
familiar  with  the  history  of  this  country  would  hesitate,  and  probably  fail  in  being  able  to  mention 
off-hand  the  name  of  a  single  man  of  English  birth  and  education,  who  had  benefited  this  country  by  his 
emigration. 


XXX 


Historical  Preface 


House  of  Commons,  has  any  connection  with  the  "Governing  Class".  With 
full  allowance  for  exaggeration,  few  persons  realize  how  true  is  the  general 
statement  as  to  the  influence  still  exercised  in  England  by  the  descendants  of 
the  Normans. 

The  want  of  truthfulness  and  honesty,  with  many  other  disreputable  traits, 
claimed  to  be  connected  with  the  working  of  the  English  Government,  seem  a 
direct  inheritance  from  their  thieving  and  piratical  Norman  ancestry.* 

The  writer  has  had  no  means  of  obtaining  any  accurate  or  detailed  knowl- 
edge as  to  the  methods  of  the  British  Government,  except  those  practised  in 
connection  with  Ireland  and  the  colonial  management  of  this  country.  But 
it  is  supposed  to  be  the  counterpart  of  the  sixty  or  more  "Bureaucracies"  in 
Dublin  Castle,  which  have  existed  for  centuries,  without  direct  responsibility 
to  any  one.  This  political  combination,  with  no  interest  beyond  their  own 
profit,  have  remained  as  a  moral  leprosy,  self-propagating  and  poisoning 
the  body  politic  of  the  country.  Lord  Dunraven,  in  his  book  "The  Outlook 
in  Ireland",  has  fully  depicted  the  working  of  this  system  and  his  showing  is 
well  worth  the  attention  of  the  historical  student. 

In  a  paper  readf  before  the  American  Irish  Historical  Society,  of  New  York 
City,  the  writer  claimed  that  over  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  were  to  some  extent  of  Irish  blood. J  In  the  same  paper 
•he  held  that  there  were  more  negroes  in  the  country  who  could 
prove  their  African  origin,  than  individuals  who  could  establish  the  fact 
that  they  were  of  English  stock.  It  was  also  shown  that  the  English 
people  did  not  come  to  this  country  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the 
reason  why  they  did  not  was  given,  while  no  one  can  question  the  fact 
that  the  Irish  did  come,  being  made  to  leave  from  England  as  English  emi- 
grants. Moreover,  the  Irish  were  the  frontiersmen  and  Indian  fighters  from 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  author  will  cite  in  illustra- 
tion an  instance  known  to  him.  A  kinsman  by  the  name  of  Temple  located, 
after  1719,  over  ten  thousand  persons  in  the  course  of  several  years  on  the 
"New  Hampshire  Grants,"  where  he  held  a  large  land  grant,  and  on  which 
Temple,  Dublin,  Mason  and  other  towns  were  settled,  such  names  showing 
their  Irish  origin.  Every  individual  was  Irish  and  a  Catholic,  from  Co.  Kerry 
and  Co.  Cork,  and  all  spoke  Irish  almost  exclusively.  In  time,  they  lost  their 
faith  and  language,  many  changed  their  names,  and  from  the  writer's  investi- 
gation, it  is  doubtful,  if  at  the  present  time,  a  single  individual,  descended  from 
the  original  settler,  knows  anything  of  the  family  history.  Yet  the  history  of 
these  towns,  giving  the  names  of  the  earlier  settlers,  does  not  contain  the  name 
of  a  family  of  which  there  cannot  be  found  at  the  present  time  a  representative 
of  the  same  stock  in  Co.  Kerry  and  Co.  Cork. 

In  this  connection  the  Irish  legend  on  the  title  page — Fag  a  Beala'c,  having 

•Elsewhere  in  this  work  will  be  found  Ralph  Emerson's  estimate  of  the  ancestry  of  the  House 

of  Lords. 

f'lrish  Emigration  during  the  17th  and  18th  Centuries",  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Irish  Historical  Society,  Vol.  IV. 

^Subsequent  investigations  have  convinced  the  writer  that  the  true  proportion  was  even  greater,  and 
so  continued  until,  within  recent  years,  the  German  and  Italian  emigration  began  to  dominate. 


Historical  Preface 


xxxi 


in  English  the  milder  meaning  "Clear  the  Way",  and  pronounced  phonetically 
as  one  word  Foogabalah, — is  of  interest  as  being  the  very  ancient  Irish  battle 
cry.  Dr.  Thos.  Dunn  English,  an  expert,  some  years  before  his  death,  informed 
the  writer  that  it  was  referred  to  by  some  Roman  author,  but  the  authority 
he  mentioned  has  been  forgotten.  Possibly  it  was  Tacitus  in  his  Life  of 
Agricola,  by  whom  it  must  have  been  heard,  for  he  served  for  many  years 
during  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era  as  the  Roman  coast  surveyor,  and 
was  the  first  to  make  known  that  Great  Britain  was  not  a  portion  of  the 
European  Continent.  He  likewise  urged  on  Roman  authorities  in  England 
the  advisability  of  conquering  Ireland,  at  that  time  a  formidable  maritime 
power.  This  battle  cry  was  also  referred  to  by  English  writers  in  Queen 
Elizabeth's  day,  and  was  therefore  not  "Scotch-Irish",  but  mentioned  in  proof 
of  the  Irish  being  a  barbarous  people.  It  was  heard  at  Fontenoy,  at  the  battle 
of  the  King's  Mountain  in  1780,  and  throughout  our  Civil  War.  "The  Con- 
federate Yell"  was  the  last  indication  preserved  proving  the  origin  of  the 
people  who  settled  the  Alleghany  Mountain  valleys  from  the  southern  border 
of  Pennsylvania  to  the  French  Broad  River  in  Carolina,  and  into  the  mountains 
of  Tennessee.  Nearly  a  million  of  young  Catholic  Irishmen  were  driven  out 
of  their  country  early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Those  of  them  who  did  not 
enter  the  service  of  some  European  nation,  came  to  this  country  and,  by  fighting 
the  Indians  on  the  frontiers,  were  a  shield  to  the  settlers  on  the  coast.  The 
writer  is  indebted  to  the  editor  of  "The  Spirit  of  the  Nation"  for  the  correct 
mode  of  spelling  Fag  a  Beala'c ;  with  the  other  facts  given  in  the  same  place 
he  was  already  familiar. 

As  those  who  left  Ireland  were  chiefly  from  Connaught  and  Munster,  the 
soldiers  abroad  were  generally  known  as  "The  Connaught  Rangers",  or  the 
"Fag  a  Beala'c  Boys".   Napier  in  his  "History  of  the  Peninsular  War"  states: 

Nothing  so  startled  the  French  soldiers  as  the  wild  yell  with  which  the  Irish  regi- 
ments sprang  to  the  charge,  and  never  was  that  haughty  and  intolerant  shout  raised  in 
battle,  but  a  charge,  swift  as  thought  and  fatal  as  flames,  came  with  it,  like  a  rushing  in- 
carnation of  Fag  a  Beala'c ! 

The  English  learned  to  their  cost  the  meaning  of  the  cry. 

Nothing  is  proved  by  the  tradition  held  by  many  that  their  ancestors  sailed 
on  some  date  from  an  English  port,  and  generally  from  Bristol,  England.  No 
record  was  kept  of  the  few  English  who  emigrated  during  the  17th  century, 
while  every  vessel  containing  Irish  emigrants  was  throughout  this  century, 
compelled  to  go  to  an  English  port,  to  pay  a  head  tax,  and  to  sail  from  there 
as  an  English  vessel,  its  passengers  registered  as  English  emigrants.  More- 
over, they  were  made  to  change  their  names  and  take  English  ones. 

The  followers  of  Raleigh,  William  Perm  and  Lord  Baltimore,  were  nearly 
all  Irishmen,  as  Raleigh  and  Penn  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  in 
Ireland,  where  Penn  became  a  Quaker,  while  Baltimore  was  born  there. 

A  large  portion  of  western  North  and  South  Carolina  was  settled  exclu- 
sively by  Irish  people.  As  a  matter  of  record  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that 
Cromwell  and  his  friends  found  it  profitable  to  send  many  Irish  women  to 


xxxii 


Historical  Preface 


New  England !  For  his  purpose  the  most  attractive-looking  young  Irish  girls 
were  kidnapped  and  shipped  to  the  New  England  colonies,  as  well  as  to  some 
of  the  West  India  Isfands,  where  they  were  sold  as  slaves.  This  is  shown  by 
Prendergast's  "Cromwellian  Settlement  in  Ireland".  There  were  more  young 
girls  thus  sent  to  New  England  from  Ireland,  than  would  have  given  a  wife 
apiece  to  every  Puritan  settler  in  that  country.  The  author  has  stated*  "If 
we  take  into  consideration  the  total  number  of  "Puritan  Fathers"  in  New 
England  at  this  time,  it  would  seem  not  improbable  that  these  two  hundred 
and  fifty  young  Irish  women,  with  many  others  sent  over  from  Ireland  about 
the  same  time,  must  have  all  eventually  been  transformed  at  least  into  Irish 
Puritans.  If  so,  their  progeny  must  in  time  have  given  quite  a  Hibernian  tint 
to  the  pure  blood  of  the  descendants  of  the  Mayflower.  I  have  not  seen  that 
the  New  England  writers,  who  make  our  histories,  have  noted  these  facts, 
but  probably  they  failed  to  do  so,  on  evidence  that  they  were  not  "Scotch- 
Irish  women". 

It  is  known  that  some  of  these  Irish  women  did  not  continue  among  the 
Puritans,  but  escaped  to  their  countrymen,  who  were  in  the  mountains  and  had 
a  large  settlement  in  the  wilderness  on  the  present  site  of  Lowell,  Mass.,  con- 
cerning whose  assistance  to  the  settlers  on  the  coast,  history  is  equally  silent. 
This  Irish  settlement,  which  occasionally  is  referred  to,  was,  it  is  stated — 
"tolerated"  by  the  Puritans,  yet  they  protected  those  on  the  coast  from  the 
Indians,  otherwise  the  English  settlers  there  would  have  been  exterminated 
at  an  early  period.  But  such  is  our  history ! 

The  Irishmen  in  the  "back  country"  always  volunteered  to  fight  the  Indians 
when  there  was  trouble,  and  on  the  roll  of  the  soldiers  who  served,  for  instance, 
in  the  Pequot  War,  there  are  over  fifty  names  recorded  which  no  Puritan  ever 
bore.  On  the  contrary  the  Patricks,  Michaels  and  other  names  show  the 
Catholic  faith  of  their  bearers,  and  prove  conclusively  that  the  Irish  were  the 
frontiersmen,  as  has  already  been  stated. 

The  history  of  Ireland  is  reflected  in  every  step  of  American  history  and 
development  of  the  country  from  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century;  this  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  in  every  station  of  life  Irish  brains  and  brawn  contributed 
more  to  the  development  of  this  country  than  those  of  any  other  race.  There 
is  no  country  where  the  Irish  people  are  more  at  home,  than  in  the  United 
States,  and  with  no  other  race  does  there  exist  a  greater  veneration,  than  the 
Irish  hold  for  this  asylum  of  their  people.  The  Irish  take  more  interest  in 
the  development  and  political  condition  of  the  country  than  any  other  race, 
deprived  as  they  were  of  this  privilege  in  their  native  land.  They  also 
possess  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  its  history  than  do  the  native-born,  not 
of  Irish  descent.  The  author  obtained  from  his  father  his  first  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  his  native  land,  and  with  it  was  taught  Irish  history  and  some 
knowledge  of  the  Irishmen  who  had  aided  in  the  development  of  the  country. 
As  a  consequence,  he  may  claim  without  conceit,  to  be  an  authority  on  the 


•"Ireland  Under  English  Rule",  Second  Edition,  Vol.  I,  page  115n. 


Historical  Preface 


xxxiii 


history  of  his  native  land,  and  he  will  yield  to  no  one  claiming  to  possess  a 
greater  degree  of  love  and  patriotism. 

The  suffering  and  consequent  training  to  which  the  Irish  race  were  sub- 
jected during  past  centuries  in  Ireland  made  the  descendants,  as  a  rule,  a  better 
citizen  in  this  country,  and  the  Irish-American  with  a  knowledge  of  Irish 
history  cannot  but  have  a  greater  love  and  veneration  for  the  land  of  his 
birth. 

Those  who  are  most  ignorant  of  both  Irish  and  American  history,  are  the 
only  persons  in  this  country  who  are  prejudiced  against  the  "low  Irish",  and 
who  through  English  influence,  even  regard  them  as  interlopers  in  the  country, 
notwithstanding  their  history.  This  opinion  is  held  after  the  Irish  have  com- 
plied with  every  constitutional  requirement,  whereby  they  become  legally  en- 
titled to  the  enjoyment  of  every  privilege. 

Such  people  would  be  astonished  could  they  realize  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  world  outside  of  English  influence  regards  the  Irish  as  being  most 
worthy  of  such  privileges.  Those  who  are  so  unwilling  to  be  just  in  obtaining 
some  knowledge  of  the  truth,  are  blinded  by  the  influence  of  England,  which 
country  for  more  than  seven  hundred  years  has  never  relaxed  its  effort  to 
underrate  the  truth  concerning  the  Irish  people  and  prevent  it  being  known. 
This  ink-fish  procedure  has  been  utilized  by  England  as  a  political  policy,  to 
mislead  the  world  as  to  the  degraded  and  unworthy  condition  claimed  as  a 
justification  of  her  treatment  of  the  Irish  people  before  and  after  the  alleged 
English  civilization. 

Col.  Philip  Roche  Fermoy,  of  the  Army  of  the  French  Republic,  wrote  in 
his  "Commentary  on  the  Memoirs  of  Tone"  (page  62)  : 

For  the  character  of  this  brilliant  people,  where,  by  having  been  removed  from  their 
native  country,  they  had  passed  beyond  the  shade  of  influence  spread  over  them  at  home, 
by  "the  most  humane,  generous,  and  benevolent  government  upon  the  earth",  another 
witness  may  be  appealed  to,  not  less  worthy  of  credit  than  the  two  former.  In  a  letter 
from  Doctor  Franklin's  works  (Vol.  II,  page  68,  4th  edition)  dated  19th  of  August 
1784,  and  giving  a  character  of  the  Irish  emigrants  in  America,  he  says — "It  is  a  fact 
that  the  Irish  emigrants  and  their  children  are  now  in  possession  of  the  Government  of 
Pennsylvania,  by  their  majority  in  the  assembly,  as  well  as  a  great  part  of  the  territory; 
and  I  remember  well  the  first  ship  that  brought  any  of  them  over." 

On  this  fact,  as  related  by  Doctor  Franklin,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  scene  of 
action  was  Pennsylvania — a  province  colonized  by  Quakers — the  Quakers,  a  sect,  what- 
ever their  virtues  may  be,  remarkable  for  persevering  industry,  and  a  rigid  attention  to 
order,  punctuality  and  decorum.  Could  the  Irish  emigrants  without  a  strict  conformity 
to  these  Quaker-like  observations  have  got  in  Pennsylvania  so  far  forward  as  to  have 
secured,  within,  the  short  period  of  the  life  or  rather  within  the  shorter  period  of  the 
observation  of  one  man,  a  lead,  both  on  the  territorial  property,  and  in  the  political 
power  of  so  remarkable  a  state  as  Pennsylvania? 

Snch,  on  the  habits  and  character  of  the  Irish,  was  the  effect  of  a  riddance  from  the 
influence  of  "the  most  humane,  generous,  and  benevolent  government  on  the  earth". 

The  reader  must  not  be  misled  as  to  what  the  author  has  written,  but  seek 
to  learn  the  truth  by  personal  investigation.  Nothing  in  this  book  will  be 
found  written  more  to  the  purpose,  for  just  in  proportion  as  it  can  be  shown 


xxxiv 


Historical  Preface 


the  United  States  were  not  settled  by  the  English  people,  and  that  we  owe 
nothing  whatever  to  that  Government  but  mistrust,  can  it  be  seen  that  the 
history  of  the  Irish  people  in  Ireland  and  their  course  in  this  country  are 
inseparable. 

After  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  subject  in  close  connection  with  family 
traditions,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  found  to  have  been  an  uncompromising 
advocate  for  the  total  separation  of  Ireland  from  England.  He  reached  this 
conviction  before  he  became  chief  Director,  at  the  head  of  the  affairs  of  the 
United  Irishmen,  and  these  views  he  transmitted  to  his  brother  Robert,  before 
he  had  passed  his  boyhood.  During  Mr.  Emmet's  examination  before  the 
Secret  Committee  of  the  Irish  House  of  Lords  on  August  11th,  1798,  he  was 
asked  if  he  did  not  think  Ireland  would  do  better  to  continue  the  connection 
with  England,  and  his  answer  was: — "I  do  not.  I  think  this  might  be  the 
happiest  country  in  the  world  if  she  was  established  as  an  independent  Re- 
public". But  for  some  cause  now  unknown  he  was  opposed  to  the  open  rebellion 
of  the  Irish  people  in  1797. 

The  indications  are  that  it  was  a  question  of  expediency,  both  as  to  time 
and  circumstance,  in  depending  upon  aid  from  France.  This  he  wished  to 
obtain  only  within  a  limited  extent,  hoping  thus  to  save  Ireland  from  becoming 
a  French  province,  a  contingency  he  greatly  feared.  As  a  non-military  man  it 
seemed  to  him  that  any  attempt  made  by  the  Irish  people  alone  could  but  result 
in  defeat.  With  these  views,  as  it  has  been  shown,  Mr.  Emmet  possessed  the 
power  to  influence  every  Irish  leader  except  Mr.  Arthur  O'Connor.  O'Connor 
desired  to  have  the  closest  relations  established  between  Ireland  and  France, 
and  immediate  action  taken,  with  the  hope  that,  as  the  heir  claimant,  he  might 
finally  be  made  King  of  Ireland  by  Napoleon.  How  far  the  influence  exerted 
by  Mr.  Emmet  was  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  Ireland  is  not  at  this  point  the 
question,  and  it  must  remain  one  to  be  determined  by  others.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  Mr.  Emmet  alone  did  exercise  this  influence,  and  particularly 
with  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  who,  although  in  command  of  the  military  branch 
of  the  organization,  yielded  his  own  judgment  in  the  matter.  The  outbreak 
was  prevented  for  fully  eighteen  months  by  Mr.  Emmet's  influence,  until  finally, 
to  force  the  issue  to  one  of  open  warfare,  Mr.  Emmet  and  all  the  other  leaders 
were  suddenly  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  the  English  Government.  The 
management  of  the  United  Irishmen  then  passed  into  other  hands,  and  Eng- 
land at  once  gained  her  object,  which  was  to  force  the  country  into  an  outbreak, 
and  thus  prepare  the  people  to  accept  the  Union  as  a  last  alternative  to  ex- 
termination. 

With  this  event  Mr.  Emmet  ceased  to  be  an  active  leader  in  Irish  affairs. 
His  principles,  however,  were  firmly  established  and  he  was  able  to  exercise 
his  influence  with  his  brother  Robert,  so  that  their  political  views  were  in  full 
accord,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is  frequently  shown  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  the 
greatest  confidence  in  his  brother's  judgment. 

So  far  as  the  author  has  been  able  to  understand  the  principles  and  purpose 
of  the  Young  Ireland  Party  in  1848,  and  the  Fenian  Organization  later,  they 


Historical  Preface 


XXXV 


must  have  had  an  origin  in  Mr.  Emmet's  teaching  alone.  At  least  it  can  be 
claimed  that  of  all  the  organizations  formed  since  the  Rebellions  of  1798  and 
1803,  the  Fenian  was  the  only  one  with  which  Thomas  Addis,  and  Robert 
Emmet  could  have  been  affiliated.  The  movement  of  Robert  Emmet  and  that 
of  the  Fenians  were  alike,  inasmuch  as  they  are  judged  to  have  failed  in 
accomplishing  anything  for  Ireland's  profit,  but  to  the  student  of  Irish  history 
at  the  present  time,  this  is  clearly  a  fallacy.  Robert  Emmet's  demonstration 
and  the  Fenian  movement,  with  the  object  of  separation  from  England,  were 
closely  related,  in  being  the  only  attempts  ever  made  against  England's  rule 
in  Ireland,  which  came  so  near  being  successful  as  to  strike  the  English  Govern- 
ment with  terror  of  the  possibilities,  should  another  attempt  be  made  along  the 
same  lines.  The  fear  of  a  Fenian  movement  is  as  real  today  as  with  the  recep- 
tion of  the  first  shock  from  their  action,  and  but  for  this  fact  the  much  or  little 
now  claimed  to  have  been  gained  for  Home  Rule  would  not  exist. 

In  after  life  Mr.  O'Connor  charged  Mr.  Emmet  with  cowardice  for  his 
course  at  the  beginning  of  the  Rebellion  of  1798,  but  for  this  course  it  is 
certainly  unnecessary  to  offer  any  vindication.  Had  he  known  what  Irishmen 
could  do  with  the  pike,  and  how  readily  the  best  soldiers  in  the  world,  as  the 
English  were  considered  to  be,  could  be  driven  out  of  Ireland  in  1798,  if  the 
Irish  had  been  able  to  keep  together  with  an  adequate  supply  of  food,  he  cer- 
tainly would  have  advocated  and  have  struck  the  first  blow  for  Ireland's 
freedom. 

From  boyhood  the  writer  accepted  his  father's  teaching,  that  the  regenera- 
tion of  Ireland  could  not  have  a  beginning  until  she  became  an  independent 
country.  He  learned  in  addition  from  his  own  investigation,  that  during  the 
past  seven  hundred  years,  England  has  in  no  instance  observed  in  good  faith 
a  single  promise  or  pledge  made  to  Ireland,  nor  to  the  world  at  large,  unless 
through  self-interest  or  fear.  He  has  never  held  any  ill  will  against  the  Eng- 
lish people  as  individuals,  for  he  came  of  the  same  stock,  and  a  large  proportion 
of  his  personal  friends  throughout  life  have  been  of  that  nationality.  But,  no 
word  or  words  exist  in  the  English  dialect,  by  which  he  could  express  his  dis- 
trust of  that  political  machine  termed  the  British  Government ;  and  his  contempt 
for  its  bad  faith  and  other  characteristics  of  the  policy  which  has  been  employed 
since  the  days  of  the  Normans,  to  the  detriment  of  all  but  the  English  people 
themselves.  Consequently,  the  writer  cannot  have  the  slightest  faith  in  any 
political  promise  in  relation  to  Ireland  made  by  an  English  official,  from  the 
Prime  Minister  to  the  most  humble  clerk.* 

The  writer  has  passed  the  greater  portion  of  a  long  life  in  the  service  of 
Ireland,  without  question  as  to  what  was  being  done,  and  without  regard  to 
his  own  private  opinion.    He  recalls  a  meeting  of  the  Hoffman  House  Com- 

*The  writer's  taste  may  be  questioned  in  subjecting  the  reader  to  a  consideration  of  an  individual 
opinion  based,  it  will  be  claimed,  on  prejudice.  This  might  be  accepted,  were  it  not  that  two-thirds  or 
more  of  the  Irish  people  hold  the  views  expressed  by  him,  and  their  convictions  should,  therefore, 
be  placed  on  record,  as  part  of  the  history  of  Ireland.  England  has  only  the  acquired  rights  of  a 
highwayman  in  Ireland;  she  has  been  able  to  hold  the  country  simply  by  the  throat,  during  a 
struggle  of  centuries.  Consequently  Ireland  owes  her  no  allegiance,  and  will  never  yield  any  save 
to  force.  All  connection  with  England  has  become  intolerable  to  the  majority  of  the  Irish  people, 
who  are  not  part  of  the  English  garrison,  and  Ireland  must  become  an  independent  nation  in  the 
near  future,  if  her  people  are  worthy  to  make  the  effort. 


jxxxvi 


Historical  Preface 


mittee  in  the  early  days  of  Mr.  Parnell's  career,  where  he  either  offered  a 
resolution  or  advocated  the  establishment  of  the  principle,  that  no  suggestion 
should  at  any  time  be  made  from  this  country  to  the  Irish  leaders  as  to  the  con- 
duct of  Irish  affairs,  and  that  resolution  has  been  strictly  adhered  to.  For  the 
past  thirty  years  and  more,  the  views  held  by  the  majority  of  the  Irish  leaders 
have  received  full  and  loyal  support  from  this  country  without  relation  to 
individual  opinion  as  to  details. 

Whatever  has  been  accomplished  by  Mr.  Redmond  and  the  members  of  his 
party  in  Parliament  should  stand  to  their  credit,  and  they  alone  will  be  held 
responsible  in  case  of  failure. 

The  delay  in  the  effort  to  obtain  Home  Rule  during  the  past  thirty  years 
has  at  least  been  of  advantage  in  preparing  the  people  to  take  charge  of  their 
own  affairs,  and  an  even  longer  period  of  probation  may  be  necessary.  If  so 
it  should  be  utilized,  since  in  the  history  of  a  nation,  time  is  of  secondary  im- 
portance. The  regaining  of  their  native  language  is  of  yet  more  importance  to 
the  Irish  people  than  even  Ireland's  independence  would  be  at  this  period,  an 
advantage  which  independence  would  certainly  follow.  Until  the  Irish  language 
becomes  the  spoken  one  of  the  country,  Ireland  can  claim  no  nationality,  nor 
can  there  be  perfect  union  of  her  people,  nor  any  certainty  as  to  the  maintenance 
of  their  future  integrity.  So  long  as  the  English  dialect  is  alone  spoken  by  the 
Irish  people  they  are  under  subjection,  and  English  influence  and  corruption 
cannot  be  checked.*  Many  of  the  Irish  people  have  yet  to  realize  that  they 
are  themselves  to  blame  for  the  fact  that  their  country  has  not  long  since  been 
a  free  and  independent  nation.  Ireland  has  needed  no  aid  from  outside ;  she 
has  been  able  at  any  time  within  the  past  seven  hundred  years  to  have  driven 
every  Englishman  out  of  the  country,  had  she  been  united  and  made  the  effort 
to  help  herself.  The  future  lies  entirely  within  her  own  grasp  and  only  a 
fighting  faith  is  needed  to  be  at  least  ready  for  an  opportunity.  "Let  Ireland 
do  what  she  can  and  she  will  accomplish  everything."  Until  the  majority  of 
her  people  give  less  thought  to  the  past,  and  more  to  the  existing  conditions  and 
the  future,  to  advance  Ireland's  interests,  England's  power  will  continue. 
God  has  done  everything  for  Ireland,  but  many  of  her  people  are  unworthy  in 
having  done  nothing  more  to  advance  the  interests  of  their  native  land  than 
the  utterance  of  so  many  idle  words. 

In  1908  the  author  contributed  an  open  letter  to  "The  New  York  Irish 
World",  for  the  issue  of  June  7th,  in  which  he  said : 

I  have  long  reached  the  conclusion  that  there  has  been  no  real  failure  for  many  years 
on  part  of  the  Irish  people  to  advance  the  cause  of  self-government.  The  idea  is  generally 
held  by  those  who  had  not  given  thought  to  the  subject,  that  each  special  Irish  movement, 


*So  important  did  the  author  deem  the  revival  of  the  Gaelic  that  after  he  had  well  passed 
his  seventy-fifth  birthday,  he  began  the  study  of  the  language  as  an  example  to  others,  and  within  a 
reasonably  short  time  he.  without  difficulty,  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  grammar  and  obtained  a 
fair  reading  facility,  with  the  occasional  use  of  the  dictionary.  But  with  the  deafness  of  old  age 
existing  for  some  years  previous  nothing  could  be  accomplished  in  learning  to  speak  the  language. 
It  was  a  source  of  great  regret  that  the  writer  had  to  abandon  the  study,  and  devote  himself  to 
literary  work  which  could  not  be  delayed  on  account  of  his  advancing  age.  This  study  is  well 
worth  the  attention  of  the  educated,  and  is  so  for  a  special  purpose.  The  student  who  acquires  an 
advanced  knowledge  of  the  Gaelic  insensibly  becomes  a  learned  man,  as  no  other  exercise  trains 
the  mind  so  well  for  acquiring  knowledge. 


Historical  Preface 


xxxvii 


outbreak  or  rebellion,  was  a  separate  undertaking;  and  as  no  result  was  in  evidence  but 
the  punishment  of  the  participators,  the  whole  was  judged  a  failure.  This  is  not  true. 
As  well  might  it  be  claimed  in  war,  that  it  has  a  beginning  with  each  battle.  Every  move- 
ment made  by  the  people  during  the  past  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years,  in  the  nature 
of  resistance  to  the  power  of  England,  accomplished  something,  and  was  a  step  towards 
the  end.  Consequently  the  act  of  every  individual  Irishman  who  made  any  effort  to- 
benefit  his  country,  rendered  essential  aid,  and  furthered  the  completion  of  that  particular 
step  in  which  he  took  part.  Personally  I  have  always  had  a  feeling  of  the  greatest  respect 
for  every  individual  who  has  ever  made  an  effort  to  serve  Ireland  with  the  courage  of 
his  convictions,  and  I  have  maintained  the  sentiment,  without  regard  to  his  special 
political  views. 

This  was  certainly  a  true  representation  of  the  situation,  for  the  gain 
throughout  the  last  century  was  a  steady  one. 

The  final  movement  of  the  Irish  people,  or  rather  of  "the  privileged 
classes",  to  improve  their  own  condition  alone,  had  its  beginning  in  1782-83, 
just  at  the  termination  of  the  Revolutionary  War  in  this  country,  and  naturally 
failed;  but  from  that  time  to  the  present  there  has  existed  no  inertia  among 
the  Irish  people  at  large,  nor  has  the  standard  ever  lacked  a  bearer. 

The  action  of  the  "Grattan  parliament",  composed  entirely  of  Protestants; 
the  efforts  of  the  Presbyterians  of  the  North  for  religious  freedom  and  Catholic 
Emancipation;  the  Rebellion  of  1798;  the  outbreak  of  1803;  Catholic  Emanci- 
pation; Daniel  O'Connell's  efforts  for  repeal  of  the  fraudulent  "Union";  the 
Young  Ireland  movement  in  1848 ;  the  efforts  of  the  Fenians ;  the  Disestablish- 
ment of  the  so-called  Irish  Church  "as  by  law  established";  the  first  Land 
Act,  and  all  subsequent  ones;  the  Land  League  and  the  breaking-up  of  the 
landlord  system ;  the  beginning  of  the  redistribution  of  the  land  among  the 
people  by  purchase,  with  a  number  of  measures  equally  important  in  their 
way, — these  were  all  part  of  the  one  general  movement  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Irish  people. 

The  above  stated  record  was  the  result  entirely  of  Irish  agitation,  and  not 
one  single  point  was  gained  from  the  English  Government  through  any  other 
incentive  than  political  necessity,  backed  by  the  demands  of  a  sufficiently 
united  people. 

With  each  concession  thus  gained  and  fitted  in  its  place,  as  a  properly 
chiselled  and  squared  stone  in  a  well  constructed  wall,  the  whole  now  forms  a 
solid  foundation  for  what  is  to  come  hereafter  and  to  be  based  upon  it. 

The  first  step  towards  bringing  about  what  has  been  accomplished,  was 
made  by  Protestants  in  the  Irish  Parliament  to  correct  the  abuses  there  exist- 
ing, which  had  rendered  that  body  probably  the  most  corrupt  in  Christendom. 
With  no  less  zeal  was  the  attempt  made  through  Protestant  effort  in  the  Irish 
Parliament  to  bring  about  Catholic  Emancipation,  against  the  opposition  of 
the  Government,  the  King,  the  English  people,  and  especially  Irish  aristocracy. 

When  the  demand  was  made  for  Home  Rule  by  the  Irish  Parliament  in  the 
name  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  the  English  Government,  through  fear  of  the 
consequences  in  case  of  a  refusal,  promptly  repealed  what  was  a  usurpation  on 
the  part  of  the  British  parliament,  namely,  the  "Act  of  George  the  First" — 


XXXV111 


Historical  Preface 


with  the  official  acknowledgement,  signed  by  the  King  of  England  and  attested 
by  England's  great  seal  of  state,  as  to  Ireland's  independence  of  England,  as 
a  distinct  kingdom,  which  had  never  had  its  special  rights  impaired  by  the 
dual  system.  George  the  Third  was  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  King  of  Ire- 
land, as  sovereign  of  two  separate  countries. 

As  Great  Britain  was  unable  to  afford  any  protection  to  Ireland  against  an 
expected  attack  from  the  French,  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland  organized  its  own 
army  under  the  command  of  Irish  officers  through  the  "Volunteer  Movement", 
and  legislative  measures  were  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  the  abuses 
which  had  been  brought  about  through  misgovernment  and  the  influence  of  the 
English  Government.  During  a  period  of  fully  six  hundred  years,  and  until 
a  very  recent  period,  the  course  of  England  towards  Ireland  was  not  upright, 
just,  nor  even  honest,  but  that  of  a  cowardly  bully;  during  that  period  she 
carefully  bided  her  time  to  persecute  and  to  punish  Ireland,  a  country  she  could 
not  conquer,  and  dared  not  attack  except  when  Ireland  was  disabled  through 
dissensions  of  England's  creation. 

While  England  was  engaged  in  strife  with  France  she  acquiesced  in  their 
demand,  and  granted  what  the  Irish  people  asked  in  justice,  doing  so  with  the 
most  attractive  promises  and  good  wishes  for  the  future. 

Henry  Flood,  held  by  many  to  have  been  the  ablest  man  Ireland  ever  pro- 
duced, was  at  this  period  active  in  public  affairs  of  the  country.  In  one  of  his 
speeches  in  the  Irish  parliament  and  in  relation  to  the  reputation  of  the  English 
Government,  he  said: — "When  have  you  negotiated  that  you  have  not  been 
deceived?   When  have  you  demanded,  that  you  have  not  succeeded?" 

A  most  remarkable  body  of  men,  both  as  to  numbers  and  talent,  now  became 
prominent  in  Ireland,  and  in  Dublin  particularly,  to  direct  her  public  affairs. 
But  by  law  they  were  all  of  the  privileged  class  and  advocates  of  "Protestant 
Ascendancy".  They  advocated  the  unrestricted  right  of  worship  for  the  Cath- 
olics, and  many  other  political  changes,  where  they  themselves  would  be 
chiefly  benefitted.  Catholic  Emancipation  was  a  measure  of  policy;  as 
Protestants  of  the  Church  of  England,  their  motive  was  political  gain ;  but  as 
Protestants  they  were  blind  as  to  any  necessity  for  changing  the  political  con- 
dition of  those  not  of  their  faith.  They  were  Irishmen  by  birth,  but  English- 
men in  all  their  sympathies,  with  no  thought  for  the  political  right  of  the 
Catholics,  who  were  in  the  proportion  of  about  six  out  of  eight  of  the  total 
population.  During  fully  two  hundred  years  these  people  suffered  from  a 
religious  persecution  to  an  extent  never  equalled  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
They  had  not  a  legal  right  in  the  land  of  their  birth,  even  so  much  as  was 
concomitant  with  the  existence  by  law  of  a  dumb  beast. 

The  bounds  of  the  civilized  world  resounded  in  echo,  responsive  to  the 
eloquence  of  Grattan  and  his  associates,  but  no  claim  in  justice  was  made  for 
the  Catholics  beyond  their  nominal  religious  emancipation,  simply  to  permit 
the  public  exercise  of  their  religion,  which,  as  was  well  known,  was  fully 
practised  in  private,  and  which  during  two  centuries  the  Government  had  been 
unable  to  suppress. 


Historical  Preface 


xxxix 


Universal  suffrage  was  unthought  of,  except  by  a  limited  number  who 
sturdily  advocated  the  right  of  full  citizenship  of  the  Jew,  Catholic  and 
Protestant  Dissenter.  ''Protestant  Ascendancy",  from  a  political  standpoint, 
advocated  only  a  limited  suffrage  with  a  local  vote  for  the  serf,  to  be  controlled 
by  the  thus  increased  power  of  the  Protestant  landlord. 

Yet,  Ireland  began  to  prosper  from  the  brilliant  prospect  set  forth  for  her 
future.  Henry  Grattan  led  the  Parliament,  as  well  as  all  those  holding  the 
power  and  wealth  of  the  country,  so  that  there  was  no  opposition  to  the  attain- 
ment of  every  reform  needed  for  the  full  regeneration  of  the  country.  Yet,  he 
and  his  party  accomplished  nothing  throughout  the  greater  part  of  a  genera- 
tion. Grattan  spent  his  life  in  the  utterances  of  promises  and  platitudes, 
eloquently  put  forth  with  the  most  irridescent  coloring,  but  based  on  as  little 
substance  as  an  ignis  fatuus.  The  vacillations  of  his  followers  as  to  purpose, 
their  want  of  union,  and,  above  all,  cowardly  neglect  of  opportunity  for  bene- 
fitting their  country,  gave  both  time  and  indication  to  Pitt  as  to  when  to  bring 
about  the  Union;  a  consummation  hoped  for  by  the  English  from  the  days  of 
Elizabeth. 

Grattan  and  the  "Opposition"  leaders  acting  with  him,  through  their  policy 
of  considering  Ireland's  needs  of  secondary  importance  in  comparison  with 
England's  interests,  were  thus  responsible  for  the  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  over 
one  hundred  thousand  Irish  men,  women  and  children,  by  legal  murder,  mas- 
sacre and  strife,  to  accomplish  Pitt's  purpose  of  the  Union.  A  political  and 
illegal  result  which,  so  long  as  it  exists  will  be  a  bar  to  any  real  union  between 
England  and  Ireland,  and  which  can  only  be  maintained  by  force.  Moreover, 
until  repealed  it  must  defeat  legally  every  effort  for  the  gain  of  true  Home 
Rule,  as  two  entirely  distinct  provisions  for  the  government  of  Ireland  cannot 
exist  legally  at  the  same  time.  Will  not  a  neglect  to  repeal  the  "Act  of  the 
Union"  furnish  England  with  the  legal  power  at  any  time  to  wipe  out  all  that 
Ireland  may  gain  from  opportunity  for  Home  Rule,  whenever  it  may  be  to 
England's  interest  to  do  so  ? 

The  course  of  Grattan  and  his  friends  of  English  sympathies  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen.  Lecky,  who  has  written  the 
"History  of  Ireland  in  the  Eighteenth  Century",  the  only  exhaustive  work  on 
the  subject,  was  necessarily  familiar  with  all  the  historical  details  connected 
with  the  Rebellion  of  1798.   He  has  stated  (Vol.  Ill,  p.  174)  :— 

The  name  of  Grattan  was  still  so  great,  his  eloquence  was  so  transcendent,  his 
character  was  so  transparently  pure,  that  few  open  murmurs  were  heard  against  him, 
but  from  the  "Opposition"  as  a  body,  the  United  Irishmen  were  wholly  separated. 
Wolfe  Tone  wrote  that  he  had  long  entertained  a  more  sincere  contempt  for  what  is 
called  The  Opposition  than  for  the  common  prostitutes  of  the  Treasury  Bench,  who 
wanted  at  least  the  vein  of  hypocrisy. 

And  Lecky  continues : — 

Emmet,  who  was  perhaps  the  ablest  member  of  the  party,  declared  that  "the  United 
Irishmen  and  their  adherents  thought  the  Opposition  had  forfeited  all  pretence  to  public 


xl 


Historical  Preface 


confidence  by  consenting  to  the  measures  for  the  repression  of  disaffection, — at  least 
before  any  advance  had  been  made  to  correct  the  acknowledged  radical  vice  among  the 
representation  in  Parliament." 

Emmet  and  Tone  were  very  close  friends.  Tone  and  Samuel  Neilson 
organized  in  Ulster  what  was  to  be  the  first  branch  of  the  Society  of  United 
Irishmen.  Emmet,  however,  for  special  reasons,  did  not  become  a  sworn 
member  of  the  organization  for  several  years  after.  It  is  not  now  known 
with  which  of  these  three  men  the  general  plan  originated,  but  the  credit  is 
generally  given  to  Tone,  while  Emmet,  throughout  his  connection  with  the 
Society,  was  essentially  the  organizer,  in  which  work  he  had  the  efficient  aid 
of  others.  Tone  and  Neilson  often  sought  his  advice  and  were  guided  by 
their  friend's  opinion,  but  there  is  no  instance  on  record  in  which  either  Tone 
or  Neilson  directed  Emmet's  course. 

In  some  respects  Tone  had  the  advantage  of  Emmet,  as  his  manner  was 
such  that  he  attracted  attention  as  soon  as  he  began  to  speak,  but  all  were 
finally  convinced  who  listened  to  Mr.  Emmet's  argument,  and  with  this  power 
he  was  unequalled  as  an  organizer.  He  commanded  from  the  beginning  the 
profound  respect  and  confidence  of  the  Catholics,  and  of  all  others  who 
knew  him.  He  had  more  sincere  friends  in  all  ranks  of  life  who  were  devoted 
to  him  personally,  than  any  other  Irish  leader,  with  the  exception  of  Lord 
Edward  Fitzgerald,  while  many  had  but  little  confidence  in  the  latter's  judg- 
ment as  a  leader. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  withal,  was  regarded  as  the  head  of  the  Society 
of  United  Irishmen,  and  especially  by  those  who  wished  Ireland's  wrongs 
redressed  without  resorting  to  arms ;  with  so  much  accomplished  they  believed 
that  separation  from  England  would  for  a  time  be  unnecessary,  but  he  never 
lost  sight  of  absolute  separation  as  a  final  essential.  In  these  views  he  was 
supported  by  Samuel  Neilson,  Thomas  Russell,  Dr.  James  Macneven,  John 
Sweetman,  and  every  other  leader  of  importance  in  Irish  affairs,  with  the 
exception  of  Arthur  O'Connor,  who  had  no  confidence  in  any  one  but  himself. 

While  Tone  and  Fitzgerald  agreed  with  O'Connor  as  to  the  necessity  for 
a  military  organization  of  the  Society,  with  the  ulterior  object  of  a  separation 
of  Ireland  from  England,  the  friendship  of  these  men  for  Emmet  never  weak- 
ened. They  continued  to  act  under  his  advice,  until  finally  Mr.  Emmet  became 
convinced  that  nothing  could  be  obtained  for  the  relief  of  Ireland  without  a 
separation  from  England.  This  change  in  the  character  of  the  organization 
was  known  at  once  to  England,  as  she  was  fully  informed  by  her  spies  in  the 
society,  and  the  arrest  of  the  leaders  who,  acting  under  Mr.  Emmet's  in- 
fluence, were  delaying  the  outbreak,  at  once  forced  the  country  into  open 
rebellion.  , 

This  work  has  been  the  result  of  over  fifty  years  devoted  to  study  and 
collecting  material.  It  was  at  length  written  to  show  that  full  justice  had 
never  been  rendered  to  Mr.  Emmet,  owing  to  the  want  of  adequate  knowledge 
as  to  his  services  in  the  Irish  cause,  and  which  England  had  done  everything 


Historical  Preface 


xli 


to  underrate.  From  these  circumstances  it  was  natural  that  the  reputation  of 
the  elder  brother  should  have  been  overshadowed  by  the  romance  attached  to 
the  memory  of  Robert  Emmet. 

At  the  request  of  the  early  leaders  in  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen,  Mr. 
Emmet  was  for  nearly  two  years  engaged  in  forming  new  branches  of  the 
Society  throughout  the  country,  while  he  was  on  circuit  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  So  quietly  did  he  carry  on  this  work  that  his  friends  were  un- 
aware that  he  took  the  slightest  interest  in  politics.  That  his  work  should  not 
be  suspected  he  apparently  took  no  part  in  the  trials  of  those  under  arrest, 
yet  his  private  advice  aided  those  who  had  charge  of  the  defence.  During  all 
this  time  he  was  fully  trusted,  notwithstanding  its  being  known  among  the 
leaders  that  he  had  never  taken  the  oath  of  association.  At  length  he  joined  the 
organization  regularly,  and  shortly  after  he  became  a  member  he  was  elected 
to  the  Directory  with  Mr.  O'Connor,  Dr.  Macneven  and  two  others  who  never 
served.  Arthur  O'Connor  was  a  man  of  the  greatest  ability  and  he  had  ren- 
dered most  important  service  to  the  Irish  cause  before  he  and  Mr.  Emmet 
met  for  the  first  time  in  Dublin,  when  they  became  members  of  the  Society 
of  United  Irishmen. 

On  being  placed  in  a  position  of  responsibility  as  a  Director  O'Connor 
proved  himself  unfit  to  direct.  Actuated  by  jealousy  he  at  once  refused  to 
advocate  any  plan  which  did  not  originate  with  himself,  and  his  only  purpose 
while  in  office  seemed  to  be  to  lead  by  intrigue,  or  to  destroy  the  work  of 
others.  When  he  found  that  he  could  not  weaken  the  influence  of  Mr.  Emmet, 
who  was  supported  by  the  full  co-operation  of  his  other  colleagues,  he  made 
every  effort  among  the  members  until  his  arrest,  to  have  Mr.  Emmet  removed 
from  the  position  of  supreme  executive. 

It  can  be  claimed  that  by  means  of  this  work  an  exhaustive  effort  has  been 
made  for  the  first  time  to  bring  together  all  the  material  known  to  exist  in 
connection  with  the  lives  of  Thomas  Addis  and  Robert  Emmet,  and  no  other 
writer  except  Dr.  Madden,  has  succeeded  by  an  individual  effort  in  offering 
so  great  an  amount  of  original  material  as  will  be  found  within  these  pages. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  circumstance  that  few  but  the  close  students  of  Irish 
history  have  ever  read  in  full  or  had  access  to  all  the  documents  in  connection 
with  the  political  course  of  these  men.  On  account  of  the  length  of  the  official 
papers  and  the  penurious  spirit  of  the  publishers,  only  a  portion  or  a  synopsis 
of  the  papers  has  ever  been  printed  except  in  official  form  and  these  have  not 
always  been  accessible.  For  the  first  time,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  informed,  the 
trial  of  Robert  Emmet  is  herein  given  with  the  full  text  of  the  testimony  of 
each  witness,  as  to  questions  and  answers,  with  every  document  in  its  full 
integrity,  and  incorporated  in  its  proper  place  with  the  text,  or  else  the  por- 
tion there  omitted  is  to  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  The  only  other  place 
where  the  evidence,  in  connection  with  the  trial  of  Robert  Emmet  is  printed 
in  full  is  Ridgway's  official  report,  where  it  appears  in  the  same  volume  with 
other  trials ;  yet  even  here  in  three  instances,  where  the  witness  has  given 
the  same  testimony  in  another  trial,  the  reader  of  Emmet's  trial  is  referred 


xlii 


Historical  Preface 


back  to  the  first  presentation.  The  trial  of  Robert  Emmet  as  given  in  this 
volume  is  therefore  the  only  published  instance  where  every  feature  can  be 
found  in  consecutive  order. 

Almost  every  circumstance  in  the  life  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  as  first 
given  to  the  public,  was  based  on  the  sketch  written  by  Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr., 
and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Dr.  Madden,  who  embodied  the  whole  in  his 
"Lives  of  the  United  Irishmen".  The  information  then  possessed  by  the 
son,  however,  was  comparatively  limited,  and  in  the  absence  of  other  material 
it  often  misled.  Through  the  effort  of  the  writer  much  has  been  gained  from 
the  collection  of  Mr.  Emmet's  scattered  correspondence,  and  through  study 
of  the  official  records.  Unfortunately  Mr.  Emmet  seldom  made  in  these 
private  letters  any  reference  to  the  historical  portion  of  his  life,  but  he  partly 
supplied  this  want  by  his  own  writings,  the  existence  of  which  was  largely 
unknown  to  his  family  or  the  public.  His  letters  and  essays  on  the  political 
situation  of  the  country,  which  were  printed  chiefly  in  "The  Press",  a  Dublin 
newspaper  and  the  official  organ  of  the  United  Irishmen,  are  most  valuable, 
and  for  the  first  time  these  papers  have  been  published  collectively  in  con- 
nection with  his  life. 

Previous  to  the  printing  of  "The  Press",  "The  Northern  Star"  was  issued 
in  Belfast  by  Neilson  and  Tone  until  destroyed  by  the  British  troops,  but  it  is 
not  known  that  Mr.  Emmet  made  any  literary  contribution  to  its  columns. 

Arthur  O'Connor,  as  part  owner  and  for  some  time  editor,  issued  "The 
Press"  with  great  ability,  and  to  the  annoyance  of  the  Government,  which 
did  not  dare  suppress  it  until  Grattan  and  his  friends  furnished  the  oppor- 
tunity by  showing  that  they  would  offer  no  resistance.  During  the  issue  of 
"The  Press"  there  appeared  a  number  of  letters  from  Mr.  Emmet's  pen, 
written  annonymously  and  signed  "Montanus''.  These  letters  were  outspoken 
on  the  condition  of  the  country  and  attracted  the  greatest  interest.  Numbers 
of  "The  Press"  are  now  seldom  to  be  found,  as  they  were  destroyed  by  the 
Government  and  consequently  even  their  existence  was  known  to  but  few. 
A  still  smaller  number  were  aware  that  Mr.  Emmet  was  the  author  .of  these 
letters  signed  "Montanus",  or  of  the  extent  of  his  services  in  the  management 
of  this  paper,  of  which  he  frequently  acted  as  editor,  or  of  his  influence  at 
the  same  time  in  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen.  All  of  these  letters  have 
been  copied  for  this  work,  and  reprinted  directly  from  a  file  of  "The  Press" 
itself,  with  a  copy  also  of  Emmet's  last  and  scarcest  letter,  which  was  to 
have  been  issued  and  was  in  type  when  the  paper  was  seized  by  the  Govern- 
ment. Fortunately,  "Extracts  from  The  Press",  in  book  form  for  refer- 
ence, with  all  these  letters  and  other  articles  of  interest,  both  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  were  reprinted  just  after  the  rebellion,  but  without  giving  the 
names  of  the  authors;  nevertheless  these  volumes  are  now  almost  as  difficult 
•to  obtain  as  a  perfect  file  of  the  original  newspaper. 

While  imprisoned  in  Kilmainham,  Dublin,  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  some  con- 
tributions to  Irish  history  which  fortunately  were  preserved  by  the  family, 
who,  however,  were  unaware  of  their  value,  and  these  are  now  given  all 


Historical  Preface 


xliii 


together  for  the  first  time.  A  portion  of  contributions  was  printed  in  New 
York  by  his  friend  Dr.  Macneven  as  "Pieces  of  Irish  History".  These  essays 
have  also  been  reproduced  in  this  work. 

The  general  impression  held  by  the  public  was  that  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  but 
little,  whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  other  Irish  leader  placed  on  record 
so  much  with  which  he  was  personally  associated.  In  proof  of  this  the  reader 
will  find  at  the  head  and  end  of  many  chapters  a  quotation,  generally  on  some 
economic  subject,  taken  from  his  political  writings  and  given  as  an 
aphorism. 

The  extent  of  religious  prejudice  and  race  hatred  among  the  Irish  people 
previous  to  the  existence  of  the  United  Irishmen,  cannot  now  be  realized. 
All  of  this  had  to  be  removed  by  personal  influence,  a  condition  not  existing 
in  our  day.  A  larger  proportion  of  the  people  were  reconciled  and  enrolled 
by  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  through  his  personal  influence  than  through  all 
other  means.  In  the  beginning  the  difficulty  was  greatest  with  the  Protestants 
in  consequence  of  the  special  privileges  enjoyed  exclusively  by  them.  Their 
ignorant  prejudice  was  fostered  by  falsehood  issued  through  the  influence  of 
the  English  Government  with  the  object  of  maintaining  its  own  influence  and 
strength  in  the  country.  As  an  inheritance  from  his  father  and  mother,  Mr. 
Emmet  from  early  manhood  labored  to  effect  the  emancipation  of  Catholics, 
and  was  fully  trusted  by  all  of  that  faith.  At  one  time  while  he  was  at  the 
head  of  the  United  Irishmen,  over  one  hundred  thousand  men  were  enrolled 
and  in  active  service,  Catholics  and  Protestants  being  associated  in  the  closest 
bond  of  membership.  Some  one  warned  Mr.  Emmet  of  his  danger  and  of  the 
certainty  that  information  would  be  conveyed  to  the  English  Government 
concerning  his  connection  with  the  organization. 

Mr.  Emmet's  reply  was :  "I  am  fully  in  the  power  of  over  twenty  thousand 
men,  and  am  well  known  to  a  greater  number,  yet  I  do  not  believe  one  will 
inform  on  me".  Such  proved  to  be  the  case,  as  the  Government  was  never 
able  to  obtain  any  legal  evidence  on  which  he  could  be  brought  to  trial.  Yet 
at  that  time  the  organization  was  permeated  by  the  spy  and  informer  in  the 
English  interest,  men  who  joined  at  the  beginning  and  were  not  suspected, 
and  they  held  responsible  positions  throughout.  Fortunately  for  Mr.  Emmet 
these  informers  were  chiefly  from  the  higher  walks  of  life,  persons  with  whom 
he  had  but  little  intercourse,  his  work  having  been  among  the  masses  of  both 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  with  whom  his  influence  was  great. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Emmet,  Tone  began  his  wonderful  work  for 
Catholic  Emancipation  and  to  bring  about  the  needed  reconciliation  with  the 
Protestants,  but  unfortunately  Tone  was  often  absent  on  other  service.  After 
Tone's  death  Mr.  Emmet  had  to  take  up  this  work  and,  whenever  he  was 
engaged  with  tasks  temporarily  of  more  importance,  direct  others  in  its  execu- 
tion. What  Mr.  Emmet  taught  in  the  letters  of  "Montanus"  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  the  present  day,  and  has  exercised  its  influence  from  time  to  time, 
long  after  the  source  was  forgotten.  Among  Mr.  Emmet's  teachings  can  be 
found  almost  every  expedient  utilized  from  the  time  his  service  ceased  down 


xliv 


Historical  Preface 


to  the  present,  and  which  rendered  possible  Catholic  Emancipation  and  Home 
Rule  for  Ireland. 

In  comparison  with  what  has  been  collected  in  relation  to  the  life  work 
of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  that  gained  for  the  better  elucidation  of  Robert 
Emmet's  plans  and  work,  is  equally  important. 

A  study  of  this  work  will  show  that  Robert  Emmet's  plans  of  action  were 
far-reaching  and  well  digested,  so  far  as  the  execution  rested  with  him. 
Unfortunately  he  had  not  James  Hope  with  him  at  the  end  when,  of  all  men 
associated  with  him,  this  man's  personality  would  have  been  invaluable. 
Emmet's  efforts  failed  because  he  was  unsupported  by  many  leaders  at  a  time 
when  he  most  needed  assistance,  and  although  he  was  unaware  of  it  at  the 
time,  it  is  probable  that  not  a  single  order  was  carried  out,  or  reached  the 
person  for  whom  it  was  intended.  When  we  consider  Robert  Emmet's  project 
and  the  close  attachment  which  existed  between  him  and  his  elder  brother  it 
is  inconceivable  that  his  plans  and  purpose  were  not  influenced  by  the  judg- 
ment of  that  brother. 

In  truth,  the  influence  of  the  service  rendered  by  these  two  men  to  forward 
Ireland's  regeneration,  will  remain  as  one  and  indelible.  When  Robert 
Emmet's  epitaph  can  be  written,  for  the  same  reason  that  of  his  elder  brother 
will  be  needed,  as  their  purposes  were  inseparable. 

The  investigation  for  collecting  the  material  bearing  upon  the  life  of 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  shows  two  instances  apparently  reflecting  upon  either 
his  honesty  of  purpose  or  his  ability, — his  course  with  Arthur  O'Connor  and 
that  with  Rufus  King.  The  following  was  Mr.  Lecky's  opinion  as  quoted 
from  his  "Ireland  in  the  Eighteenth  Century"  (Vol.  IV,  p.  253),  and  there 
need  be  advanced  no  additional  authority,  as  no  one  could  be  found  who  had 
less  sympathy  for  Mr.  Emmet's  work.   He  states: 

Emmet  and  Arthur  O'Connor  were  perhaps  abler,  they  were  certainly  more  con- 
spicuous men  than  their  colleagues,  and  the  first  is  one  of  the  few  really  interesting 
figures  connected  with  the  rebellion.  He  was  a  respectable  lawyer,  an  excellent  writer, 
a  very  honest  and  disinterested  man,  and  he  had  certainly  not  embarked  in  treason 
either  through  motives  of  selfish  ambition,  or  through  any  mere  love  of  adventure  and 
excitement.  He  became  a  United  Irishman  in  order  to  obtain  a  radical  parliamentary 
reform  and  Catholic  Emancipation ;  he  found  that  these  things  were  never  likely  to  be 
attained  except  by  force,  and  he  at  last  succeeded  in  persuading  himself  that  if  Ireland 
were  only  detached  from  England  she  would  soar  to  an  unprecedented  height  of  pros- 
perity. 

Nature  had  intended  him  much  more  for  the  life  of  a  man  of  letters  than  for  the 
scenes  in  which  he  is  often  found  in  the  earlier  stages  of  a  rebellion,  but  is  usually 
discouraged  or  eclipsed  in  blood,  long  before  the  struggle  has  run  its  course.  His 
writings  and  his  examination  before  the  Privy  Council  are  singularly  interesting  and 
instructive,  as  showing  the  process  by  which  a  humane,  honourable,  and  scrupulous  man 
could  become  the  supporter  of  a  movement  which  was  the  parent  of  so  many  crimes. 
Grattan  knew  Emmet  slightly  and  admitted  his  integrity,  but  he  had  a  profound  contempt 
for  his  political  understanding.  He  described  him,  somewhat  unceremoniously,  as  a 
quack  in  politics  who  despised  experience,  set  up  his  own  crude  notions  as  settled  rules, 
and  looked  upon  elections  and  representations  as  if  they  were  operations  of  nature, 
rather  than  the  work  of  art.    Anyone,  Grattan  maintained,  who  could  bring  himself  to 


Historical  Preface 


xlv 


"believe  that  a  country  like  Ireland,  in  which  the  people  were  so  destitute  that  one-third 
of  them  were  exempted  from  the  payment  of  hearth  money  on  account  of  their  poverty, 
could  be  safely  or  tolerably  governed,  must  be  politically  mad,  and  have  forfeited  all 
right  to  be  considered  in  Irish  politics.  Emmet  afterwards  rose  to  considerable  dis- 
tinction in  America  and  became  Attorney-General  of  New  York.  Grattan,  perhaps 
unjustly,  thought  his  success  was  much  beyond  his  talents,  and  such  as  he  would  never 
have  attained  if  he  had  remained  at  home. 

This  is  perfectly  true,  as  the  Government  would  have  made  every  effort, 
as  in  the  case  of  Robert  Holmes,  to  retard  his  advancement.  The  public  will 
learn  for  the  first  time  that  Pitt,  to  bridle  Mr.  Emmet's  political  influence, 
offered  him  the  position  of  Solicitor  General  of  Ireland  before  he  had  reached 
his  twenty-ninth  birthday.  This  bribe  Mr.  Emmet  promptly  declined,  and 
thereby  incurred  the  implacable  enmity  of  Pitt  and  Castlereagh,  and  suffered 
from  the  consequences  to  an  extent  never  known  to  the  public. 

In  a  footnote  Lecky  writes : 

See  a  curious  conversation  of  Grattan  in  his  Life  (IV.,  360,  361).  Grattan  acutely 
added : — "England  should  take  care.  She  transports  a  great  deal  of  hostile  spirit  to 
that  quarter." 

Judge  Story  (of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court),  however,  than  whom 
there  can  be  no  higher  authority,  said  that  Emmet  was  "by  universal  consent 
in  the  first  rank  of  American  advocates,"  and  he  speaks  with  much  respect, 
both  of  his  character  and  his  talents.  See  his  sketch  of  Emmet  in  his  own 
published  Life  by  his  son,  and  in  Field's  "Irish  Confederates"  (New  York, 
1851,  pp.  335-339). 

Lecky  continues : 

Arthur  O'Connor  was  a  different  type.  .  .  .  He  now  believed  the  organization 
[when  he  became  a  member  of  the  Directory  with  Emmet  and  Macneven]  to  have  be- 
come sufficiently  powerful  for  independent  action,  and  in  conjunction  with  Fitzgerald, 
he  strongly  advocated  it.  The  dispute  ran  very  high  and  it  made  O'Connor  a  bitter 
enemy  of  Emmet,  whom  he  accused  very  unjustly  of  cowardice. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  offer  any  defence  for  Mr.  Emmet.  Time  has  ren- 
dered a  verdict  on  which  his  reputation  firmly  rests,  and  it  will  not  suffer  from 
any  comparison  with  that  now  held  by  Mr.  O'Connor. 

The  first  judgment  likely  to  be  passed  by  the  superficial  reader  will  be  to 
the  effect  that  this  work  is  to  a  great  extent  a  compilation.  This  is  not  cor- 
rect, as  the  student  will  find.  Few  books  of  its  character  can  ever  be  written 
without  being  necessarily  based  on  the  evidence  of  others,  and  at  the  same 
time  it  will  be  found  that  few  works  have  been  issued  of  a  biographical  nature 
and  not  contemporary,  which  contain  more  original  material. 

The  mason  in  constructing  his  building  selects  each  brick  needed,  and 
when  completed,  the  result  certainly  cannot  be  claimed  for  a  single  one  of  the 
different  brick-makers,  nor  for  all  of  them.  The  structure  is  all  original,  due 
to  the  judgment  and  knowledge  of  the  mason,  who  was  able  to  establish  the 
value  of  each  part  of  all  the  material  he  needed.  The  judgment  exercised  by 
the  writer  or  the  mason,  is  based  on  the  knowledge  obtained  from  study  of 
details. 


xlvi 


Historical  Preface 


Much  of  his  knowledge  the  writer  acquired  directly  from  his  grand- 
mother. This  was  supplemented  by  many  explanations  which  came  almost  di- 
rectly from  Dr.  Macneven  himself,  and  he  gained  a  knowledge  of  family 
tradition  from  those  who  were  cotemporaries  with  the  events  here  related,  and 
who,  from  childhood,  would  often  recollect  many  trivial  details  of  more  value 
in  forming  a  consistent  narrative  than  the  possession  of  a  few  isolated  facts. 
He  also  was  fortunate  in  gaining  access  to  material  which  had  been  forgotten, 
or  was  not  known  to  exist  before  the  writer  began  his  investigation.  He  may 
therefore  justly  claim  to  have  written,  as  well  as  compiled,  an  original  work. 

At  some  future  time  another  may  recast  this  material  into  a  more 
attractive  form,  but  certainly  the  claim  is  valid  that  for  the  first  time  the 
political  life  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  of  his  brother  Robert,  has  been 
written  in  more  than  outline.  The  fact  must  now  be  accepted  that 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  more  than  any  other  leader  in  the  early  part  of 
the  movement  of  1798,  left  an  indelible  and  individual  impression  on 
Irish  affairs,  which  is  followed  to  the  present  time,  although  the  source  has 
been  forgotten.  Robert  Emmet,  although  he  failed  from  adverse  circum- 
stances, was  the  originator  of  everything  in  the  Fenian  movement  which  made 
it  most  formidable,  and  he  established  the  necessity  for  securing  Dublin  as  the 
first  step  in  every  revolutionary  movement,  although  the  idea  was  not  strictly 
original  with  him. 

The  purchaser  of  this  work  is  to  be  congratulated,  as  it  is  the  first  work 
of  the  kind  ever  published  where  his  interest  has  been  consulted  to  a  like 
extent.  Apart  from  their  priceless  value  and  number  the  illustrations  are 
unique  from  an  historical  standpoint.  They  certainly  represent  all  that  the 
skill  and  good  taste  of  Miss  Anna  Frances  Levins,  the  artist,  could  accomplish. 
There  are,  moreover,  many  other  special  features  of  great  interest:  the 
prophecy  of  C.  Temple  Emmet,  to  be  found  after  the  list  of  aphorisms  in  the 
first  volume ;  the  reproduction  from  the  only  known  copy  of  a  work  by  St.  John 
Mason,  bearing  on  the  treatment  of  English  political  prisoners;  most  im- 
portant of  all  is  the  unique  portrait  of  Robert  Emmet,  which  is  likely  to  be 
accepted  in  the  future  as  the  only  perfectly  reliable  portrait,  inasmuch  as  every 
opportunity  for  securing  a  good  likeness  was  enjoyed  by  the  artist.  A  price- 
less memento  of  the  poet,  Shelley,  is  found  in  the  heretofore  unpublished  por- 
tion of  his  poem  to  the  grave  of  Robert  Emmet.  This  was  obtained  through 
the  efforts  of  Frank  J.  Sullivan,  Esq.,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.  But  two  verses 
of  the  poem  were  ever  allowed  to  be  published,  so  that  in  the  pages  of  this 
work  this  poem  reaches  the  public  for  the  first  time  as  it  was  written  and  in 
its  entirety. 

There  ivere  fe<w  voices  more  influential  in  the  national  councils  than  that  of  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet.  Humane,  disinterested,  <warm-hearted,  zealous,  he  glided  through 
the  meetings  of  the  Irish  Unions  remonstrating.  <with  some,  suggesting  to  others,  and 
advising  all. 

William  J.  Fitzpatrick* 


England  and  Ireland  can  never  prosper  together.  It  is  as  impossible  to  bring  about  such  a  result, 
in  defiance  of  the  attributes  of  nature,  as  that  the  mixing  of  oil  and  water  should 
ever  blend  into  a  homogeneous  product.  The  experience  of  seven  centuries  has  proved 
this.  The  two  nations  have  nothing  in  common.  They  need  a  different  civilization 
and  a  different  language,  as  every  aspiration  of  life  is  at  variance  between  them. 
Could  England  divest  herself  of  the  greed  for  gain,  she  would  advocate  a  total  sep- 
aration to  the  gain  of  both  countries. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  M.D. 


Armed  resistance  to  tyranny  is  justifiable  and  a  duty  on  every  citizen. 

A.  Bonar  Law, 
"Against  Imposing  Home  Rule  on  Ulster",  Bristol,  1914. 

Ireland  may  some  day  be  justified  by  Ulster's  course  in  fighting  for  her  independence. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  M.D. 


Through  the  grace  of  God  individuals  are  sometimes  regenerated  and  the  change  may  be 
possible  for  nations,  after  the  millennium.  Home  Rule  may  be  granted  and  every 
other  concession,  yet  the  locked  ball  and  chain  of  the  prisoner  will  still  be  there.  The 
experience  of  the  centuries  has  taught  that  England  alone  will  prosper  by  any  union 
with  Ireland,  as  she  can  never  be  satisfied  with  even  the  lion's  share,  but  must  fiave  all 
profit.  I  should  like  to  see  England  and  Ireland  good  friends  for  their  mutual  ad- 
vantage. But  I  have  Ireland's  welfare  too  much  at  heart  to  be  satisfied  with  any 
relation  between  them  short  of  absolute  separation  and  Ireland  an  independent  coun- 
try. An  orange  devoid  of  its  contents  is  of  no  value  but  in  recollection  of  that  derived 
from  it,  and  England  may  find  the  analogy  applicable. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  M.D. 


Marry,  so  there  have  bin  divers  good  plottes  devised  and  wise  councells  cast  already 
about  the  reformation  of  that  realm,  but  they  say  it  is  the  fatall  destiny  of  that  land 
that  no  purposes  whatsoever  which  are  mentioned  for  her  good  'will  prosper  or  take 
effect,  which,  whether  it  proceed  from  the  very  genius  of  the  soyle  or  influence  of  the 
siarrs,  or  that  Almighty  God  hath  not  yet  appointed  the  time  of  her  reformation,  or  that 
hee  reserveth  her  in  this  unquiet  state  still  for  some  secret  scourge  which  shall  by  her 
come  unto  England,  it  is  hard  to  be  knowne  but  yet  much  to  be  feared. 

Edmund  Spenser,  State  of  Ireland,  1596. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

Thomas  A.  Emmet,  from  Madden,  by  Herbert 


Let  them  look  at  their  own  deserted  harbours  and  bays  which  never  viewed  a  sail,  and 
let  them  shed  a  tear  over  their  unhappy  country.  She  had  been  too  long  misruled  by 
cruel  men;  but  by  the  exercise  of  that  morality  'which  forbade  a  crime,  which  shud- 
dered at  it  as  the  pestilential  gale  of  mephitic  cholera,  they  should  be  rescued  from 
the  tyrant  and  despot.   Ireland  ought,  should,  and  shall  be  free. 

O'Connell — Repeal  meeting,  Connemara. 


Historical  Essays  in  connection  with  Ireland 

WRITTEN  BY 

T.  A.  Emmet 


The  nations  are  fallen,  but  thou  art  still  young; 

Thy  sun  is  but  rising,  'whilst  others  have  set; 
And  tho'  slavery's  gloom  o'er  thy  morning  hath  hung, 

The  full  moon  of  freedom  shall  beam  round  thee  yet. 

Davis. 


military  invasion,  or  a  combination  of  hostile  fleets,  united  to  deprive  her  of  com- 
mand of  the  sea,  not  to  enumerate  any  other  events  to  tvhich  the  chances  of  an  hour 
may  give  birth,  would  render  England  helpless,  unless  she  toas  sustained  by  the  hearty 
support  of  Ireland. 

William  Smith  O'Brien,  The  Nation— Nov.  13,  1847. 


The  minister  Pitt  confessed  a  truth,  which  the  complicated  'wretchedness  of  ages  loudly 
proclaimed — that  the  constant  object  of  the  policy  exercised  by  the  English  Govern- 
ment in  regard  to  Ireland  had  been  to  disbar  her  from  the  enjoyment  and  use  of  her 
o<nm  resources,  and  to  make  her  completely  subservient  to  the  interests  and  opulence 
of  Britain. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


OBSERVATIONS 
on  the 

CAUSES  AND  CONSEQUENCES 
of  the 

CONQUEST  OF  IRELAND  BY  BRITAIN 
from 
1171  to  1789 
WRITTEN  IN  KILMAINHAM  GAOL, 
DUBLIN 
By 

THOS.  ADDIS  EMMET 
and 

INTENDED  TO  BE  PRESENTED  IN  MANUSCRIPT 

to 

The  Right  Honorable  Charles  James  Fox. 


Three  things  for  a  man  to  avoid:  the  heels  of  a  horse,  the  horns  of  a  bull  and  the  smile 
of  an  Englishman. 

An  old  Connaught  Proverb. 


We  have  somewhat  else  against  you;  for  compacts  broken  and  frauds  displaced  by  frauds. 

Aubrey  De  Vere. 


It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  either  Grattan  or  Flood  could  have  seriously  thought  that  any 
promise  'would  bind  England,  a  country  'which  even  then  was  notorious  all  over  the 
world  for  broken  faith  and  dishonored  treaties. 

James  Connolly. 


There  is  no  blacker  or  fouler  transaction  in  the  history  of  man  than  the  making  of  the 
union  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

Gladstone. 


There  <u>as  one  man  engaged  in  thai  struggle  toho  possessed  all  the  elements  of  greatness, 
and  <whose  judgment  could  alone  check  the  violence  of  insurrectionary  success,  and 
bring  all  <within  the  limit  of  order, — that  <was  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

"The  Truth  Teller".    August  17,  1842. 


Observations  on  the  Conquest  of  Ireland 


Part  I 


State  of  Ireland  previous  to  introduction  of  English  power — An  object  of  boast 
by  natives,  of  derision  by  malicious  foreigners — One  harmless  in  effect;  the  other 
intended  to  justify  wrong  inflicted  by  oppression — Invasion  under  Henry  II  begins 
the  era  meriting  the  deepest  recollection  as  a  starting  point — Its  record  calamitous 
and  sickening — Education  of  a  people  not  in  change  from  one  form  of  polity  in 
social  customs  and  laws  to  another,  but  in  the  progressive  formation  of  its  moral 
and  political  character  and  in  a  common  principle  called  Country — The  proud  feel- 
ing of  an  independent  national  existence,  the  State  and  its  members  acting  recipro- 
cally on  each  other — Where  this  is  wanting  and  one  country  bound  to  another  its 
character  and  conduct  will  betray  invariably  the  vileness  of  its  conditions — National 
Independence  incompatible  with  provincial  subjection  in  every  sphere — Slavery  in 
every  form  destructive  of  the  virtue,  the  genius  and  the  spirit  of  man. 


HE  state  of  Ireland  at  a  remote  period,  previous  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  English  power,  has  been  a  subject  of 
unmerited  panegyric,  and  of  still  more  unmerited  abuse. 
The  vain  or  indignant  native  boasts  of  ancient  heroes, 
literature,  political  institutions  and  refinements.  The 
ignorant  or  malicious  foreigner  denies  every  pretension 
to  early  fame,  and  draws  the  darkest  picture  of  barbarism 
and  crimes.  The  national  vanity  which  emblazons  doubt- 
ful pretensions  in  the  splendid  coloring  of  fancy,  is  not 
malignant  in  origin,  and  is  harmless  in  its  effect,  but  the  deliberate 
calumny,  which  blackens  the  character  of  the  injured  in  order  to 
justify  the  wrongs  of  the  oppressor,  deserves  a  harsher  epithet  than  falsehood 
and  a  severer  chastisement  than  contempt.  However,  Milesian  antiquity  or 
Milesian  fame,  is,  to  the  present  question,  a  barren  boast  and  a  melancholy 
alleviation  of  the  closing  scene  of  the  eighteenth  century.    Curiosity  may  be 

5 


6 


Ireland  a  Province 


amused  and  vanity  gratified  by  the  real  or  fancied  attainments  of  primitive 
independence;  but  in  those  events  alone,  by  which  his  present  condition  has 
been  determined,  or  may  be  changed,  is  man  seriously  concerned. 

The  invasion  of  Ireland  by  Henry  the  Second  is  the  first  era  in  its 
annals  which  merits  the  deep  recollection  of  the  present  times,  and  it  is  an 
era  which  may  be  remembered  long.  From  this  era  the  progress  of  events  in 
Ireland  may  be  traced  and  connected  as  essentially  affecting  the  character, 
the  fortune  and  the  hopes  of  the  present  and  succeeding  generations.*  But, 
however  important  such  events  may  appear  as  illustrative  of  the  actual  state 
of  things,  or  as  pregnant  with  speculations  on  the  future,  the  detail  will  be 
found,  until  a  very  late  period,  rather  calamitous  than  interesting.  The  reader 
is  sickened  and  fatigued  with  uniform  repetition  of  the  same  policy,  the  same 
crimes  and  the  same  suffering.  The  mind  is  seldom  enlightened  or  elevated 
by  examples  of  genius  or  magnanimity,  either  in  the  conquerors  or  the  con- 
quered. The  imagination  is  not  dazzled  by  the  splendor  of  victory,  and  the 
misfortunes  of  the  vanquished  seem  hardly  to  excite  even  the  pity  of  the 
generous  and  humane. 

That  the  subjugation  of  a  country,  superior  in  almost  every  natural  ad- 
vantage to  the  country  by  which  it  was  subjugated,  should  produce  neither 
glory  in  victory  nor  sympathy  in  defeat,  is  a  singular  historical  phenomenon. 

Uninterested  in  the  detail  of  facts,  the  inquisitive  mind  becomes  interested 
in  accounting  for  the  very  apathy  which  it  feels,  and,  while  the  annals  of 
Ireland  are  perused  with  indifference  or  disgust,  as  a  particular  history  of 
events,  they  become  important  and  engaging  in  the  abstract  investigation  of 
cause  and  effect.  Perhaps,  too,  from  this  view  of  its  history,  while  the 
philosophic  temper  is  gratified  by  observing  the  influence  of  moral  causes 
counteracting  the  physical  destinies  of  nature,  producing  weakness  and 
want  and  ignorance,  emasculating  and  debasing,  where  all  the  outlines  of 
creation  seemed  traced  for  happiness,  the  feeling  mind  may  be  led  to  sym- 
pathize with  the  fortunes  of  a  people,  brave,  generous  and  intelligent,  sub- 
dued and  enslaved  without  even  the  consolation  of  many  a  hard-fought  field. 

Had  the  liberties  of  Greece  perished  with  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae,  Spartan 
glory  would  have  been  the  same.  Had  the  days  of  Marathon,  Salamis  and 
Plataea  been  days  of  defeat,  instead  of  victory  to  Greece,  the  orator  might 
still  have  sworn  by  the  sacred  memory  of  the  dead.  When  a  nation  which 
refuses  to  bend  is  broken  by  the  tempest,  its  fame  is  measured  by  the  storm. 
But  in  the  sad  picture  of  her  destruction,  Ireland  exhibits  not  the  majestic 
ruins  of  a  nation.    Before  Ireland  could  be  a  nation,  she  became  a  province ; 

•Mr.  Emmet  cannot  be  accepted  as  an  authority  on  early  Irish  history,  as  he  had  no  other  source 
but  what  the  English  published.  This  the  Irish  people  themselves  had  accepted  through  ignorance  of 
their  own  history,  as  was  England's  purpose.  The  Germans,  since  Mr.  Emmet's  death,  have  given 
authentic  proof  that  the  English  tribes  were  in  their  breech-cloths  when  Ireland  was  already  a  civilized 
country,  as  early  as  that  of  Rome.  This  has  been  proved  by  the  manuscripts  found  in  the  early  Irish 
monasteries  of  the  continent.  By  this  means,  also,  it  is  known  that  to  Ireland  is  due  all  of  our  present 
knowledge  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  after  the  fall  of  Rome,  and  possibly  the  preservation  of 
Christianity  itself  after  the  inroads  of  Attila,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  for  a  hundred  years 
later  the  Irish  missionaries  converted  the  invaders  and  rechristianized  Europe.  The  Irish  people,  after 
the  invasion  of  Henry  the  Second,  lost  all  knowledge  of  their  early  history,  as  England,  from  the 
beginning,  systematically  destroyed  every  evidence  of  Irish  civilization,  and  it  is  now  taught  as  history 
that  Ireland  was  civilized  by  English  precept  and  example! 


Education  and  Nationalism 


7 


before  Ireland  could  be  a  people,  her  inhabitants  were  made  slaves,  attached 
not  to  their  country,  but  to  their  soil. 

As  individuals  or  as  clans  or  as  septs,  they  have  wandered  for  long  cen- 
turies through  a  dreary  existence,  without  any  central  principle  of  attraction 
and  light  and  warmth.  For  six  long  centuries  Ireland  has  been  schooled  as 
a  province,  and  she  betrays  all  the  vices  of  her  education. 

Civilization  has  frequently  been  diffused  by  conquest,  and  even  imposed 
by  force.  But  such  civilization  can  be  relative  only ;  above  the  barbarism 
which  it  has  succeeded,  far  below  the  standard  of  independent,  voluntary 
improvement.  When  civilization  is  imposed,  it  will  be  fashioned  by  the 
habits,  the  prejudices  and  the  interests  of  conquest  to  form  a  society  of  slaves, 
not  a  community  of  freemen.  Civilization  imposed  in  an  age  of  barbarism 
has  its  use,  it  might  preserve  or  propagate  what  might  be  otherwise  lost  or 
only  partially  known,  but  it  never  can  generate  a  nation.  Man  may  be  com- 
paratively civilized  by  conquest,  may  be  raised  above  the  brute,  but,  in  order 
to  attain  the  true  dignity  of  his  nature,  he  must  shake  off  the  conquest,  he 
must  dare  to  think  as  he  pleases,  and  to  speak  as  he  thinks.  The  education 
of  a  people  must  be  its  own  work,  the  spontaneous  effect  of  its  own  genius, 
roused  by  accident  or  example,  enriched  by  all  that  it  can  invent,  and  all  that 
it  can  borrow,  leading  or  led  by  the  knowledge  around.  But  Ireland  has  not 
received  her  education  from  herself,  she  has  been  educated  by  another  country, 
which  for  a  long  time  had  but  little  to  bestow,  would  not  communicate  even 
that  little,  and  at  length,  studied  to  check  the  growth  which  it  feared.  Ireland, 
to  have  been  well  educated,  ought  to  have  been  left  to  herself,  to  work  her 
way  in  the  world  of  science  and  government  and  trade,  by  her  own  talents, 
her  own  spirit  and  her  own  industry.  But,  instead  of  this,  she  was  rudely 
seized  in  an  age  of  barbarism,  and  thrust  out  of  the  sphere  of  light.  She 
could  neither  create  nor  imitate.  She  could  neither  give  birth  to  a  Solon, 
nor  send  for  her  twelve  tables  to  Greece. 

The  education  of  a  people  is  not  the  changing  of  its  garb,  nor  the  allure- 
ment of  its  chieftains  to  a  Court;  it  is  not  the  substitution  of  English  for 
Brehon  law,  the  gibbet  for  the  epic;  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  Protestant 
charter-schools,  nor  in  Catholic  seminaries,  in  the  university  of  Dublin,  nor  in 
the  college  of  Maynooth.  The  education  of  a  people  is  the  formation  of  its 
moral  and  intellectual  and  political  character,  measured  by  its  advancement 
in  government,  in  laws,  in  manners,  in  science,  in  arts,  in  manufactures,  in 
trade,  in  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  virtue,  and  of  the  comforts, 
the  conveniences  and  the  refinements  of  life.  Nature  is  the  volume,  and 
experience  is  the  school.  The  benefits  of  law  and  policy,  of  manufactures 
and  trade,  of  arts  and  science,  are  the  effect  of  individual  talent,  and  of  united 
labor.  But  genius  and  industry,  the  powers  of  a  few  and  the  labors  of  the 
many,  combining  toward  a  common  end,  can  only  exist  where  there  is  some 
common,  invigorating  principle  of  life  and  motion.  This  common  principle 
is  country,  the  proud  feeling  of  an  independent  national  existence,  by  means 
of  which  every  action  is  reflected  from  the  individual  to  the  State,  and  from 


8 


Industry  and  Freedom 


the  State  to  the  individual,  and  fame  and  emolument  are  enjoyed  in  the  two- 
fold capacity  of  man  and  citizen. 

The  State  and  its  members  act  reciprocally  on  each  other,  the  public  and  the 
private  energies  are  intimately  connected.  A  sense  of  national  glory,  of  high 
national  character,  acquired  and  maintained  by  self-exertion,  a  love  of  the 
common  weal  (the  fertile  source  of  noble  nations  and  ingenuous  sentiments), 
inspire  and  animate  and  dignify  the  individual,  exalt  the  soul  above  selfish 
affections,  develop  the  powers  of  the  understanding,  give  birth  and  vigor  to 
the  sciences  and  arts,  and,  if  they  sometimes  rouse  the  ambitious  and  destruc- 
tive, they  more  uniformly  call  forth  and  exercise  the  generous  and  useful 
passions  of  the  human  breast.  But  where  this  common  invigorating  principle 
is  wanting,  where  a  people  is  reluctantly  bound  to  the  will,  subservient  to  the 
interests,  and  attached  to  the  fortunes  of  another  State,  its  character  and 
conduct  will  invariably  betray  the  vileness  of  its  condition.  National  inde- 
pendence by  no  means  necessarily  leads  to  national  virtue  and  happiness ;  but 
reason  and  experience  demonstrate  that  public  virtue  and  general  happiness 
are  absolutely  incompatible  with  a  state  of  provincial  subjection. 

Added  to  the  sufferings  peculiarly  attached  to  such  a  condition,  the  very 
consciousness  of  dependence  on  another  power  for  advancement  in  the  scale 
of  national  being,  must  weigh  down  the  spirit  of  a  people,  manacle  the  efforts 
of  genius,  repress  the  energies  of  virtue,  blunt  the  sense  of  common  glory 
and  common  good,  and  produce  an  insulated  selfishness  of  character,  the 
most  certain  marks  of  debasement  in  the  individual  and  mortality  in  the  State. 

The  industry  of  man  arises  not  from  the  mere  impulse  of  instinct.  The 
industry  of  man  arises  from  instinct  and  reason,  from  feeling  and  from 
experience,  from  a  sense  of  duty  and  a  love  of  fame.  The  industry  of  man 
embraces  the  material  and  the  intellectual  world ;  is  impelled  by  the  sordid, 
and  animated  by  the  generous  affections ;  is  connected  with  everything  mean 
and  everything  noble  in  the  human  breast ;  it  grovels  on  the  earth  and  it 
ascends  to  heaven ;  the  gross  portion  of  its  nature  may  exist  in  any  clime 
where  the  animal  can  breathe ;  but  every  celestial  particle  will  perish  where 
the  mind  dare  not  think.  The  soil  of  Attica  is  still  visited  by  the  same  sun, 
yet  "the  Athenians  walk  with  supine  indifference  among  the  glorious  ruins 
of  antiquity,  and  such  is  the  debasement  of  their  character,  that  they  are 
incapable  of  admiring  the  genius  of  their  predecessors".  The  soil  of  Attica 
is  still  visited  by  the  same  sun,  but  his  beams  no  longer  illumine  a  land  of 
liberty,  whose  alchemic  power  transmutes  whatever  it  touches  into  gold.  The 
republic  of  Athens  is  no  more,  and  the  genius  and  the  spirit  and  the  virtue 
which  once  covered  that  scanty  and  rugged  soil  with  glory,  now  only  live  in  the 
records  of  her  fame.  "Nothing  can  be  more  advantageous  to  the  common- 
wealth than  what  Themistocles  has  proposed,"  said  Aristides,  "but  at  the 
same  time,  nothing  can  be  more  unjust".  It  must  be  done,  was  the  in- 
stantaneous and  unanimous  resolution  of  a  free  people.  Will  the  actions  of 
a  free  people  be  always  just?  No,  but  the  actions  of  an  enslaved  people  will 
never  be  sublime.    Slavery  in  every  form  which  it  can  assume  is  destructive 


Ireland  Enslaved 


9 


of  the  virtue,  the  genius  and  the  spirit  of  man.  The  subjection  of  one  people 
to  another  is  of  all  species  of  slavery  incomparatively  the  worst,  and  the 
history  of  human  calamity  has  not  yet  exhibited  such  an  instance  of  com- 
plicated and  long-continued  wretchedness,  of  forced  and  mortifying  debase- 
ment, as  the  subjection  of  Ireland  to  the  English  power  has  produced. 


Ireland — "Her  virtues  are  her  own — her  vices  have  been  forced  upon  her". 

Robert  Holmes. 


Part  II 


Causes  and  consequences  of  British  Conquest — Invasion  found  Ireland  in  a 
state  of  internal  disorder  favorable  for  the  invader — Had  invasion  not  taken  place, 
evolution  would  have  effected  a  radical  and  salutary  change  in  conditions — England  an 
example  of  the  value  of  independence  since  departure  of  the  Romans — England 
only  changed  King — The  principle  of  national  life  was  destroyed  before  Ireland 
could  renovate  herself — England  seized  moment  Ireland  was  weakest — Divide  et 
impera  became  the  policy  of  the  foreign  government — Parliaments  and  charters 
too  often  the  trappings  of  the  slave — Long  after  doom  of  country  was  fixed  some 
provincial  or  sept  chief  rebelled,  but  no  national  effort — The  system  of  Pale  and 
Plantation,  at  first  one  of  national  antipathy,  culminated  finally  in  antipathy  of 
religion  aggravated  by  England's  attempts  to  impose  her  religion  by  force — Re- 
ligious dissension  became  permanent  basis  of  English  power  in  Ireland — Ireland 
never  derived  advantage  from  wisdom  or  virtue  of  English  sovereigns,  but  has  been 
the  victim  of  their  follies  and  crimes — Elizabeth  and  James  had  different  policies, 
but  their  effects  were  the  same — Charles  I  and  his  deputy  Strafford  laid  the 
foundation  of  calamities  that  followed — Loyal  attachment  of  Catholics  to  Charles 
caused  by  fear  of  Puritans  of  Scotland  and  England — Cromwell  combining  hypoc- 
risy with  genius  broke  Catholic  strength  and  followed  it  with  the  most  inhuman 
proscriptions  of  all  of  that  faith — Progress  of  events  drove  Catholics  over  to 
Royalist  cause — Great  anticipations  when  Charles  II  was  restored — Disappointment 
followed  and  things  remained  as  before — James  II  brought  new  calamities,  though 
his  intentions  towards  Ireland  were  benevolent — The  will  of  the  people  the  only 
foundation  of  government — Benefit  of  this  principle  kept  for  England — Ireland 
always  governed  by  a  minority — This  in  time  became  the  Protestant — Three-fourths 
of  Irish  people  proscribed. — The  religious  division  of  the  people  eventually  con- 
stituted the  solid  basis  of  foreign  domination — Dissenters  more  numerous  than 
Established  Churchmen  joined  in  common  persecution  of  Catholics — Both  alike 
shared  plunder  of  the  Irish — Protestant  atrocities  concealed;  Catholic  magnified — Penal 
Code  at  length  relaxed,  but  religious  creed  remained  basis  of  political  degradation — 
This  condition  and  evils  arising  out  of  it  inevitable  consequences  of  English  rule — Civil 
commotions  in  England  benefited  Englishmen,  but  never  Ireland — English  domination 
not  assured  by  the  sword  but  by  policy,  which  made  war  on  the  mind,  depressed  the 
genius,  broke  down  the  spirit,  corrupted  the  morals  and  withered  the  industry  of  Ireland. 

HATEVER  may  be  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  her  early 
attainments,  Ireland,  at  the  time  of  the  expedition  of 
Henry  the  Second,  was  in  a  state  of  internal  disorder, 
most  favorable  to  invasion,  but  which,  had  it  not  been  for 
this  very  invasion,  must  soon,  in  the  natural  and  ordinary 
progress  of  events,  have  effected  a  radical  and  salutary 
change  in  the  government  and  manners  of  this  ill-fated 
island.  This  will  appear  in  the  highest  degree  probable, 
whether  we  reason  upon  general  principles  or  attend  to 
the  strong  authority  of  experience.    England  herself  is  a  luminous  example 

10 


Divide  and  Rule 


11 


of  order  springing  from  confusion,  liberty  from  civil  strife,  and  strength  from 
weakness. 

No  credulity  can  believe  that  had  Ireland,  girt  with  the  Atlantic  and  em- 
braced within  the  sphere  of  European  mind,  been  left  as  independent  in  will 
as  in  station,  she  could  at  this  day,  exhibit  such  a  miserable  contrast  as  she 
presents  to  the  strength,  the  opulence  and  the  policy  of  her  neighbor. 

When  England  ceased  to  be  a  Roman  province,  though  successfully  in- 
vaded, she  still  preserved  national  independence.  Vastly  superior  in  natural 
advantages  to  the  countries  of  the  invaders,  she  invited  and  fixed  in  her  more 
genial,  more  fruitful,  more  commodious,  or  more  extensive  soil,  the  Saxons, 
the  Danes  and  the  Normans.  The  Saxons  and  the  Danes  were  enterprising 
adventurers,  seeking  a  settlement  merely  in  a  foreign  land,  not  a  provincial 
dependency  to  their  own.  William  of  Normandy  was  an  adventurer  of  an- 
other kind.  He  aspired  to  the  throne  of  an  independent  kingdom,  and  Nor- 
mandy became  a  feudal  appendage  to  the  British  crown.  But  had  the  Duke 
of  Normandy  been  King  of  France,  and  had  the  strength  of  France  been 
consolidated  by  the  union  of  the  great  fiese  to  the  Crown,  Britain  might  be 
at  this  day  to  France  what  Ireland  is  to  Britain,  a  miserable  province,  without 
a  constitution,  without  a  navy,  and  without  a  name. 

By  what  is  called  the  Norman  Conquest,  England  but  changed  a  king. 
Ireland  presented  to  the  ambitious  Henry  the  sole  idea  of  a  desirable  acces- 
sion to  a  feudal  crown,  and  conquest  necessarily  involved  the  loss  of  inde- 
pendence to  the  vanquished.  Before  Ireland  could,  by  self-renovation,  acquire 
a  new  existence,  before  her  scattered  and  discordant  tribes  could  be  united 
by  a  sense  of  common  interest,  or  by  the  chances  of  internal  war,  giving  to 
some  chieftain  of  superior  genius  and  fortune,  some  Boroume  of  a  later 
age,  the  creation  of  a  people,  the  principle  of  national  life  and  movement  was 
destroyed.  No  sense  of  common  interest,  no  example  of  other  states,  no 
talents  and  fortune  of  the  soldier,  no  wisdom  and  virtue  of  the  sage,  could 
henceforward  unite  the  scattered  elements  of  a  people. 

There  is  frequently  an  interval  of  repulsion,  which  precedes  cohesion  in 
political  as  in  natural  bodies.  This  interval  is  a  moment  of  weakness.  It  was 
observed  and  seized.  The  natives,  improvident,  turbulent  and  divided,  brave 
in  war,  but  rude  in  arms,  continually  sacrificing  to  personal  or  family  revenge 
every  consideration  of  general  good  and  common  safety,  became  the  easy  prey 
of  invaders  more  civilized,  or  rather  less  barbarous,  who  could  understand  and 
employ  the  obvious  policy  of  profiting  by  disunion,  and  converting  the  inde- 
pendence of  septs  into  national  subjugation. 

Divide  et  impera,  is  no  refinement  in  the  science  of  conquest  and  despotism. 
It  is  the  policy  of  circumstances,  not  of  any  age  or  country.  When  a  nation 
is  to  be  governed  contrary  to  its  interest  and  inclination,  and  when  the  union 
of  the  people  would  render  such  a  government  impracticable,  the  sense  of  com- 
mon interest,  and  the  wish  of  common  liberty  must  be  counteracted  by  creat- 
ing or  strengthening  divided  interests  and  hostile  feelings.  Nor  is  the  task 
difficult. 


12 


No  National  Resistance 


The  selfish  and  malignant  passions  are  so  powerful  in  man,  that  it  requires 
no  uncommon  effort  of  genius,  or  dexterity  of  management  to  make  them  the 
instruments  of  his  weakness  and  dishonor. 

The  facility  with  which  a  number  of  Irish  chieftains  submitted  to  the  first 
English  invaders  is  not  surprising,  but  it  was  fatal.  A  firm  acquisition  of 
territory,  however  small,  and  a  formal  recognition  of  sovereignty,  however 
partial,  would  necessarily  be  sufficient,  under  the  relative  situation  of  the  two 
countries,  to  secure  to  Henry,  his  heirs  and  successors,  the  absolute  dominion 
of  Ireland. 

It  is  idle  to  dispute  about  the  precise  terms  and  nature  of  the  sovereignty 
with  which  he  was  invested.  It  is  idle  to  appeal  to  early  charters  and  to 
triumph  in  early  parliaments.  The  appeal  is  delusive  and  the  triumph  is  vain. 
Parliaments  and  charters  are  too  often  the  trappings  of  the  slave.  Evidence, 
stronger  than  parliaments  and  charters,  evidence  written  in  the  tears  and  the 
blood  of  the  natives,  exhibits  Ireland,  from  the  invasion  of  Henry,  in  all  the 
horrors  of  provincial  servitude,  as  the  pure  acquisition  of  conquest,  begun, 
and  to  be  completed  and  retained,  by  the  sword. 

As  soon  as  this  conquest  had  become  an  object  of  ambition  to  the  English 
monarch,  and  the  invaders  had  secured  a  footing  in  the  country  the  annihila- 
tion of  Ireland  as  an  independent  state  appeared  to  be  inevitable.  The  sub- 
jugation, however,  of  the  inhabitants  was  tedious  and  afflicting.  Long  after 
the  doom  of  their  country  had  been  fixed,  the  chieftains  of  a  province  or  a 
sept,  stung  with  insult,  provoked  by  injury,  roused  by  indignant  feeling, 
tormented  by  the  bitter  recollection  of  departed  power,  or  impelled  by  the 
keen  sense  of  self-preservation,  fought  for  vengeance  or  for  safety,  and 
struggled  for  local  independence  with  a  frequency,  and  an  obstinacy,  which 
prolonged  common  misery,  without  the  chance,  or  indeed  the  design,  of 
effecting  common  emancipation. 

From  inability,  ignorance,  prejudice  or  private  interest,  no  vigorous,  com- 
prehensive system  of  conquest  and  civilization  was  ever  adopted  by  the 
invaders.  Enough  was  always  done  to  secure  national  subjection,  but  not 
enough  to  make  that  subjection,  either  profitable  to  the  master,  or  comfortable 
to  the  slave.  Crude,  desultory,  unconnected  plans  succeeded  or  supplanted 
each  other,  according  to  the  leisure,  the  ability  and  the  temper  of  the  English 
Court,  or  the  talents  and  character  of  its  deputies,  without  a  consciousness 
of  the  real  importance  of  the  acquisition,  or  an  enlightened  or  liberal  idea 
either  of  colonial  connection,  or  provincial  dependence.  The  system  of  Pale 
and  Plantation,  founded  in  the  unjust  and  cruel  expulsion  of  the  natives  from 
their  possessions,  was  at  first  a  system  of  national  antipathies,  and  at  length 
terminated  in  the  more  lasting  and  deadly  antipathies  of  religion. 

Owing  to  a  variety  of  circumstances,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  detail,  while 
the  Protestant  religion  had  become  the  religion  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  of  England,  the  Catholic  continued  to  be  the  religion  of  the  great 
body  of  the  Irish.  One  cause  alone  seemed  to  be  adequate  to  the  effect.  From 
the  very  first,  the  reformed  religion  appeared  in  Ireland,  not  recommended 


Religious  Divisions 


13 


by  reason,  but  imposed  by  force,  imposed  too  by  a  power,  whose  progress 
"in  the  beneficial  work  of  conquering  and  thereby  breaking  a  savage  nation 
to  the  salutary  discipline  of  civil  order  and  good  laws",  could  be  traced  only 
by  mangled  carcasses  and  desolated  plains. 

The  right  of  private  judgment  in  matters  of  religion,  a  right  most  clearly 
founded  in  reason  and  in  Scripture,  justified  the  Protestant  in  renouncing 
the  tenets  and  authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  But  this  right,  the  irre- 
fragable justification  of  his  own  conduct,  the  Protestant  respected  not  in 
others.  The  profession  of  Popery  became  highly  penal  and  hence  arose  a 
religious  division  of  the  people,  a  new  and  more  permanent  basis  of  English 
power  in  Ireland. 

By  means  of  this  religious  division  the  English  nation  could  in  future  be 
more  easily  inflamed  against  the  Irish,  and  the  Irish  more  fatally  armed 
against  itself.  The  name  of  Papist  became  a  sufficient  apology  for  any  act 
of  injustice  or  cruelty  committed  against  the  person  who  bore  it;  and  the 
fury  of  bigotry  was  added  to  the  desire  of  forfeiture,  in  continuing  a  system 
of  the  most  flagrant  robbery  and  the  most  barbarous  extirpation. 

It  has  been  the  curse  of  Ireland  to  derive  no  advantage  from  the  wisdom 
and  virtue  of  English  sovereigns,  yet  to  be  the  peculiar  victim  of  their  folly 
and  their  crimes.  Elizabeth  is  the  pride  of  English  annals.  But  the  conduct 
of  Elizabeth  or  that  of  her  deputies  towards  the  Irish,  was  savage  and  im- 
politic in  the  extreme.  The  unceasing  and  merciless  fury  of  her  commanders 
drove  the  miserable  natives  to  despair.  Mercy  was  considered  as  incom- 
patible with  the  fiscal  interests  of  the  crown.  The  Acts  of  Supremacy  and 
Uniformity  were  imposed  upon  the  nation  by  force  or  fraud,  and  its  attach- 
ment to  Popery  was  confirmed  or  increased  by  persecution. 

James  the  First  was  pedantic,  conceited,  hypocritical  and  arbitrary.  His 
favorite  scheme  of  plantation  could  be  carried  on  only  by  injustice  and 
cruelty.  New  severities  were  exercised  in  order  to  produce  new  insurrection, 
and  consequently  new  forfeiture.  Notwithstanding,  however,  multiplied 
provocation  and  favorable  opportunities,  no  considerable  commotion  took 
place  in  Ireland  during  his  reign. 

Yet  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  Ulster  were  stripped  of  their  possessions 
without  proof  of  treason,  and  in  the  other  provinces  the  design  was  com- 
menced, which  was  afterwards  so  faithfully  prosecuted,  of  seizing  on  the 
estates  of  the  natives,  under  pretense  of  judicial  inquiry  into  defective 
titles. 

The  penal  statutes  were  rigorously  enforced  by  his  express  instructions, 
and  the  most  barefaced  oppression  and  extortion  were  practised  in  the 
ecclesiastical  courts. 

The  character  and  conduct  of  Charles  the  First,  a  miserable  tissue  of 
tyranny,  duplicity  and  meanness,  were  calculated  to  deceive  and  abuse  the 
Catholic,  and  to  excite  the  suspicion  and  distrust  of  the  Protestant.  His 
deputy,  Strafford,  haughty,  imperious,  arbitrary,  and  systematically  faithless, 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  calamities  which  followed.    The  lords  justices, 


14 


Insurrection  of  1641 


Parsons  and  Borlase,  connected  with  the  Parliamentarians,  the  prevailing  party 
in  England,  aggravated  the  complaints  of  the  Catholics,  and,  from  the  most 
corrupt  motives,  endeavored  to  provoke  a  general  insurrection. 

The  cause  of  the  Catholics,  as  a  religious  sect,  contending  for  the  free 
exercise  of  that  mode  of  worship,  which  they  preferred,  was  founded  in  the 
clear  and  inalienable  rights  of  conscience. 

As  Irishmen,  provoked  by  accumulated  wrongs,  and  contending  for  the 
independence  of  their  country,  their  cause  might  have  been  founded  in  rights 
as  clear  and  as  inalienable.  But  their  views  were  not  national.  Their  con- 
nection with  Charles,  either  as  negotiating  insurgents,  or  as  allies,  was  incom- 
patible with  the  idea  of  national  emancipation,  and  their  interests,  even  as  a 
party,  were  destroyed  by  their  own  dissensions,  and  the  interference  of  a 
turbulent,  vain  and  bigoted  foreign  ecclesiastic. 

The  loyal  attachment  of  the  Catholics  to  Charles,  notwithstanding  his  ex- 
treme duplicity,  arose  principally  from  their  dread  of  the  triumphant  Puri- 
tanical party  in  England  and  Scotland,  which  seemed  to  threaten  their  religious 
tenets  and  worship  with  a  severer  persecution  than  they  had  hitherto  ex- 
perienced. 

That  their  views  and  conduct  were  sectarian  and  not  national,  is  by  no 
means  surprising.  But  their  insurrection  terminated,  as  all  former  insurrec- 
tions had  done,  in  extending  and  confirming  the  English  power.  In  this 
respect  it  was  more  ruinous  in  its  effects  than  any  which  preceded.  It  laid 
the  deep  foundation  of  that  religious  animosity  and  mutual  intolerant  bigotry 
which  almost  destroyed  the  social  sympathies  and  benevolent  affections  by 
which  men  are  held  together. 

Hypocrisy,  genius  and  courage  advanced  Oliver  Cromwell  to  command. 
Appointed  chief  of  the  Parliamentarian  forces  in  Ireland,  his  conduct  was 
marked  by  vigor  and  by  cruelty.  The  strength  of  the  Catholics  was  soon 
entirely  broken,  and  their  discomfiture  was  followed  by  the  most  inhuman 
proscription  of  their  entire  sect,  in  person  and  property. 

In  the  progress  of  events,  the  Catholic  cause  had  become  identified  with 
the  Royalist.  The  Royalist  cause  embraced  at  first  a  number  of  Protestants 
as  well  as  Catholics,  but  they  had  never  united  with  confidence  and  affection. 
The  Protestants  were,  without  much  difficulty,  detached  from  the  party,  and 
joined  to  the  Parliamentarians.  Hence  the  Catholics,  who  composed  the  great 
mass  of  the  Irish  people,  had  alone  sustained  the  wide-spreading  and  ruthless 
vengeance  of  Cromwell  and  the  Parliamentarians. 

From  the  commencement  of  this  insurrection  to  the  restoration  of  Charles 
the  Second,  Ireland  exhibited  a  scene  of  the  most  complicated  woe.  Whatever 
government  prevailed  in  England,  the  great  body  of  the  Irish  were  sure  to 
suffer  every  indignity  and  oppression ;  being  constantly  considered  by  the 
English  nation  as  a  conquered  people,  suspected,  hated,  dreaded  and  persecuted. 

Upon  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second  to  the  throne,  the  Catholics 
naturally  expected  an  essential  alteration  in  their  favor. 

In  this,  however,  they  were  disappointed.    The  administration  of  Irish 


Revolution  of  1688 


15 


affairs  had  always  been  considered  in  England  a  mere  subject  of  policy,  never 
of  justice.  Whatever  system  of  administration  seemed,  at  the  moment,  best 
calculated  to  secure  the  dependence  of  Ireland,  was  adopted  without  any  re- 
gard to  the  rights  of  the  natives,  or  any  feeling  for  their  calamities.  Upon 
this  occasion  it  appeared  politic  to  suffer  the  mass  of  the  people,  not  more  as 
Catholics  than  as  Irishmen,  to  remain  as  they  were  found,  plundered  and 
degraded. 

From  the  character  of  James  the  Second,  Ireland  was  doomed  to  ex- 
perience new  calamities.  His  conduct  in  favor  of  the  Catholics  arose  not 
from  the  just  and  enlightened  policy  of  extending  the  benefits  of  legislation 
and  government  equally  to  all  his  subjects  without  distinction  of  religious 
belief.  It  arose  from  a  bigoted  attachment  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  he 
had  displayed  in  an  intemperate  zeal  for  the  re-establishment  of  the  Catholic 
religion  in  England ;  also,  an  attempt,  which  was  connected  with  his  design 
of  subverting  the  constitution  and  liberties  of  that  country. 

His  cause  was  espoused  by  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  not  because  he  was 
a  bigot  and  wished  to  be  despotic,  but  from  a  variety  of  motives  religious  and 
political,  independent  of  his  mere  personal  character,  some  of  which  influenced 
them  in  common  with  the  Jacobites  in  England,  who  composed  a  very  large 
portion  of  that  nation;  others  arose  from  their  appropriate  situation,  from  a 
feeling  of  religious  and  civil  degradation  and  a  desire  of  regaining  that  rank 
and  that  property,  of  which,  with  reason,  they  deemed  themselves  most 
iniquitously  deprived.  But  whatever  was  its  origin,  this  attachment  of  the 
Irish  Catholics  to  the  cause  of  James,  was  unfortunate  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.  It  is  highly  improbable  that  success  under  such  a  man  could  have 
served  any  good  national  purpose,  and  defeat  more  than  ever  confirmed  the 
power  of  England.  The  contest  increased  religious  antipathies ;  victory  in- 
flamed the  desire,  supplied  the  means,  and  sanctified  the  pretext  of  new 
religious  persecution  and  the  union  of  a  people,  whose  only  chance  of  inde- 
pendence and  happiness  rested  in  a  combination  of  sentiment  and  strength, 
seemed  more  impracticable  than  at  the  time,  when  Ireland  was  divided  into 
a  number  of  hostile  petty  sovereignties  and  discordant  septs. 

The  will  of  the  people  is  the  only  rightful  foundation  of  government.  On 
this  basis  has  the  English  constitution  been  professedly  raised.  The  English 
Revolution  of  1688  derived  its  unanswerable  vindication  from  the  inherent 
and  imprescriptible  government  agreeably  to  its  own  judgment  of  the  best 
means  of  attaining  its  own  happiness.  To  the  practical  application  of  this 
right,  England  is  indebted  for  the  liberty,  the  glory  and  prosperity  which  she 
has  enjoyed.  But  the  application  and  its  fruits  she  reserved  to  herself.  Her 
happiness  has  been  incommunicable.  The  system  of  supporting  the  English 
government  in  Ireland  has  remained  the  same.  A  small  portion  of  the  people, 
itself  enslaved,  fattened  on  the  misery  of  the  nation.  The  Catholics  con- 
tinued to  be  the  peculiar  objects  of  legislative  persecution.  The  Articles  of 
Limerick,  to  which  the  public  and  royal  faith  had  been  pledged  were  soon 
shamefully  violated,  and,  in  times  of  profound  tranquillity,  without  even  the 


16  Rule  of  the  Minority 

pretense  of  insurrection  or  conspiracy,  new  laws  of  unexampled  severity 
were  enacted  and  rigorously  enforced  against  this  devoted  portion  of  the 
community. 

From  the  period  of  the  capitulation  of  Limerick,  the  English  power  may 
be  considered  as  completely  established,  and  patiently,  or  tamely  acquiesced  in 
by  the  Irish.  From  that  period  an  end  seemed  to  be  put  to  the  desolation  of 
the  sword.  The  slower,  but  not  less  certain,  and  more  consuming  desolation 
of  the  law  remained.  The  English  power  had  advanced  by  unequal,  and 
frequently  interrupted  steps,  but  its  progress  could  be  uniformly  traced  in 
blood,  and  its  final  triumph  was  succeeded  by  a  system  of  provincial  adminis- 
tration at  once  barbarous  and  unwise. 

From  the  situation  of  Ireland  at  the  invasion  of  Henry  the  Second,  from 
the  system  of  subjugation  which  had  been  pursued,  and  from  the  event  which 
that  system  had  in  its  operation  necessarily  produced,  as  division  had  been 
the  great  instrument  of  conquest,  so  it  continued  to  be  the  mainspring  of 
English  government  in  the  country.  Conformably  to  the  general  policy  of 
statesmen,  and  the  general  constitution  of  governments,  which  is  almost  always 
framed  for  the  emolument  of  a  few  at  the  expense  of  numbers,  the  minority 
of  a  people  is  made  the  instrument  of  ruling  the  majority  and  of  enslaving 
the  whole.  If  from  this  cause  the  minority  of  the  Irish  people  would  become 
the  instrumental  government  of  the  nation,  enslaving  and  enslaved,  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  country,  and  the  train  of  events,  which  had  long  stained 
its  annals  and  mutilated  its  strength,  confined  the  minority  to  a  very  small 
number  of  its  inhabitants. 

This  small  number,  in  the  progress  of  time,  came  to  consist  almost  entirely 
of  the  Protestant  sect  of  the  Church  of  England.  This  sect  had  been  made 
the  established  sect  in  Ireland  also,  and  its  ministers  were  to  be  supported  at 
the  general  expense  of  the  nation.  This  sect  was  composed  of  the  Ulster 
English  adventurers,  who  had  been  settled  on  the  forfeited  lands,  of  which 
Catholics  had  been  deprived.  Hence  from  the  mighty  influence  of  property, 
as  well  as  from  sectarian  sympathy,  the  interests  of  this  sect  and  of  the 
English  power  were  soon  considered  as  inseparably  connected.  And  the 
religious  division  of  the  people,  from  this  twofold  cause  eventually  con- 
stituted the  solid  basis  of  foreign  domination. 

The  Dissenters  from  the  Church  established,  who  were  not  Catholics, 
chiefly  the  Presbyterians,  who  far  outnumbered  the  established  sect,  while  they 
reprobated  an  hierarchical  establishment  in  general,  had  yet  cordially  joined 
in  a  common  persecution  of  the  Catholic.  The  religious  antipathy  of  the 
Presbyterians  to  the  Catholics  was  still  stronger  than  that  of  the  Episcopalians, 
and  under  the  English  scheme  of  plantation,  grounded  on  the  extirpation  of 
the  natives,  they  too  enjoyed  lands,  from  which  the  original  proprietors  had 
been  expelled.  However,  the  conduct  of  the  great  numbers  of  the  Presby- 
terians in  supporting  the  English  power  was  derived  from  the  most  disin- 
terested and  honorable  motives.  Owing  to  events  which  had  taken  place  in 
England  previous  to  the  revolution,  the  cause  of  the  English  power  in  Ireland 


Triumph  of  Protestantism 


17 


had  become,  or  appeared  to  be,  the  cause  of  civil  liberty,  and  as  such,  was 
warmly  espoused,  and  supported  and  confirmed  by  the  Presbyterians. 

Mere  sectarian  difference  in  belief  and  worship  could  never,  without  the  co- 
operation of  other  causes,  have  produced  in  the  Protestant  mind  such  lasting 
hostility  towards  the  Catholic.  But  the  latter  wars  in  Ireland  had  originated 
in,  and  been  fatally  marked  in  their  progress,  by  the  religious  division  which 
had  succeeded  and  absorbed  the  former  divisions  among  the  people.  In  these 
wars,  particularly  in  the  commencement  of  the  insurrection  of  1641,  the  most 
shocking  acts  of  barbarity  had  been  committed  both  by  Protestants  and  Cath- 
olics. But  the  Protestant  was  finally  victorious,  and,  while  his  own  atrocities 
were  concealed,  or  palliated,  or  justified,  those  of  the  Catholics  were  studiously 
recorded,  magnified,  and  painted  in  the  black  colors  of  bigotry,  interest  and 
fear. 

The  Protestant  child  imbibed,  with  the  tale  of  horror,  the  most  deep-rooted 
detestation  of  the  Catholic,  and  religious  rancor  became  transmissible  by 
descent.  The  Protestant  was  victorious  and  had  divided  the  spoil.  The 
Protestant  was  legislator,  and,  with  every  prejudice  of  education  and  impression 
of  fear,  with  every  selfish  and  every  angry  passion  engaged  on  the  side  of 
severity.  Laws  of  the  most  promiscuous  devastation,  affecting  the  Catholic  in 
mind,  in  person  and  in  property,  were  blindly  accumulated,  and  long  rigorously 
enforced.  On  this  strong  and  lasting  principle  of  division,  the  English  power 
in  Ireland  seemed  to  rest  securely.  The  Protestant  was  taught  by  education 
and  by  interest  to  identify  this  power  with  life  and  property ;  and  the  mass 
of  the  people,  shut  out  from  the  social  state,  and  helots  in  their  native  land, 
seemed  destined  to  remain  the  victims  of  a  penal  code,  the  most  cruel,  the 
most  singular,  and  the  most  impolitic  that  has  ever  been  exhibited  in  the 
legislative  annals  of  any  country. 

In  these  religious  contests,  which  so  long  and  so  miserably  afflicted  this 
unhappy  land,  the  respective  merits  of  the  contending  parties  are  of  little  im- 
portance, or  rather  are  altogether  lost  in  the  consideration  of  their  common 
errors  and  common  enormities,  and  of  the  advantage  which  these  afforded 
to  the  common  enemy  in  completing  the  subjugation  of  all.  Melancholy  is  the 
comparison  which  arises,  not  from  the  emulation  of  virtue,  but  from  the  calcu- 
lation of  crimes.  Certain  it  is  that  had  the  delinquency  of  the  Catholic  been 
as  flagrant  as  the  most  exasperated  Protestantism  can  paint,  it  never  could 
justify  a  code  of  penal  laws,  affecting  a  vast  majority  of  the  people  with  such 
dreadful  punishment  and  such  vile  humiliation,  attached  to  opinion  and  entailed 
upon  successive  generations.  The  very  idea  of  such  a  proscription  of  three- 
fourths  of  a  people  is  utterly  incompatible  with  the  idea  of  civil  society.  They 
can  not  exist  together  in  the  mind.  The  end  of  civil  association  is  the  common 
happiness  of  all  the  members  of  the  State  in  their  various  relations  and  de- 
pendencies, and  no  sacrifice  can  be  necessary  or  just  except  that  of  partial 
interest  to  general  good.  But  by  this  iniquitous  system  the  order  of  civil  asso- 
ciation was  reversed.  The  government  was  radically  framed  for  the  exclusive 
advantage  of  a  few,  and  the  mind,  the  life,  the  industry  of  millions,  were 


18 


Irish  Disunion 


considered  as  the  rightful  property  of  these  few,  the  sport  of  their  prejudice, 
their  intolerance,  their  ignorance,  their  selfishness  and  their  fears. 

Such  a  monstrous  violation  of  all  the  principles  of  society  and  all  the  rights 
of  nature  could  not  last  forever.  When  the  fury  of  persecution  had  been 
glutted  with  extensive  confiscation,  and  the  total  prostration  of  Catholic  rights, 
civil  and  religious,  by  Parliamentary  omnipotence,  the  cooler  reflection,  experi- 
ence and  feeling  of  the  Protestant  gradually  led  to  a  mitigation  of  the  law,  not 
so  much  of  importance  in  itself  as  from  its  being  a  happy  omen  of  some 
better  destiny.  In  the  year  1778  the  severity  of  the  Popery  penal  code  was  in 
some  degree  relaxed.  That  code,  however,  still  continued  to  exhibit  a  dis- 
graceful monument  of  bigotry  and  impolicy,  and  strong  religious  prejudice 
continued  to  mark  the  character  and  influence  the  conduct  of  the  Irish  people. 

Though  the  Protestant,  satisfied  with  vengeance,  or  softened  by  time,  ceased 
from  active  persecution,  and  had  even  remitted  something  of  former  legislative 
severity,  he  still  considered  the  exclusion  of  the  Catholic  from  a  community 
of  rights  as  essential  to  the  preservation  of  his  power,  and,  while  he  boasted 
of  toleration,  made  a  religious  creed  the  badge  of  political  heresy,  and  the  basis 
of  political  degradation.  On  the  other  hand  the  Catholic,  hated  and  hating, 
conscious  of  debasement,  yet  unconscious  of  his  rights  and  his  strength, 
sensible  of  injury,  yet  tamely  acquiescent  in  punishment,  ignorant  and  bigoted 
and  spiritless,  seemed  incapable  of  understanding  and  asserting  the  sacred 
rights  of  conscience  or  of  country. 

This  unnatural  and  miserable  state  of  religious  animosity  and  civil  disunion, 
by  which  the  great  majority  of  the  people  was  thrust  out  of  the  pale  of  the 
body  politic  and  the  nation  was  enslaved,  arose  not  from  any  appropriate  char- 
acteristic of  the  Irish  mind,  from  any  peculiar  defect  of  intellect  or  depravity 
of  disposition.  It  was  the  inevitable  consequence  of  British  conquest  and 
British  policy,  combined  with  and  acting  upon  the  different  successes  of  the 
Reformation  in  England  and  in  Ireland,  the  conduct  and  fall  of  the  House  of 
Stuart,  the  rise  and  usurpation  of  Cromwell,  and  the  Revolution  of  1688. 

The  benefits  finally  resulting  from  civil  commotion  in  England,  by  the 
triumph  of  liberty  and  extension  of  trade,  were  exclusively  confined  to  that 
country.  The  shock  had  extended  to  Ireland,  but  was  felt  only  by  the  havoc 
which  it  had  produced.  Provincial  dependence  was  the  law  of  her  political 
existence,  and  every  event  was  essential  to  the  life  by  which  she  grew.  The 
disunion  of  her  inhabitants  was  the  original  cause  of  her  dependence,  and  by 
that  disunion  alone  has  the  dependence  been  secured. 

The  disunion  has  continued.  The  causes  of  disunion  have  varied.  The 
mutual  jealousy  of  chiefs,  the  blind  vengeance  of  clans,  hereditary  feuds,  dis- 
tinctions of  colonist  and  native,  had  all  their  respective  and  proportionate 
influence  in  the  lamentable  work  of  subjection  and  desolation  and  weakness. 
But  all  these  causes  of  calamity  were  comparatively  feeble  and  transitory. 
They  had  their  day  of  ruin  and  they  ceased.  The  cause  was  forgotten  and  the 
ruin  might  have  been  repaired.  Religious  bigotry  succeeded  and  remains, 
potent  and  inveterate,  blind  and  unforgiving;  it  embitters  the  present  with  the 


Policy  of  Persecution 


19 


memory  of  the  past,  loads  the  living  with  the  crimes  of  the  dead,  exalts  creeds 
above  practice,  admits  the  evidence  of  metaphysics,  denies  the  evidence  of 
facts,  and  promotes  hatred  and  hostility  among  those  whom  common  sufferings, 
common  interest  and  common  country,  should  indissoluhly  unite  in  sympathy, 
in  affection,  in  object  and  in  action. 

The  foregoing  rapid  sketch,  not  so  much  of  particular  facts  as  of  the 
general  result  of  facts,  may  convey  some  faint  idea  of  the  miseries  attending 
the  conquest  of  Ireland  by  the  English  power.  But  whoever  traces  its  progress 
in  detail,  with  the  common  feelings  of  humanity  and  the  candor  of  an  honest 
man,  will  say  that  no  general  description  can  paint  in  colors  sufficiently  strong 
the  miseries  of  that  conquest.  Its  devastation  was  not  confined  to  the  ravages 
of  war.  The  ravages  of  war  may  be  repaired.  Fields  may  be  again  cultivated, 
cities  and  villages  may  be  rebuilt  and  repeopled.  War  is  a  hurricane  which 
sweeps  before  it  man  and  the  works  of  man,  but  it  spares  enough  to  cover  the 
face  of  nature  again  with  new  abundance  and  with  new  beauty.  It  does  not 
annihilate  the  very  elements  of  reproduction.  It  violates  the  rules  of  morality 
and  the  rights  of  mankind,  but  it  does  not  eradicate  the  principles  on  which 
these  rules  and  rights  depend.  It  does  not  systematically  corrupt  the  human 
heart.  It  rouses  all  its  energies  and  displays  the  heroism  which  saves,  as  well 
as  the  ambition  which  destroys. 

It  is  not  the  sword  which  slaughtered  her  people,  whose  ravages  Ireland 
deplores;  it  is  that  sword  which  would  have  "cut  the  Charter  of  King  John 
to  pieces".  It  is  the  policy  which  considered  charters  and  parliaments  but  as 
instruments  of  domination,  to  be  granted  or  withheld,  new-modeled  or  resumed, 
as  best  calculated  to  insure  the  vassalage  of  the  slave;  it  is  the  policy  which 
made  war  upon  the  mind,  which  depressed  the  genius,  broke  down  the  spirit, 
corrupted  the  morals,  and  withered  the  industry  of  the  land ;  it  is  the  policy 
which  converted  a  religion  of  harmony  and  peace  into  a  religion  of  discord 
and  persecution,  which  dissolved  the  social  sympathies  of  life,  which  assailed 
the  principles  of  morals  and  the  feelings  of  nature,  rewarding  ingratitude  in 
the  child  and  honoring  the  basest  of  crimes  as  a  conversion  to  truth ;  it  is  the 
policy  which  covered  the  land  with  petty  tyrants,  in  whatever  concerned  the 
poor,  knowing  no  rule  of  conduct  but  their  own  will,  which  made  the  protection 
of  law  the  boon  of  beneficence,  not  the  inheritance  of  right ;  it  is  the  policy 
which  goaded  a  starving,  houseless  peasantry  to  outrage,  then  murdered  them 
by  law ;  which  darkened  the  intellect,  gibbeted  the  body,  and  stigmatized  the 
objects  of  its  malignant  dispensations  as  incorrigible  barbarians;  it  is  the  policy 
which  "brayed  the  people  as  it  were  in  a  mortar",  and  affected  to  wonder  at 
the  writhings  of  agonized  nature,  which  Ireland  deplores. 


Is  not  Ireland  already  traceable  in  the  statute  book  as  a  tuounded  man  in  a  cronvd  is 
traced  by  his  wounds?  Robert  Emmet 

"My  Lords  of  Sirogue" 


Part  III 


English  Law— Early  Charters  and  Parliaments — History  of  English  Law  in 
Ireland  important— Benefits  of  English  law  exclusively  confined  to  English  Colonists 
who  had  not  degenerated  by  intermarrying  with  Natives  and  adopting  their  customs 
— Also  to  a  few  Irish  Septs  who  had  been  enfranchised  by  special  favor — Sir  John 
Davis  and  Lord  Coke  testified  that  no  people  loved  Justice  better  than  the  Irish 
and  its  equal  execution — But  English  adventurers  counteracted  this  wish  and  it  was 
no  felony  to  kill  Irish  in  time  of  peace — English  Parliaments  and  Charters  in  Ire- 
land were  the  title  to  plunder  and  oppress — England's  policy  always  that  of  the 
despot  to  the  slave — It  always  differentiated  between  the  native  and  the  foreign 
colonist — An  Act  of  Henry  IV  ordained  that  Irish  hostile  to  their  foreign  rulers 
could  not  leave  country  without  special  license. 


ROM  a  view  of  the  desolation  of  law  the  mind  flies  for 
relief  to  a  history  of  the  law  itself.  That  history  is 
important.  The  early  grants  and  repeated  confirmations 
of  English  law,  and  of  the  privileges  of  distinct  legislation, 
have  been  often  appealed  to  as  demonstrative  of  early 
national  independence  by  compact.  Their  existence  may 
be  indisputable,  but  the  inference  is  absurd.  Had  such 
a  compact  been  really  made  between  the  invaders  and  the 
Irish  nation,  the  observance  of  it  by  England  would,  in- 
deed, have  been  a  curious  anomaly  in  the  history  of  ambition.  Wretched  is  the 
people,  whose  chance  of  liberty  hangs  on  an  indenture  of  independence. 

Whatever  compact  did  exist,  or  whatever  benefits  English  law  and  distinct 
legislation  might  confer,  were  long  exclusively  confined  to  the  English  colonists, 
who  had  not  degenerated  by  intermarrying  with  the  natives,  or  adopting  their 
customs  and  manners,  and  to  a  few  Irish  septs,  who  had  been  enfranchised  by 
special  favors.  It  is  the  honorable  testimony  of  Sir  John  Davis,  that  "there 
was  no  nation  under  the  sun  that  did  love  equal  and  indifferent  justice  better 
than  the  Irish,  or  that  would  rest  better  satisfied  with  the  execution  thereof, 
although  it  were  against  themselves,  so  as  they  might  have  the  protection  and 
benefit  of  the  law,  when  upon  a  just  cause  they  did  deserve  it".  The  celebrated 
Lord  Coke  also  declares  that  "there  was  no  nation  of  the  Christian  world  that 
were  greater  lovers  of  justice  than  the  Irish,  which  virtue",  he  adds,  "must 
necessarily  be  accompanied  by  many  others".  Yet  for  the  space  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  at  least,  from  the  commencement  of  their  subjugation,  the 
benefit  and  protection  of  English  law  were  not  communicated  to  the  Irish, 

20 


Statute  of  Kilkenny 


21 


though  they  frequently  desired  to  be  admitted  to  that  precarious  privilege. 
The  wish  was  counteracted  by  the  English  adventurers,  that  their  cruelty 
and  injustice  to  the  natives  might  be  indulged  without  restraint.  The  Irish 
were  reputed  aliens  and  enemies  in  their  native  land,  it  was  adjudged  no  felony 
to  kill  them  in  time  of  peace ;  "the  law  did  neither  protect  their  life,  nor  revenge 
their  death." 

When  Henry  the  Second  had  once  secured  a  firm  footing  in  the  country, 
whatever  compacts  he  may  have  formed,  either  with  his  own  haughty  and 
licentious  barons,  or  with  the  native  chieftains,  can  never  be  seriously  viewed 
in  any  other  light  than  as  the  elements  of  domination,  which,  from  the 
relative  situation  of  the  invader  and  the  invaded,  was  destined  to  comprehend 
both  colonist  and  native  in  one  common  dependence.  The  most  solemn  engage- 
ments with  the  natives  were  sure  to  be  violated,  whenever  the  violation  ap- 
peared necessary  to  the  extension  of  dominion ;  and,  with  respect  to  political 
privileges,  the  proud  invaders  soon  became  a  feeble  and  dependent  race. 
Parliaments  and  charters  were  to  the  Englishman  in  Ireland  but  precarious 
evidences  of  an  unhallowed  title  to  plunder  and  oppression.  The  insolent  and 
rapacious  foreigner  was  doomed  eventually  to  feel,  in  common  with  the  native, 
the  humiliation  of  provincial  servitude.  He  was  first  instrument  and  finally 
the  victim  of  conquest. 

Every  internal  distinction  among  the  people  was  mutable  in  its  nature  and 
controllable  by  events.  But  the  internal  connection  with  England  afforded  a 
necessary  relation  of  rule  and  dependence  as  permanent  as  the  connection 
itself.  On  this  relation  of  a  superior  and  a  dependent  state,  every  change  in 
the  destiny  of  the  people  immediately  or  remotely  depended. 

Measures  of  legislation  and  measures  of  policy  were  either  purposely  de- 
vised with  a  subserviency  to  this  principle  of  imperial  authority  and  provincial 
subjection,  or  naturally  took  their  tone  and  tendency  from  its  powerful  im- 
pulse. The  policy  of  England  towards  Ireland,  even  as  a  dependent  State, 
was  unwise,  illiberal  and  unfeeling,  but  it  was  uniformly  the  policy  of  the 
despot  to  the  slave. 

To  represent  the  existence  of  early  parliaments  in  Ireland  as  a  proof  of 
early  national  independence,  is  a  solemn  mockery  of  sufferings  unexampled 
in  extent  and  severity.  The  memorable  Statute  of  Kilkenny,  said  to  be  long 
quoted  with  reverence  on  account  of  its  salutary  provisions,  is  an  illustrious 
record  of  the  nationality  of  such  parliaments,  which,  instead  of  wisely  and 
humanely  embracing  the  colonist  and  native  within  the  protection  of  equal 
law,  studied  to  mark  more  strongly  the  fatal  line  of  distinction  between  them. 
Even  the  desire  of  the  Crown  to  impart,  as  well  as  the  native  to  receive  the 
protection  of  English  Law,  was  long  withstood  by  these  parliaments.  Yet 
the  people,  whom  they  refused  to  incorporate  into  the  body  of  subjects,  whom 
in  peace  they  would  not  govern  by  the  law,  and  in  war  could  not  root  out  by  the 
sword  (such  was  their  matchless  injustice),  they  endeavored  to  prevent  from 
seeking  refuge  in  another  country  from  the  miseries  of  their  own.  By  an  Act 
passed  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Fourth  it  was  ordained,  that  no  Irish  enemy 


22  Irish  Confined  to  Realm 

should  be  permitted  to  depart  the  realm  without  special  licence,  and  that  the 
person  and  goods  of  an  Irishman  (an  enemy)  attempting  to  transport  himself 
without  such  licence,  might  be  seized  by  any  subject,  who  was  to  receive  one 
moiety  of  the  goods,  the  other  to  be  forfeited  to  the  King. 


England  tvouuld  banish  commerce  from  yoour  coasts,  'would  sap  the  source  of  industry  if 
she  did  not  know,  that  to  her  resulted  all  the  advantage. 

Miss  Emmet. 


Part  IV 


Origin  and  Nature  of  Poynings'  Law — Distinction  between  English  by  birth  and 
English  by  blood  began  in  reign  of  Edward  III — The  English  adventurers  of  English 
birth  affected  to  despise  the  English  by  blood — The  English  by  blood  espoused 
cause  of  House  of  York — When  Henry  VII  had  borne  down  all  opposition  he  re- 
duced both  factions  to  insignificance — Made  Irish  Parliament  mere  court  of  record 
of  Royal  edicts — This  was  effected  by  Poynings'  Law  which  was  insidious  in  its 
operation — Its  details — Ireland  became  a  country  without  a  Constitution  or  Trade 
— Its  people,  impoverished  and  divided,  and  its  Parliament  a  compound  of  pride, 
bigotry  and  meanness. 


the   Crown  as 


HE  famous  distinction  between  the  English  by  blood  and 
the  English  by  birth  commenced  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
the  Third.  The  English  by  birth,  the  later  adventurers, 
as  they  successively  came  over,  affected  to  despise  and 
degrade  the  descendants  of  the  earlier  invaders,  or  the 
English  by  blood. 

The  English  by  blood,  from  a  long  tenure  in  the 
country,  were  more  numerous  and  more  powerful  than 
their  adversaries,  though  the  latter  were  favored  by 
being  more   immediately   devoted   to  its   interests.  The 


English  by  blood  were  attached  to  the  House  of  York.  They  even  warmly 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  impostor  Simnel,  and  afterwards  showed  a  disposition 
to  favor  the  pretensions  of  the  impostor  Warbeck.  But,  when  Henry  the  Seventh 
had  borne  down  all  opposition  to  his  claims,  he  took  advantage  of  the  dismay 
attending  an  abortive  attempt  and  disappointed  wishes.  He  new  modelled  a  Par- 
liament, which  had  been  too  much  under  the  influence  of  powerful  deputies,  and 
too  much  the  instrument  of  turbulent  factions  to  be  a  ready  and  useful  instru- 
ment of  the  Crown  and  of  English  supremacy.  This  politic  prince  seems  to  have 
been  determined  to  reduce  all  factions  to  a  state  of  common  insignificance, 
and  to  simplify  the  exercise  of  foreign  domination,  by  making  the  Parliament 
a  mere  court  of  record  for  registering  the  edicts  of  the  sovereign. 

This  was  effected  by  the  celebrated  law  of  Poynings,  which  concealed  its 
purpose  under  the  fair  appearance  of  correcting  some  acknowledged  abuses, 
and  disclosed  not  at  once  its  full  and  decisive  effect  on  the  future  powers  of 
Parliament. 

Previous  to  this  period  the  Irish  Parliament,  such  as  it  was,  had  claimed 
and  exercised  the  right  of  legislation,  though  interrupted  by  some  usurpations 
on  the  part  of  England,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  right  of  legislation  was 
enjoyed  by  the  Parliament  of  that  country.   The  Irish  Parliament  passed  laws 

23 


24 


Poynings'  Law 


for  Ireland  with  a  negative  power  merely  vested  in  the  Crown.  But  by  this 
law  of  Poynings,  as  afterwards  explained  and  enlarged  by  the  third  and  fourth 
of  Philip  and  Mary,  the  order  of  legislation  was  reversed,  the  original  and 
efficient  powers  of  legislation  were  essentially  vested  in  the  Crown,  and  to 
the  Parliament  was  left  but  a  negative  voice  on  the  ordinances  of  the  prince. 
Upon  the  construction  of  the  statute  of  Poynings  and  the  explanatory  act  com- 
bined neither  Lords  nor  Commons  in  Ireland  had  a  right  to  frame  or  propose 
bills.  A  bill  was  first  framed  by  the  Deputy  and  Privy  Council  of  Ireland, 
afterwards  transmitted  for  approbation  to  the  King  and  Council  of  England, 
who  had  a  power  of  alteration  and  of  really  making  it  a  new  bill  unalterable, 
by  sending  it  back  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  and  lastly  it  was  presented 
to  the  Irish  Parliament,  to  which  remained  the  single  insignificant  privilege 
of  agreeing  to  the  whole  of  the  bill  or  rejecting  the  whole,  as  thus  modelled  and 
returned  by  the  Crown.  This  practice  was  strictly  observed  until  the  reign  of 
James  the  First,  when  the  Irish  Parliament  assumed  the  privilege  of  being 
humble  remembrancers  to  the  Deputy  and  Council  of  what  bills  were  to  be 
transmitted  to  England. 

Hence  arose  the  custom  of  framing  in  either  House  what  were  called  heads 
of  a  bill,  which  was  carried  to  the  Council,  from  thence  transmitted  and  in  the 
form  of  a  bill  laid  before  the  King  and  Council  of  England.  Here  it  might 
be  suppressed  or  altered  at  pleasure.  If  it  was  returned  to  the  Irish  Parliament, 
the  power  of  that  Parliament  extended  only  to  the  simple  acceptance  or  rejec- 
tion of  the  bill  in  the  very  form  in  which  it  came  back,  however  changed  from 
its  original  nature.  Thus  the  high  court  of  Parliament,  the  supreme  delibera- 
tive assembly  of  the  nation,  was  in  truth  little  more  than  a  court  of  enrolment 
for  the  imperial  rescripts  of  the  English  monarch. 

The  importance  of  Poynings'  Law  did  not  appear  in  its  full  magnitude 
for  a  considerable  time.  The  ministers  of  the  Crown  in  Ireland  even  contended 
on  some  occasions  for  a  suspension  of  its  provisions,  as  they  happened  to  be 
influenced  by  a  desire  of  extraordinary  dispatch,  or  some  other  temporary 
motive.  Yet  such  was  the  miserable  state  of  the  people,  such  its  dread  of  the 
power  of  a  deputy,  supported  by  a  small  parliament  composed  of  his  own  crea- 
tures, that  every  attempt  of  this  kind  excited  alarm,  and  a  strict  adherence 
to  the  Law  of  Poynings  was  long  considered  as  the  great  security  on  the  sub- 
ject. But,  when  by  the  extension  of  the  English  conquest  in  Ireland  the 
business  of  Parliament  grew  more  important,  and  the  number  and  weight  of 
the  Commons  had  increased,  the  ideas  of  the  Government  and  the  people 
changed.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  the  First,  the  artful  Strafford,  who  well 
understood  the  value  of  such  an  engine  of  power,  admonished  his  royal  master 
that  "the  previous  allowance  of  laws  to  be  propounded  in  the  Irish  Parliament, 
should  be  held  as  a  sacred  prerogative,  not  to  be  departed  from,  in  no  point  to 
be  broken  or  infringed." 

A  prerogative  held  sacred  by  a  Strafford  could  only  have  derived  its  sanc- 
tity from  a  profanation  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  In  England,  the  Crown  and 
the  people,  equally  oppressed  by  the  overbearing  tyranny  of  the  feudal  lords, 


Submission  of  Parliament 


25 


had  conspired  in  its  destruction.  Restrictions  on  alienation  and  feudal  de- 
pendence were  gradually  abolished,  commerce  increased,  the  Commons  rose 
first  into  wealth  and  finally  into  power,  which  in  its  paroxysms  subverted  the 
monarchy,  and  in  its  more  moderated  efforts  established  British  liberty  on  the 
basis  of  the  revolution.  But  no  change  of  circumstances  could  give  lasting 
life  and  spirit  to  the  Irish  Parliament  as  constituted  by  the  Law  of  Poynings. 
The  Commons  might  increase  in  number,  in  wealth,  and  in  knowledge,  but 
must  still  remain  obscure  and  impotent.  Such  abject,  mute  submission  to  a 
foreign  yoke  debased  their  sentiments  and  paralyzed  their  powers.  The  law 
indeed  might  be  done  away ;  some  passing  shock  might  restore  the  palsied 
energies  of  nature.  But,  while  the  law  remained,  no  permanent  vigor  could 
ever  mark  the  existence  of  that  assembly.  In  England,  with  the  revolution 
came  liberty,  and  strength,  and  science,  and  glory.  The  miserable  province 
exhibited  the  most  humiliating  contrast  of  servitude  and  weakness,  without 
constitution,  without  trade,  its  people  impoverished  and  divided,  its  Parliament 
a  motley  compound  of  pride,  bigotry  and  meanness. 


Persecution  has  made  many  martyrs;  but  it  has  never  made  one  convert,  and  never  'will 
— the  nature  of  man  resists  it;  the  feeling  implanted  by  the  God  of  Justice  revolts 
against  it. 

Miss  Emmet. 


Part  V 


Power  of  binding  Ireland  by  its  laws  usurped  by  English  Parliament — The 
Poynings'  Law  left  a  simulacrum  of  liberty  to  Irish  Parliament — That  was  ended 
by  an  express  declaration  of  a  right  by  the  English  Parliament  to  bind  Ireland  by 
its  laws — Protests  were  of  no  avail  and  the  exterminating  colony  of  lawless  in- 
vaders eventually  became  the  dupes  and  victims  of  their  own  injustice — Ireland's 
right  to  Liberty — Instances  of  direct  exercise  of  dominion  from  year  1641  to  the 
Revolution  frequent  and  flagrant — Policy  toward  Ireland  invariable  no  matter  what 
bigotry  and  meanness. 


HE  Law  of  Poynings  may  seem  sufficiently  to  have  marked 
the  inferiority  and  secured  the  dependence  of  Ireland. 
It  was  an  absolute  surrender  by  her  own  Parliament  of 
its  best  powers. 

However  injurious  to  the  interest  and  degrading  to  the 
spirit  of  the  nation,  it  had  become  the  rule  of  legislation, 
and  the  acknowledged  bond  of  subjection.  But  it  pre- 
sented the  idea  of  a  distinct  Parliament  legislating  for  a 
distinct  country,  claimed  as  a  right,  not  held  by  suffer- 
ance. It,  therefore,  appeared  to  British  pride  a  species  of  domination 
too  subtile  and  refined.  A  formal  undisguised  exercise  of  sovereignty  alone 
could  fully  display  the  relation  of  imperial  rule  and  provincial  obedience. 

The  policy  of  a  Caesar  condescended  to  leave  to  an  enslaved  people  the 
image  of  a  free  constitution.  The  policy  was  prudent.  It  was  a  sacrifice  of 
pride  to  wisdom.  But  the  individual  despot  will  often  stoop  to  appearances, 
to  which  the  despot  nation  will  not  bend.  That  England  should  govern  Ireland 
by  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  was  not  enough.  It  remained  to  close  the  scene 
of  conquest  by  a  mortification  of  the  feelings  as  well  as  a  triumph  over  the 
liberties  of  the  conquered.  This  was  achieved  by  an  express  declaration  from 
the  Parliament  of  England  of  a  right  to  bind  Ireland  by  its  laws. 

The  English  Parliament,  at  a  very  remote  period,  had  occasionally  exer- 
cised the  power  of  legislating  for  Ireland,  particularly  as  to  foreign  trade, 
and  some  distinction  had  even  been  taken,  though  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  practically  adhered  to  between  external  and  internal  legislation. 

This  occasional  exercise  of  legislative  authority  on  the  part  of  England, 
however,  had  been  generally  protested  against  by  the  Irish  Parliament  as  a 
manifest  usurpation. 

Indeed,  the  formal  adoption  by  that  Parliament,  from  time  to  time,  of  laws 
previously  enacted  in  England  and  considered  as  expedient  in  Ireland,  seemed 


English  Legislative  Supremacy 


to  be  a  virtual  declaration  that  no  law  of  the  English  Parliament,  as  such, 
could  have  force  in  Ireland ;  but  that  the  sanction  of  the  Irish  legislature  was 
necessary  to  give  it  validity;  and  that  the  English  Parliament  was  followed 
as  an  example,  not  obeyed  as  an  authority.  Thus  much  may  be  stated  as 
matter  of  fact  with  respect  to  the  exclusive  legislative  power  of  the  Irish 
Parliament  and  the  ideas  which  that  Parliament  entertained  of  its  own  inde- 
pendence. 

But  in  investigating  the  political  relation  between  England  and  Ireland, 
we  must  not  be  led  away  by  any  formal  grants  of  liberty,  by  any  formal  con- 
veyances of  constitution,  by  any  pompous  claims  of  right,  by  any  solemn 
protests  against  wrong.  A  country  always  suffering,  though  always  com- 
plaining and  deprecating  its  sufferings,  affords  but  an  odd  idea  of  independence. 
The  relation  between  England  and  Ireland  must  be  appreciated  by  attending 
to  the  general  tenor  of  facts ;  and  facts  must  be  appreciated  with  a  due  regard 
to  the  probable  effects  of  certain  general  causes,  existing  throughout  the  whole 
time  of  that  relation  and  constant  in  their  operation.  Undoubtedly  no  antici- 
pation, however  specious,  of  probable  results  from  given  relations  between 
nations  or  individuals  ought  to  hold  a  single  instant  against  the  actual  result 
of  well  authenticated  fact.  But  as  no  evidence  can  satisfy  the  mind  of  the 
existence  of  facts  whose  existence  is  demonstratively  impossible,  so  it  is  certain 
that  general  probabilities  ought  always  to  be  attended  to  in  estimating  the 
nature  and  evidence  of  any  alleged  particular  existence. 

If,  contrary  to  all  the  conclusions  of  experience,  the  invasion  of  Ireland 
by  Henry  the  Second  should  be  said  to  have  introduced  into  that  country  a 
distinct  national  legislature,  mystically  united  to  the  Crown  of  England,  and 
by  that  mystical  union,  rendering  it  an  independent  imperial  kingdom,  merely 
subject  to  the  Crown  of  England  in  the  same  manner  that  England  is  subject 
thereto,  and  pursuing  its  own  happiness  according  to  its  own  will,  the 
philosophic  mind,  well  acquainted  with  the  history  of  man,  with  the  relative 
condition  of  England  and  Ireland  at  the  time  of  that  invasion,  with  the  state  of 
European  opinions  and  manners,  with  the  ideas  entertained  by  the  invaders  of 
themselves  and  of  the  people  whom  they  invaded,  with  the  pious  professions  and 
real  intentions  of  Henry,  would  no  doubt  wonder  most  exceedingly  that  such 
an  independence  should  be  the  result  of  that  invasion,  but  would,  at  the  same 
time,  be  prepared  impartially  to  consider  the  nature  and  proofs  of  that  inde- 
pendence, and,  however  antecedently  sceptical,  would  be  ready  to  yield  to  the 
force  of  truth. 

But  if  a  view  of  the  history  of  Ireland  for  a  period  of  six  centuries  from 
the  time  of  that  invasion  should  exhibit  a  scene  of  calamity  and  debasement, 
which  even  a  knowledge  of  the  general  nature  of  ambition  and  its  conquests 
could  have  but  faintly  anticipated ;  if  the  conduct  of  England  throughout  the 
whole  of  that  period  should  be  marked  by  the  most  unfeeling  cruelty  and 
contemptuous  pride  towards  the  nation ;  if,  instead  of  the  English  colony 
carrying  with  it  liberty  and  independence,  every  successive  band  of  invaders 
should  appear  to  come  solely  for  the  purpose  of  plunder,  affecting  to  despise 


28 


Ireland's  Right  to  Liberty 


their  predecessors  as  contaminated  and  degraded  by  their  residence  in  a  bar- 
barous and  conquered  land,  thus  proclaiming  aloud  the  opinion  which  England 
entertained  of  the  object  of  colonization;  if,  during  the  progress  of  a  long 
protracted  conquest,  Ireland  should  appear  covered  with  blood  and  desolation, 
and,  at  the  end  of  ninety  years  of  uninterrupted  peace  after  that  conquest  was 
finally  achieved,  should  still  appear  wasted  and  impoverished,  without  manu- 
factures, without  trade,  with  a  people  ignorant  and  starving  in  an  age  of 
science  and  in  a  land  of  the  happiest  soil  and  climate,  if  such  should  be  the 
record  presented  by  indisputable  facts,  some  future  historian,  who  will  not 
seek  to  build  a  claim  of  right  to  liberty  on  parchment  precedents,  but  to  in- 
vestigate truth  by  every  species  of  evidence,  will  know  how  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  musty  records  of  independent  legislation  transmitted  by  an  exter- 
minating colony  of  lawless  invaders. 

He  will  observe  these  invaders  to  be  themselves  the  dupes  of  parliaments 
and  charters,  destined  finally  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  their  own  injustice.  He 
will  observe  England  actually  exercising,  under  various  appearances,  the  pre- 
eminence of  dominion,  and  Ireland  enduring  the  wrongs  and  the  contumely 
of  oppression ;  and  he  will  conclude  that,  if  Ireland  can  not  produce  a  better 
title  than  precedent,  to  independence,  she  is  of  right  enslaved. 

But  she  can  produce  that  title.  The  title  of  man  to  liberty  is  derived  from 
heaven,  from  the  bounty  of  that  Providence  which  made  him  the  piece  of 
workmanship  he  is,  "noble  in  reason,  infinite  -in  faculties,  in  action  like  an 
angel,  in  apprehension  like  a  god."  She  can  produce  the  immortal  record  of 
independence  traced  by  Deity  on  the  mind  of  man.  A  charter  of  liberty  is  but 
evidence  of  an  agreement  to  enjoy  liberty  according  to  certain  forms;  it  can 
never  be  evidence  of  a  right  to  enjoy.  Even  as  evidence  of  that  agreement  it 
derives  its  whole  authority  from  the  will  of  the  people,  which  prescribes  or 
consents  to  the  mode.  The  charter  of  John  was  to  the  barons  at  Runnimede 
but  a  record  of  the  manner  in  which  they  wished  to  be  governed  by  their  kings. 
Their  title  to  liberty  rested  not  on  the  charter,  it  rested  on  the  rights  of  man. 
Yet  man  considers  his  title  to  liberty  like  the  title  to  an  estate,  and  anxiously 
inquires  if  his  ancestors  have  registered  the  deeds. 

Man  looks  to  antiquity  for  a  right  to  be  free.  As  well  might  he  look  to 
antiquity  for  a  right  to  breathe.  Man  looks  to  antiquity  for  a  right  to  be  free, 
and  is  a  slave  by  precedent  when  he  could  not  be  made  a  slave  by  force. 

But  be  the  precedents  in  favor  of  the  exclusive  legislative  sufficiency  of 
the  Parliament  of  Ireland  as  they  might,  England  respected  them  not.  From 
time  to  time,  as  it  gratified  her  caprice  or  served  her  policy,  she  legislated  for 
Ireland.  She  regulated  the  commerce,  she  disposed  of  the  territory  and  of  the 
people  of  Ireland,  and  affected  to  regard  the  Irish  Parliament  but  as  a  sub- 
ordinate assembly,  subject  to  the  interference  and  control  of  the  superior  State. 
It  may  also  be  observed,  not  as  anything  extraordinary,  but  merely  as  an  his- 
torical fact,  that  in  proportion  as  Ireland  increased  in  importance  to  England 
by  the  progress  and  final  completion  of  conquest,  and  in  proportion  as  England 
succeeded  in  her  struggles  for  liberty,  so  did  her  direct  and  open  exercise  of 


Destruction  by  Legislation 


29 


dominion  over  Ireland  advance  to  its  full  and  formal  avowal.  The  instances 
of  this  direct  exercise  of  dominion  from  the  year  1641  to  the  revolution,  were 
frequent  and  flagrant.  Whether  England  was  ruled  by  a  king,  by  a  parliament, 
or  by  a  protector ;  whether  her  government  was  a  government  of  prerogative 
or  of  privilege,  founded  in  right  or  in  usurpation,  her  conduct  to  Ireland  was 
the  same,  unvaried  in  the  despotic  principles  from  which  it  flowed,  varied  only 
by  the  different  notions  of  expediency,  which  her  rulers  entertained. 

When  at  last,  by  the  revolution,  the  political  dangers  of  England  seemed 
at  an  end,  when  her  constitution  seemed  to  repose  securely  after  all  its  storms, 
when  the  triumph  of  liberty  after  long  and  doubtful  warfare  might  have  in- 
spired the  just  and  generous  sentiment  that  it  was  as  dear  to  others  as  it  had 
been  to  herself,  a  change  of  system  with  respect  to  Ireland  might  not  unrea- 
sonably have  been  expected.  It  might  have  been  expected,  not  that  England 
would  abdicate  her  sovereignty,  but  that  she  would  exercise  it  with  more 
justice,  and  with  more  feeling,  that  she  would  pay  some  regard  to  the  wants, 
if  not  to  the  rights  of  the  province,  and  advance  its  industry  while  she  secured 
its  dependence.  It  might  have  been  expected  that  she  would  prefer  the  security 
of  that  dependence  through  the  indirect  and  less  offensive  means  of  its  own 
Parliament,  than  by  a  haughty  assumption  of  direct  legislative  supremacy, 
which  insulted  the  slave  without  exalting  the  despot. 

If  such  expectations  were  entertained,  they  were  miserably  disappointed. 
That  revolution  which  gave  liberty  to  England,  seemed  to  increase  the  dis- 
position as  it  increased  the  power  to  oppress.  The  English  Parliament  con- 
tinued to  legislate  for  Ireland.  It  not  only  legislated  for  Ireland,  but  it 
ruined  her  by  legislation.  It  assailed  her  manufactures  and  trade,  and  as  it 
diminished  the  value,  so  it  not  inconsistently,  destroyed  the  means  of  life. 


Have  you  ever  tried  conciliation;  have  you  ever  attempted  amelioration? — Never.  From 
the  first  moment  that  an  English  foot  pressed  this  ground,  to  the  present,  the  system 
has  been  a  system  of  cruelty,  untinged  ivith  mercy. 

Miss  Emmet,  Letter  to  the  Irish  Parliament. 


Part  VI 


Molyneaux's  "Case  of  Ireland" — Was  member  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons 
— Roused  by  legislative  interference  of  English  Parliament  in  Irish  affairs,  published 
his  Case  not  long  before  Revolution  in  England — He  demonstrated  that  conquest 
gave  England  no  rightful  domination  over  Ireland — His  definition  of  conquest — 
Molyneaux  erred,  not  in  his  definition  of  conquest,  but  in  its  application  to  historical 
fact — His  perversion  of  fact  lay  in  maintaining  that  submission  of  chieftains  turned 
body  of  Irish  people  into  loyal  subjects  of  an  English  King — The  work  of  exter- 
mination had  left  in  Molyneaux's  time  only  one  in  a  thousand  of  the  original 
natives  in  Ireland — England  made  Ireland  a  province,  and  the  province  made  its 
people  slaves — Ireland  not  governed  by  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Ireland — It 
was  the  King  and  Council  of  England  that  governed  the  King  and  Parliament  of 
Ireland — The  King  of  Ireland  was  a  mere  metaphysical  abstraction — Parliament  of 
Ireland  a  body  without  a  soul — Molyneaux  befogged  himself  in  a  mysterious  con- 
fusion of  ideas,  and  burned  his  book. 


OT  long  after  the  revolution,  Molyneaux,  a  member  of 
the  Irish  House  of  Commons,  roused  by  some  recent 
instances  of  legislative  interference  by  the  Parliament  of 
England,  highly  injurious  to  his  country,  published  his 
celebrated  "Case  of  Ireland".  This  production  chal- 
lenges one  or  two  observations. 

The  author  demonstrated  (the  demonstration  was 
easy),  that  conquest  could,  on  no  possible  supposition, 
give  to  England  a  rightful  dominion  over  Ireland.  But 
England  held  Ireland  by  the  fact  of  conquest,  and  cared  little  about  the 
right.  Molyneaux,  it  is  true,  denied  even  the  fact  of  conquest,  but  the  denial 
is  altogether  unworthy  of  his  talents  and  his  cause. 

He  defines  conquest  to  be :  "an  acquisition  of  a  kingdom  by  force  of  arms, 
to  which  force  likewise  has  been  opposed".  Now  this  definition  is  evidently 
erroneous  in  not  being  sufficiently  comprehensive.  Certainly  no  peaceable  ac- 
quisition of  a  country  by  the  free  and  voluntary  submission  of  its  inhabitants 
is,  in  the  present  argument,  to  be  called  a  conquest.  But  the  acquisition  of  a 
country  by  the  terror  of  force,  without  any  exercise  of  force,  is  upon  every  prin- 
ciple of  reason,  as  much  a  conquest,  as  an  acquisition  by  force,  to  which  force 
likewise  has  been  opposed,  can  possibly  be.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  distinguish 
between  the  acquisition  of  the  robber,  who  with  a  pistol  at  your  breast,  makes 
you  deliver  up  your  purse  at  once,  and  the  acquisition  of  him,  who  cannot 
compel  you  to  surrender  it  until  after  a  struggle  in  which  you  have  been 
worsted.    Molyneaux  doubts  not  but  the  barbarous  people  of  the  island  were 

30 


' '  Case  of  Ireland 


31 


struck  with  fear  and  terror  of  King  Henry's  powerful  force,  and  yet,  according 
io  him,  all  was  transacted  with  the  greatest  quiet,  tranquillity  and  freedom 
imaginable.  He  talks  of  the  easy  and  voluntary  submission  of  the  natives 
though  struck  with  fear  and  terror  of  a  powerful  force,  and  concludes  that 
"there  was  no  hostile  conquest,  for  where  there  is  no  opposition,  such  a  con- 
quest can  take  no  place".  His  conclusion  might  be  true,  if  his  definition  was 
just. 

But  the  great  error  of  Molyneaux  lies  not  in  his  definition,  it  lies  in  his 
application  of  the  definition  to  historical  facts.  He  admits  that  some  of 
Henry's  vassals,  by  his  licence  and  permission,  but  not  by  his  particular  com- 
mand, having  landed  hostilely  in  Ireland,  vanquished  the  natives  in  several 
engagements  and  by  that  means  secured  an  establishment  in  the  country. 
Upon  this  Henry,  though  he  had  not  commanded  the  expedition,  yet  finding 
that  his  subjects  had  made  a  very  good  hand  of  it,  went  himself  into  Ireland 
with  an  army,  where  he  obtained  from  his  successful  subjects  the  fruits  of  their 
very  good  handy-work. 

Then  comes  the  free  and  voluntary  submission  of  the  kings,  princes,  chiefs, 
archbishops,  bishops  and  abbots  of  all  Ireland,  swearing  allegiance  and  sub- 
mitting themselves  and  their  posterity  for  ever  to  Henry  and  his  heirs  as  true 
and  faithful  subjects,  and  here,  according  to  Molyneaux,  terminated  the  acqui- 
sition of  an  entire  kingdom,  with  the  greatest  quiet  and  tranquillity  and  freedom 
imaginable. 

Whoever  reads  and  believes  that  Henry,  long  before  this  magical  acquisition 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  had  meditated  the  conquest  of  it,  that  he  only 
waited  for  an  opportunity  and  a  pretence,  and  that,  when  the  pretence  was 
offered,  being  engaged  in  more  urgent  affairs,  he  permitted  his  subjects  in  the 
meantime  to  embrace  the  opportunity,  which  he  had  anxiously  desired,  will  not 
find  it  very  easy  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  the  difference  between  such  a  permission 
and  a  command.  Henry  took  advantage  of  the  actual  force  of  his  own  sub- 
jects, to  which  force  had  been  unsuccessfully  opposed,  and  of  the  fear  and 
terror  caused  by  the  presence  of  a  powerful  army,  which  he  had  brought  with 
him,  the  formidable  nature  of  which  the  success  of  the  first  invaders  had 
taught  the  natives  fully  to  comprehend,  and  it  will  not  be  more  easy  to  perceive 
the  distinction  between  the  acquisition  of  a  kingdom  by  such  means,  and  the 
"acquisition  of  a  kingdom  by  force  of  arms,  to  which  force  had  likewise  been 
opposed".  Had  the  matter  even  terminated  here,  and  had  the  acquisition  been 
in  this  manner  completed,  it  never  could  be  called  a  peaceable  acquisition  by 
the  voluntary  submission  of  the  natives ;  it  would  have  been  to  all  intents  an 
hostile  conquest. 

But  the  grand  perversion  of  facts  consists  in  maintaining  that  the  sub- 
mission of  the  native  chieftains,  which  Molyneaux  describes,  is  to  be  considered 
as  a  conversion  of  the  entire  body  of  the  natives  of  Ireland  into  liege  subjects 
of.  the  King  of  England ;  that  the  scene  of  acquisition  closed  here ;  and  that 
every  subsequent  conflict  between  the  English  invaders  and  the  native  Irish 
is  to  be  viewed,  not  as  a  link  in  the  chain  of  "acquisition  of  kingdom  by  force 


32 


Living  Servitude 


of  arms,  to  which  force  likewise  was  opposed'",  but  as  a  contest  between  a 
lawful  prince  and  his  rebellious  subjects.  Subjects!  whom  these  rapacious 
and  blood-thirsty  invaders  persisted  for  centuries  in  denominating  the  "Irish" 
enemy,  that  the  law  might  neither  protect  their  lives  nor  revenge  their  deaths, 
that  they  might  be  extirpated  without  restraint  as  without  mercy. 

So  well  was  the  work  of  extirpation  carried  on  that,  by  the  calculation  of 
Molyneaux  himself,  but  a  mere  handful  of  the  ancient  Irish  remained  in  his 
day,  not  one  in  a  thousand.  He  urges  this  very  extirpation  of  the  natives  as 
an  argument  against  the  claim  of  any  right  by  conquest  over  Ireland  in  his 
day,  since  thereby  the  great  body  of  the  people  consisted  of  the  progeny  of  the 
English,  over  whom  at  least  England  could  not  claim  dominion  by  conquest, 
being  the  instruments  of  its  settlement,  not  the  objects  of  its  effects. 

An  attempt  to  demonstrate  that  the  subjection  of  Ireland  to  the  English 
power  has  not  been  the  effect  of  force,  but  of  the  voluntary  submission  of  its 
ancient  people,  is  like  an  attempt  to  demonstrate  the  non-existence  of  matter, 
the  existence  of  which  is  proved  every  moment  of  our  lives  by  the  testimony 
of  every  sense.  No  pompous  or  politic  description  of  real  or  affected  sub- 
mission, no  representations  of  ignorant,  weak,  malicious  or  prejudiced  his- 
torians, no  sophistry  of  argument  advanced  in  the  service  of  religious  and 
political  monopoly,  can  ever  persuade  the  candid  and  feeling  mind,  that  the 
dominion  of  England  over  this  devoted  land  has  not  been  founded  in  a  con- 
quest, as  unprovoked  in  its  origin,  as  hypocritical  in  its  pretences,  and  in  its 
prosecution  and  completion  as  inhuman  and  inglorious,  as  ever  stained  the 
annals  of  ambition. 

But  the  victorious  invaders  and  their  posterity  cannot  be  called  a  conquered 
people.  They  were  not  conquered  by  arms,  but  they  were  conquered  by  policy, 
or  rather  they  were  conquered  by  the  force  of  moral  causes.  By  the  influence 
of  moral  causes  both  conquerors  and  conquered  were  equally  doomed  to  de- 
pendence. Their  fortunes  could  not  be  separated.  The  victorious  invaders 
were  undone  by  their  own  victory.  They  conquered  not  for  themselves,  they 
conquered  for  England.  They  made  Ireland  a  province,  and  the  province 
made  them  slaves.  That  Ireland,  subjugated  as  she  was,  could  retain  national 
independence  seems  a  moral  impossibility ;  that  she  did  not  retain  it  is  an  his- 
torical truth,  irresistibly  forced  upon  the  mind  by  facts  which  cannot  be 
controverted,  and  a  character  which  cannot  be  misunderstood. 

Read  that  character  in  the  champion  of  her  rights ;  read  it  in  a  member  of 
their  insulted  legislature,  read  it  in  a  descendant  of  the  victorious  invaders,  read 
it  in  Molyneaux  himself,  the  friend  of  Locke,  whose  reasoning  he  could  apply, 
but  whose  spirit  he  could  not  imbibe ;  for  Locke  had  a  country  and  Molyneaux 
had  none.  "If  what  I  offer  herein  seems  to  carry  any  weight  in  relation  to  my 
own  poor  country,  I  shall  be  abundantly  happy  in  the  attempt,  but  if  after  all, 
the  great  council  of  England  resolve  the  contrary,  I  shall  believe  myself  to  be  in 
an  error,  and  with  the  lowest  submission,  ask  pardon  for  my  assumption".  What ! 
Appeal  from  the  demonstrations  of  reason  to  prejudiced,  interested,  proud 
authority,  and  model  belief  by  the  decrees  of  a  Parliament  which  was  robbing 


What  Molyneaux  Proved 


33 


his  poor  country  of  her  trade,  and  her  legislature  of  its  ancient  rights.  What! 
Ask  pardon  for  daring  to  utter  the  conviction  of  his  reason  and  the  dictates 
of  his  conscience  in  a  cause,  which  he  felt  to  he  the  cause  of  truth  and  of  his 
country.  Molyneaux  did  live  in  a  conquered  country;  while  he  denies  the 
conquest  by  his  argument,  he  proves  it  by  his  example.  Molyneaux  did 
live  in  a  dependent  country;  and  while  he  appeals  to  written  liberty,  we  may 
appeal  to  living  servitude. 

Molyneaux  does  not  prove,  he  could  not  prove,  the  independence  of  Ireland. 
He  admits  the  reverse  in  express  terms.  "Nor  do  I  think  that  'tis  anywise 
necessary  for  the  good  of  England  to  assert  this  high  jurisdiction  [direct  legis- 
lative supremacy]  over  Ireland.  For  since  the  statutes  of  this  Kingdom  are 
made  with  such  caution,  and  in  such  form,  as  is  prescribed  by  Poynings'  statute 
10.  Hen.  VII,  and  by  the  third  and  fourth  Philip  and  Mary,  and  whilst  Ireland 
is  in  English  hands,  I  do  not  see  how  'tis  possible  for  the  Parliament  of  Ireland 
to  do  anything  that  can  be  in  the  least  prejudicial  to  England".  Such  is  his 
reasoning,  and  beyond  all  controversy  under  these  laws  of  its  existence,  it  was 
not  possible  for  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  to  do  anything,  that  could  be  in  the 
least  prejudicial  to  England,  or  in  the  least  serviceable  to  Ireland,  but  according 
to  the  will  of  the  superior  state.  The  exclusion  of  a  possibility  of  injuring 
England  necessarily  includes  an  impossibility  of  serving  Ireland,  except  as 
directed  or  permitted  by  that  supreme  will.  Both  the  one  and  the  other  could 
only  be  founded  in  the  absolute  want  of  independence  in  the  Parliament  of 
Ireland.  It  was  not  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Ireland,  that  governed  Ireland. 
It  was  the  King  and  Council  of  England  that  governed  the  King  and  Parlia- 
ment of  Ireland.  Or  rather  the  King  of  Ireland  was  a  mere  metaphysical  ab- 
straction, as  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  was  a  body  without  a  soul.  What  then 
does  Molyneaux  prove?  He  proves  incontestably  that  conquest  can  give  no 
rightful  dominion  to  nation  over  nation.  He  proves  the  early  existence  of  a 
distinct  Parliament  in  Ireland,  claiming  and  generally  exercising  an  exclusive 
power  of  making  laws  for  Ireland,  considering  its  own  sanction  necessary  to 
give  Acts  of  the  English  Parliament  validity  in  Ireland,  and  negativing  any 
contrary  presumption  as  an  infringement  of  its  privileges.  He  admits  many 
late  instances  of  interference  by  the  English  Parliament,  but  proves  them  to 
be  unjust  innovations.  He  proves  the  existence  of  early  grants  and  charters 
of  liberty  to  Ireland,  and  resists  the  claim  of  legislative  supremacy  in  the  Par- 
liament of  England  as  contrary  not  only  to  precedent,  but  to  reason  and  the 
rights  of  mankind. 

It  rested  with  the  minister  of  England  to  determine  the  merits  of  the  ques- 
tion. He  well  knew  it  was  not  to  be  a  question  of  reason  or  of  right,  but  a 
question  of  policy  supported  by  power.  He  well  understood  the  nature  of  that 
distinct  parliament,  for  the  privileges  of  which  Molyneaux  contends,  and  how 
little  it  was  really  connected  with  the  independence  of  Ireland.  He  well  under- 
stood the  nature  of  those  boasted  grants  of  liberty,  which  Molyneaux  proclaims, 
on  whom  they  had  been  conferred,  and  to  what  purpose  they  had  been  em- 
ployed. 


34 


Fate  of  Molyneux's  Book 


He  well  knew  how  little  England  need  respect  the  instruments  of  conquest, 
now  that  conquest  was  complete,  that  the  work  of  extermination  had  been  but 
a  work  of  substitution,  that  success  had  levelled  all  distinctions  but  those,  which 
policy  might  feel  it  necessary  to  create  or  support.  He  well  knew  that  England 
had  always  exercised  a  virtual  supremacy  over  Ireland,  and  was  conscious  on 
what  little  that  supremacy  reposed.  But  he  did  not  wish  to  declare  all  these 
things.  As  England  possessed  the  supremacy  of  strength,  he  determined  she 
should  exercise  the  supremacy  of  legislation.  But  he  did  not  choose  to  publish 
her  real  title.  He  wished  that  to  be  concealed  in  the  mysterious  confusion  of 
ideas,  which  different  intellects,  prejudices,  passions  and  interests  would  infal- 
libly throw  around  it. 

He  wished  to  assume  the  right  of  legislative  supremacy  in  England  as  too 
evident  to  be  disputed,  or  too  sacred  to  be  discussed.  The  minister  would  no 
doubt  have  preferred  precedent  to  mystery,  and  argument  to  assumption.  But 
the  precedents  were  against  him.  On  the  only  ground  of  argument  which  he 
could  with  prudence  have  adopted,  the  case  of  Ireland  was  unanswerable.  It 
presumptuously  assailed  by  reason  what  he  resolved  should  be  held  as  an  in- 
controvertible article  of  faith,  and,  like  Omar,  he  burned  the  Book. 


It  may  be  affirmed  that  whatever  there  ivas  of  religious  rancour  in  the  contest  <was  the 
•work  of  the  Government  through  its  Orange  allies,  and  iviih  the  express  purpose  of 
preventing  an  union  of  Irishmen  of  all  creeds — a  thing  tvhich  is  felt  to  be  incompatible 
•with  British  government  in  Ireland. 

John  Mitchell. 


Part  VII 


An  enquiry  into  the  causes  which  determined  the  policy  of  England — England's 
greatness  arose  from  liberty  and  commerce — Her  liberty  was  her  own — Her  com- 
merce is  a  source  of  greatness  depending  more  on  chance  and  others  and  less  on 
will  and  herself — As  an  object  of  speculative  discussion  and  partial  imitation  the 
British  constitution!  may  be  calculated  to  interest  mankind — The  British  policy  de- 
rived from  it  but  the  motives  of  injustice  and  oppression — Her  power  rests  upon 
her  external  commerce — It  is  a  question  whether  a  people  which  has  never  respected 
the  rights  of  others  is  entitled  to  respect  of  any  kind  from  others — The  develop- 
ment of  England's  tyranny  in  Ireland — Ireland's  Parliament  used  to  destroy  Ire- 
land's manufactures  and  trade— Ireland  kept  weak  by  poverty  and  disunion — -Eng- 
land's mistake  was  in  destroying  constitutional  liberty  and  at  the  same  time  the  means 
of  life — Comparison  with  the  empire  of  ancient  Rome — Lord  Lyttelton's  speculations 
on  what  Ireland  might  have  been  had  Magnus,  King  of  Norway,  succeeded  in  con- 
quering Ireland  at  beginning  of  twelfth  century — Detestable  policy  of  English 
statesmen  in  time  of  Elizabeth — England's  malignant  jealousy  of  Ireland  increased 
with  her  expanding  commerce — -Ireland  a  favorite  of  nature,  a  victim  of  England's 
policy — Ireland  must  not  be  independent,  is  England's  proposition — Her  extinction  a 
question  ever  present  in  the  mind  of  English  statesmen — The  nation  which  is  feared 
ought  to  be  aspiring — With  strength  to  be  free  it  is  a  crime  to  be  enslaved. 


HEN  the  nature  of  the  Irish  Parliament,  impotent  and 
abject  (not  only  as  modelled  by  Poynings'  Law,  but  as 
composed  of  every  element  of  dependence),  is  considered, 
an  enquiry  seems  pressed  upon  the  mind  why  England 
should  persist  in  a  haughty  assumption  and  contemptuous 
exercise  of  the  supremacy  of  direct  legislation.  It  ap- 
pears unnecessary  to  the  support  of  a  supremacy  of  will, 
by  which  she  could  always  govern  Ireland  through  the 
agency  of  its  own  Parliament,  and  secure  its  dependence 
without  wounding  its  pride,  or  seeming  to  trench  upon  real  or  fancied  privileges. 
It  might  be  unwise  to  provoke  by  recent  usurpation  an  examination  of  ancient 
right,  which  might  itself  be  found  to  be  indeed  but  an  usurpation  of  an  older 
date.  It  might  be  dangerous  to  make  domination  palpable  to  the  most  vulgar 
capacity,  and  to  exercise  it  in  a  manner,  which  might  rouse  the  tamest  spirit. 

To  the  slave  without  hope  it  may  be  enough  to  feel  that  he  is  enslaved. 
To  investigate  the  motives  of  his  ruin  might  be  only  adding  insult  to  oppres- 
sion ;  but  to  the  freeman,  who  would  be  wise,  or  to  the  slave,  who  may  be  free, 
an  enquiry  into  the  motives  of  tyranny,  which  seem  to  spring  not  from  caprice 
but  design,  not  from  accident  but  system,  not  from  casual  and  temporary,  but 

35 


36 


English  Commerce 


from  necessary  and  permanent  causes,  must  be  useful,  and  ought  to  be  in- 
teresting. 

The  greatness  of  Britain  has  arisen  from  liberty  and  from  commerce.  Her 
liberty  she  may  peculiarly  call  her  own.  Her  commerce  may  have  first  sprung 
from  that  liberty,  and  may  be  still  intimately  connected  with  it;  but  it  is  a 
source  of  greatness  depending  more  upon  chance  and  less  upon  will,  more 
upon  others  and  less  upon  herself.  Commerce  is  a  good,  comparative  and 
dependent.  Its  relations  are  infinite.  It  is  connected  with  the  ignorance  and 
the  knowledge,  the  wants  and  the  luxuries,  the  idleness  and  the  industry,  with 
the  situations  and  the  governments,  with  the  opinions  and  with  the  prejudices 
of  different  countries,  not  only  in  themselves,  but  as  compared.  It  depends 
much  upon  design  and  much  upon  accident,  much  upon  wisdom,  and  much 
also  upon  fortune. 

In  contemplating  the  policy  of  England,  we  are  led  to  consider  her  chiefly 
in  a  commercial  point  of  view.  In  estimating  her  character  as  a  nation  we, 
no  doubt,  observe  the  constitution  of  her  government  and  the  administration 
of  her  laws  as  eminently  distinguishing  her  from  surrounding  States.  But  it 
is  in  the  influence,  which  that  constitution,  in  its  practical  existence,  may  have 
had  on  her  general  policy  in  peace  and  in  war,  as  connected  with  other  powers, 
or  her  own  dependencies,  that  these  powers  and  dependencies  are  principally 
concerned.  As  an  object  of  speculative  discussion,  or  of  partial  imitation,  the 
British  constitution  may  be  calculated  to  delight,  to  instruct  and  to  ameliorate 
mankind,  while  British  policy  may  have  derived  from  that  constitution,  but  the 
motives  and  the  means  of  injustice  and  oppression. 

It  is  not  by  her  existing  power  that  we  are  to  measure  the  greatness  of 
England,  but  by  that  power  compared  with  her  native  strength.  England 
possesses  not  in  herself  independent  greatness  from  extent  of  territory,  fertility 
of  soil,  and  consequent  population.  Her  colossal  power  rests  upon  external 
commerce,  and  other  nations  are  chiefly  interested  in  her  constitution,  as  that 
constitution  has  been  connected  with  her  commerce,  and  as  her  policy  has  been 
connected  with  both.  If  her  constitution  and  her  commerce  have  grown  and 
must  perish  together,  and  if  her  policy  has  rested  the  security  of  both  on  the 
perpetual  violation  of  justice,  a  respect  for  her  constitution  will  not  protect 
her  commerce.  A  question  may  even  be  excited  how  far  the  liberty  of  a  people 
is  entitled  to  respect,  which  has  never  yet  in  a  single  instance  respected  the 
rights  of  any  other  people,  when  tempted  to  infringe  them  by  ambition  or 
avarice,  and  not  restrained  by  force. 

But  an  enquiry  into  the  policy  of  England  must  now  be  limited  to  a  view 
of  the  nature  and  motives  of  her  conduct  in  a  haughty  assumption  of  a  right 
to  bind  Ireland  directly  by  her  laws,  and  in  an  intemperate  depression  of  the 
Irish  people.  The  connection  between  England  and  Ireland,  always  a  con- 
nection of  rule  and  dependency,  had  been  modelled  originally  by  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  times.  It  had  commenced  in  feudal  times,  and  it  exhibited 
in  its  progress  all  the  uncertainty  and  inconsistency  which  marked  those  times. 
The  manner  in  which  the  conquest  of  Ireland  was  effected  by  the  intervention 


Variation  in  Policy 


37 


of  English  settlers,  necessarily  produced  charters  and  parliaments,  and  all  the 
forms  of  liberty  and  independence  in  a  country  which  actually  experienced  the 
most  cruel  and  humiliating  servitude. 

The  power  of  England,  comparatively  strong,  but  really  feeble,  rendered  a 
vigorous  plan  of  conquest  impossible.  A  conquest,  prolonged  from  this  weak- 
ness in  England,  through  many  ages  of  calamity  and  disgrace,  was  subject  to 
the  vicissitudes  of  capricious,  temporary,  unconnected  schemes.  The  original 
design  of  conquest,  which  might  have  been  defeated  by  a  seasonable  union 
among  the  natives,  was  obstinately  persisted  in  and  finally  achieved.  But  it 
had  been  conceived  in  an  age  of  rude,  desultory  warfare,  in  a  mere  spirit  of 
acquisition,  with  a  determination  to  subject,  but  without  any  precise  object  in 
subjugation.  Hence  the  idea  of  dependency  was  constantly  connected  with 
Ireland  in  the  contemplation  of  British  policy,  as  it  must  always  be  connected 
with  the  acts  of  the  conquered  in  the  mind  of  the  victorious  people,  when  the 
victorious  and  the  conquered  continue  as  before,  distinct  people  in  distinct 
countries.  But  though  the  general  idea  of  dependency  was  immediately  and 
invariably  associated  with  Ireland  in  the  English  mind,  and  though  it  led  to 
the  most  unqualified  exercise  of  dominion  on  the  part  of  England,  no  clear 
and  accurate  idea  appears  to  have  been  conceived  for  a  length  of  time  of  the 
manner  in  which  England  might  best  fashion  that  dependency  to  her  wants 
and  wishes. 

Before  any  precise  notions  of  political  liberty  had  been  formed  in  England, 
the  feudal  barons  carried  with  them  into  Ireland  such  notions  as  then  pre- 
vailed, and  the  formal  basis  of  such  a  constitution  as  England  then  possessed. 
But  after  some  time  it  was  discovered  that  even  in  this  formal  basis  too  much 
had  been  conceded  by  England  in  Ireland.  When  the  English  settlers  had 
been  so  long  and  so  firmly  established  in  the  country  as  apparently  to  secure 
the  acquisition,  when  retreat  seemed  destruction  to  them  and  their  continuance 
absolutely  dependent  on  England,  it  was  then  discovered  that  a  parliament, 
simiiar  to  that  of  England,  was  too  formidable  in  the  faction  to  be  useful  in 
despotism.  Poynings'  Law  repaired  this  defect.  By  this  law  was  introduced 
a  settled  form  of  subjection  and  an  established  organ,  by  which  imperial  will 
might  communicate  its  mandates.  But,  in  the  occasional  paroxysms  of  domina- 
tion, or  in  the  confusion  of  troubled  times,  even  this  form  of  provincial  gov- 
ernment was  violated,  and  at  length  the  violation  of  principle,  when  that 
violation  appeared  subservient  to  the  aggrandizement  of  England,  came  to 
be  considered  by  the  English  Parliament  as  itself  a  principle,  or,  at  least  as 
grounds  upon  an  antecedent  principle,  which  it  would  be  presumption  to  deny 
or  to  arraign. 

But  whence  arose  this  variation  in  the  policy  of  England?  Whence  did  it 
arise  that  England,  not  content  with  the  instrumentality  of  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment, assumed  a  power  of  direct  imperial  legislation?  It  arose  from  that 
change  in  the  circumstances  of  Europe,  which  substituted  trade  for  chivalry 
and  commercial  speculation  for  feudal  ambition. 

When  England,  adapted  for  commercial  pursuits  and  formed  for  com- 


38 


Irish  Parliament  a  Tool 


mercial  greatness  only,  had  directed  her  views  principally  to  commercial 
aggrandizement,  it  appeared  that  a  provincial  legislature,  possessing  even  a 
negative  upon  imperial  regulation,  might  be  an  obstacle  to  that  simple  and 
imperious  exercise  of  dominion,  which  the  interests  of  trade  might  require. 
Did  the  legislature  of  neither  country  interfere,  were  Ireland  left  to  the  free 
exertions  of  her  native  strength,  not  a  doubt  could  exist  of  her  powers  and 
success.  The  Irish  Parliament,  it  is  true,  could  not,  unless  permitted  by  the 
British  Cabinet,  encourage  Irish  trade  and  promote  Irish  manufactures  by 
active  beneficence.  But,  except  under  peculiar  circumstances  of  depression, 
commerce,  perhaps,  flourishes  most  when  least  encumbered  and  enthralled  by 
legislative  interposition.  Ireland  certainly  did  labor  under  severe  artificial 
disadvantages,  and  required  the  fostering  care  of  a  patriotic  and  provident 
legislature.  Still,  however,  such  is  her  vital  power,  she  must  have  advanced 
rapidly  in  health  and  vigor  if  her  Parliament,  impotent  to  create,  should  not  be 
active  to  destroy,  but  by  a  bare  neutrality,  leave  her  to  the  bounty  of  heaven, 
to  industry  and  fortune.  Indeed,  from  such  a  Parliament  neutrality  could  not 
be  expected,  and  England  might,  and  did,  through  that  Parliament,  carry 
on  active  and  deadly  hostility  against  the  manufactures  and  trade  of 
Ireland,  directly  by  commercial  prohibition,  indirectly  by  religious  perse- 
cution. 

But  even  such  a  parliament,  however  shackled  and  debased,  might  form 
some  barrier  against  the  unfeeling  policy  of  a  foreign  State,  considering 
Ireland  at  once  in  the  twofold  light  of  a  dependent  and  a  rival.  A  sense  of 
self-preservation,  an  identity  of  interest  with  the  country,  must  in  some  degree 
prevent  even  such  a  Parliament  from  entering  blindly  into  the  fears,  the  pre- 
judices, the  avarice  and  the  ignorance  of  the  British  merchant  and  manu- 
facturer, and  from  sacrificing  to  the  ephemeral  popularity  of  a  British  Minister 
the  fortune  and  the  hopes  of  the  latest  generations. 

An  attachment  to  country  will  cling  to  the  basest  minds  unless  counteracted 
by  some  powerful  personal  interest,  and  hence  there  would  exist  the  trouble- 
some and  expensive  necessity  of  constantly  maintaining  this  personal  counter- 
action. Or,  perhaps,  an  attachment  to  country  is  in  base  minds  but  an 
attachment  to  self,  to  some  personal  advantage  enjoyed  from  the  country,  un- 
connected with  one  social  feeling  or  generous  sentiment.  Such  vileness  must 
be  bought,  and  self  alone  could  outweigh  self.  The  Parliament  of  Ireland, 
therefore,  would  be  chiefly  impracticable  with  respect  to  the  trade  of  Ireland. 
The  prejudices  of  this  Parliament  were  all  in  favor  of  the  British  policy  of 
national  division ;  but  its  interests  were  all  against  the  British  policy  of  national 
depression  and  impoverishment.  This  Parliament  would  persecute  the  Catholic, 
but  might  not  wish  to  destroy  the  woolen  manufacture  of  Ireland.  But  the 
double  object  was  to  be  secured  of  keeping  Ireland  weak  by  poverty  and  weak 
by  disunion.  The  first  object  could  be  most  certainly  and  easily  attained 
through  the  British  Parliament,  and  the  latter  through  a  domestic  legislature. 
The  prejudices  of  the  British  Parliament  would  be  all  in  favor  of  British 
monopoly  in  trade,  the  prejudices  of  an  Irish  Parliament  in  favor  of  the  policy 


Irish  Industry  Crushed 


39 


of  exciting  the  Protestant  against  the  Catholic,  and  thus  depressing  and  de- 
basing the  great  body  of  the  Irish  people. 

Indeed  by  this  blind  persecuting  spirit  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  that  Par- 
liament was  made  the  instrument  also  of  the  commercial  jealousy  of  England. 
Even  if  the  religion  of  the  Catholic  was  really  with  the  Irish  Parliament  the 
only  object  of  the  Popery  Laws,  yet  his  industry,  though  indirectly,  was  much 
more  fatally  assailed.  A  solitary  convert  might  not  now  and  then  proclaim  the 
wretched  triumph  of  liberty  or  terror,  while  an  ignorant,  a  bigoted  and  a 
starving  population  betrayed  the  direful  and  permanent  effects  of  that  abom- 
inable code. 

Thus,  by  the  assumption  of  legislative  supremacy  in  the  Parliament  of 
England,  whatever  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  might  wish  to  spare  could  be 
destroyed,  and  Irish  industry  could  be  directed  or  crushed,  as  might  best 
promote  the  commercial  ambition,  or  gratify  the  commercial  malignity  of  Eng- 
land. The  Irish  Parliament  would  answer  the  subordinate  purposes  of  a  pro- 
vincial legislature,  prejudiced  and  odious,  full  of  apprehension  and  distrust, 
limited  not  only  in  its  virtual  but  in  its  formal  powers,  and  exhibiting  the 
appearance  as  well  as  the  reality  of  subjection,  appearing  to  act  by  a  delegated 
authority,  and  by  the  very  abuses  of  that  authority,  securing  the  dominion  of 
the  power,  from  which  it  seemed  to  emanate,  and  by  which  it  might  be  con- 
trolled. 

The  right  of  supreme  legislation  in  England  as  the  supreme  State,  assumed 
as  a  general  right,  unlimited  and  undefined,  necessarily  implied  a  right  of 
exercising  that  legislation  in  every  instance,  according  to  the  suggestion  of 
prudence  or  the  impulse  of  caprice;  and  the  Irish  Parliament  could  be  con- 
sidered as  existing  only  by  sufferance,  and  permitted  to  exist  only  from  policy. 
That  Parliament  was  destined,  in  one  short  moment  of  passing  glory,  to  alarm 
the  fears  and  to  humble  the  pride  of  England ;  but  it  was  also  doomed  to  perish 
for  ever  by  the  policy,  which  in  that  short  moment  it  could  disappoint  and  pro- 
voke. Before  that  short  moment  of  its  triumph,  and  that  fatal  moment  of  its 
doom  arrived,  England  continued  to  employ  it  in  the  domestic  drudgery  of 
routine  legislation,  or  in  the  more  vigorous  but  more  disgraceful  office  of  civil 
and  religious  persecution. 

But  why  should  England  thus  study  to  depress  and  to  debase  so  much 
more  than  seemed  necessary  to  her  safety,  and  so  much  more  than  seemed  even 
consistent  with  her  interest?  Would  not  wisdom  prescribe  a  more  generous 
policy,  must  not  the  extreme  weakness  and  impoverishment  of  Ireland  defeat 
the  rapacity  which  demanded  the  sacrifice,  and  enfeeble  the  power  which  tri- 
umphed in  desolation?  When  England  had  subdued  the  country  and  had 
formed  the  province,  why  could  she  not,  like  ancient  Rome,  govern  with  au- 
thority but  govern  without  fear,  destroy  all  constitutional  freedom,  but  destroy 
not  the  means  of  life? 

That  England  might,  by  an  enlarged  and  liberal  policy,  have  secured  to 
Ireland  happiness  and  to  herself  glory  and  strength,  and  have  exhibited  to 
surrounding  nations  a  singular  union  of  conquest  and  moderation  was  certainly 


40 


Roman  and  English  Systems 


within  the  limits  of  moral  contingency.  That  England  would  have  oppressed 
with  a  milder  tyranny  might  have  been  expected,  even  upon  the  cold  calcula- 
tions of  common  political  prudence.  But  a  comparison  of  the  native  powers 
and  capacities  of  the  two  countries,  which  loudly  proclaimed  a  competition 
of  native  strength,  the  consciousness  of  aggravated  wrongs,  the  dread  of  long 
provoked  vengeance,  the  pride  of  power,  the  jealousy  of  commerce,  all  con- 
spired to  produce  on  the  part  of  England  a  policy,  narrow,  suspicious,  selfish 
and  sanguinary.  Ireland  had  been  subdued  without  any  settled,  preconceived 
plan  of  conquest  and  dominion,  and  throughout  the  entire  duration  of  her 
dependent  existence  she  has  exhibited  not  only  an  opposition  between  form 
and  reality,  but  the  more  wonderful  opposition  of  rivalship  and  servitude.  By 
nature  a  rival,  by  fortune  an  appendage  to  Britain,  the  bounty  of  Providence 
has  been  her  curse,  the  equal  has  been  punished  in  the  slave.  A  conviction  of 
what  Ireland  might  do  and  ought  to  do  seems  to  have  impressed  upon  the  policy 
by  which  her  destiny  has  been  controlled  a  character  of  cruelty  and  fear,  of 
jealousy  and  meanness,  unexampled  in  the  annals  of  provincial  administration. 

The  history  of  ancient  Rome,  from  her  humble  origin  to  the  zenith  of  her 
power,  presents  an  almost  uninterrupted  scene  of  conquest,  and  the  imagination 
is  constantly  occupied  and  elevated  with  the  renown  of  military  achievement. 
We  are  astonished  and  improved  by  the  wisdom  of  their  admirable  institutions, 
which  gave  harmony  and  strength  and  permanence  to  the  solid  fabric  of  her 
greatness,  and  we  ascribe  the  victories  of  the  republic  not  to  fortune  but  to 
genius.  The  Romans  were  trained  to  conquest  upon  a  system  uniform  and 
comprehensive.  The  design  of  universal  dominion  could  only  have  been 
gradually  inspired  by  successive  triumphs,  but  the  policy  which  led  to  that 
dominion  was  early  formed  and  steadily  pursued.  It  was  simple  and  grand, 
capable  of  universal  application,  not  depending  on  individual  caprice  or  talents, 
nor  on  the  varying  impulse  of  the  people.  Domestic  struggles  terminated  in 
a  well-construed  government,  and  domestic  peace  must  have  given  energy 
to  foreign  exertions ;  but  their  institutions,  which  were  more  immediately  con- 
nected with  conquest,  continued  their  uniform  advancement  and  operation, 
undistinguished  by  political  storms.  The  imperious  policy  of  war  controlled 
all  parties  and  combined  all  talents.  The  unity  of  conquest  was  preserved 
entire.  In  maintaining  the  honor,  enlarging  the  boundaries  and  advancing  the 
glory  of  the  republic  the  efforts  of  all  its  citizens  were  voluntary,  ardent  and 
persevering. 

As  the  surrounding  countries  were  successively  subdued,  they  were  de- 
prived of  national  existence  and  freedom,  but  once  deprived  of  independence, 
they  were  no  longer  considered  as  distinct  objects  of  jealousy  or  apprehension. 
By  a  singular  and  happy  policy  universally  applied  to  all  the  members  of  the 
empire,  the  fortune  of  the  province  was  almost  identified  with  the  fortune 
of  the  ruling  state,  and  all  seemed  blended  into  one  mighty  mass,  actuated  by 
a  common  principle  of  life  and  intelligence.  The  provinces  were,  no  doubt, 
servile  and  debased.  But  the  liberal  and  fearless  policy  of  Rome  permitted 
them  to  enjoy  every  advantage  not  absolutely  inconsistent  with  its  universal 


Rome's  Temperate  Rule  41 

views,  and  freely  imparted  the  benefits  of  a  superior  advancement  in  science, 
laws  and  manners.  The  provinces  were  degraded,  and  they  must  have  felt  their 
degradation ;  they  were  oppressed  and  they  must  have  felt  the  oppression, 
but  that  degradation  and  that  oppression  were  only  such  as  seem  inseparable 
from  the  loss  of  national  independence.  They  were  the  necessary  incidents  of 
conquest,  not  the  studied  aggravations  of  malevolence.  The  Roman  province 
was  not  brutalized  and  impoverished  upon  system.  The  very  principle  upon 
which  it  was  governed  was  not  a  principle  of  deterioration.  Every  vestige  of 
independence  was  destroyed,  but  all  the  fountains  of  happiness  were  not 
poisoned.  Industry  was  oppressed  by  exaction,  but  not  prohibited  by  law. 
Every  province  was  held  in  subjection  by  the  united  force  of  the  empire,  and 
governed  by  a  common  rule  of  domination  applied  to  every  part  without  dis- 
tinction and  without  fear.  The  idea  of  jealousy  arising  from  a  rivalship  or 
competition  of  interests  between  the  empire  and  the  province  could  not  exist. 
The  despotism  of  Rome  over  her  dependencies  was  not  the  despotism  of  dis- 
trust, suspicion  and  envy;  it  was  the  despotism  of  a  power  which,  having 
formed  the  ambitious  design  of  conquest,  was  soon  taught  by  success  to  con- 
sider itself  irresistible,  and  which  viewed  every  new  acquisition  as  an  accession 
of  strength,  not  as  an  object  of  apprehension. 

The  vanquished  nations,  with  their  inhabitants,  their  wealth  and  their 
capabilities,  were  embraced  within  the  common  circle  of  empire,  interest  and 
protection.  In  the  loss  of  independence  they  lost  everything  most  interesting 
and  elevating  to  man,  the  ennobling  consciousness  of  a  power  to  be  free,  but 
that  loss  was  not  embittered  by  the  vexatious,  petty,  malignant  hostility  of  a 
suspicious  tyranny.  The  objects  of  a  policy,  absolute  but  wise,  consistent  and 
temperate,  the  provincials  were  ruled,  not  persecuted;  destitute  of  freedom, 
they  were  not  also  destitute  of  ease;  they  enjoyed  without  envy  and  without 
control  all  the  advantages  which  can  be  separated  from  self-government. 

Had  the  reduction  of  Ireland  to  the  state  of  a  Roman  province  completed 
the  extensive  plan  of  Agricola,  we  might  demonstrate  by  the  contrast  of  facts 
applied  to  Ireland  herself  the  difference  between  the  condition  of  a  dependency 
of  Rome  and  a  dependency  of  Britain.  We  might  demonstrate  by  the  melan- 
choly contrast  of  her  servitude,  the  superior  misery  of  being  subject  to  a  power, 
strong  enough  to  subdue  and  oppress,  but  which,  from  situation,  from  circum- 
stances and  from  character,  must  ever  view  with  suspicion  and  dread,  a  country 
formed  by  nature  for  commercial  pre-eminence,  and,  by  the  very  means  em- 
ployed to  enfeeble  and  debase,  instructed  in  the  secret  of  her  strength  and  in 
the  remedy  of  her  misfortunes.  It  is  a  miserable  policy,  which  betrays  the  fears, 
while  it  inflicts  the  wrongs  of  oppression.  By  exposing  the  weakness  as  well 
as  the  injustice  of  despotism,  a  reiteration  of  cruelty  seems  necessary  to  self- 
defence.  When  in  the  sad  history  of  his  undoing  the  slave  has  been  taught  a 
lesson  of  independence,  the  tyrant  can  see  no  safety  but  in  an  accumulated 
weight  of  chains,  the  slave  no  retreat  from  suffering  but  in  death  or  emanci- 
pation. 

Lord  Lyttelton,  after  mentioning  an  unsuccessful  attempt  of  the  conquest 


42  Disunion  Fostered 

of  Ireland  by  Magnus,  King  of  Norway,  in  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, makes  the  following  observations  : 

If  this  enterprise  had  been  more  wisely  conducted,  and  the  success  had  been  answer- 
able to  what  the  divisions  among  the  Irish  princes,  and  the  inclination  of  the  Ostmen  in 
favor  of  a  Monarch,  from  whose  country  most  of  them  originally  came,  seemed  reason- 
able to  promise,  it  would  have  erected  in  Ireland  a  Norwegian  Kingdom,  which,  together 
with  Man  and  the  other  dominions  of  Magnus,  full  of  shipping  and  good  seamen,  might 
in  progress  of  time,  have  composed  a  maritime  power  capable  of  maintaining  itself 
perhaps  for  ever,  against  that  of  the  English,  and  disputing  with  them  the  sovereignty  of 
the  sea.  It  may  indeed  be  esteemed  most  happy  for  this  nation  [England]  that  no  King 
of  Denmark  or  of  Norway,  or  of  Sweden,  nor  any  prince  of  the  Ostmen  settled  in 
Ireland,  ever  gained  an  entire  dominion  of  that  isle,  for  had  it  remained  under  the  orderly 
government  of  any  of  these,  its  neighborhood  would  have  been,  in  many  respects,  prej- 
udicial to  England. 

The  conclusions  of  the  noble  historian  appear  to  be  indisputable,  and  as 
important  as  they  are  probable.  He  might,  too,  with  equal  sagacity,  though 
not,  perhaps,  with  equal  prudence,  have  made  another  supposition,  and  might 
have  drawn  conclusions  as  instructive  and  as  irresistible.  He  might  have  said, 
had  Ireland,  breasting  the  Atlantic,  been  left  to  the  fortune  of  her  native 
independence,  unassailed  by  foreign  ambition,  she  might,  in  progress  of  time, 
have  composed  a  maritime  power  capable  of  maintaining  itself  for  ever  against 
England,  and  preventing  the  growth  of  that  inordinate  domination,  which  has 
oppressed  with  its  crimes  the  east  and  the  west,  the  African  and  the  Hindoo; 
and  he  might  have  said,  that  should  Ireland  ever  be  restored  to  the  independ- 
ence which  she  has  lost,  Britain  might  resign,  and  resign  forever,  the  empire 
of  the  seas. 

The  formidable  aspect  of  Ireland,  as  an  independent  state,  appears,  indeed, 
to  have  made  a  strong  and  fatal  impression  on  the  councils  of  England  at  an 
early  period. 

In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  the  unfeeling  and  detestable  policy  of  ruling  Ire- 
land by  means  of  her  intestine  divisions,  her  barbarism  and  her  poverty,  was 
openly  avowed  by  the  ministers  of  that  princess. 

Should  we  exert  ourselves,  said  they,  in  reducing  this  country  to  order  and 
civility,  it  must  soon  acquire  power,  consequence  and  riches,  the  inhabitants 
will  be  thus  alienated  from  England,  they  will  cast  themselves  into  the  arms 
of  some  foreign  power,  or  perhaps  exert  themselves  into  an  independent  and 
separate  state.  Let  us  rather  connive  at  their  disorders,  for  a  weak  and  dis- 
ordered people  never  can  attempt  to  detach  themselves  from  the  crown  of 
England. 

It  is  true,  Sir  Henry  Sydney  and  Sir  John  Perrot,  who  perfectly  understood 
the  affairs  of  Ireland  and  the  disposition  of  the  inhabitants,  a  generous  dis- 
position easily  won  and  attached  by  kindness,  both  expressed  the  utmost  indig- 
nations at  such  abominable  maxims.  "Yet  this  doctrine  found  its  way",  says 
the  historian,  "into  the  English  Parliament".  Certainly  that  was  not  the  first 
era  of  its  appearance  in  that  Parliament.    From  the  time  that  Ireland  can  be 


Policy  of  Depression 


43 


said  to  have  seriously  engaged  the  attention  of  the  British  Cabinet,  the  doc- 
trine of  binding  Irishmen,  not  by  voluntary  attachment,  but  by  hopeless  debility, 
has  uniformly  pervaded  its  councils,  while  the  British  Parliament,  untouched 
by  individual  pity,  unrestrained  by  individual  honor,  or  the  feeling  of  individual 
shame,  has  been  ready  to  execute,  and  even  to  anticipate,  the  worst  purposes 
of  this  vile  policy  of  depression. 

This  malignant  jealousy  towards  Ireland  increased  with  the  increasing 
commerce  of  England.  It  was  impressed  upon  the  measures  of  each  successive 
minister,  not  merely  by  his  own  prejudices  and  apprehensions,  but  by  the  more 
intemperate  fears  and  prejudices  of  the  people.  A  minister  of  genius,  in- 
trepidity and  virtue,  might  soar  above  the  hackneyed  and  barbarous  policy  of 
ages.  But  the  fate  of  Ireland  rested  not  even  on  the  remote  and  precarious 
chance  of  a  generous  and  wise  administration.  It  rested  on  the  passions  and 
the  prejudices,  or  the  ignorance,  the  pride  and  the  avarice  of  an  entire  people. 
The  boasted  pre-eminence  of  the  British  constitution  in  giving  effect  to  popular 
will  was  a  source  of  calamity  to  the  province.  In  the  progress  of  the  com- 
mercial system  of  England,  an  intimate  union  was  formed  between  the  state 
and  the  commercial  interest  of  the  nation.  The  commercial  gained  a  complete 
ascendancy  over  every  other  interest  whatever.  Trade  not  only  received  a 
peculiar  and  constant  and  anxious  protection,  but  the  most  unreasonable  de- 
sires and  apprehensions  of  the  trading  part  of  the  community  were  flattered 
by  the  ministers  and  the  Parliament.  The  power  of  the  British  merchant, 
manufacturer  and  mechanic  multiplied  the  wrongs,  perpetuated  the  independ- 
ence, and  aggravated  the  mortifications  of  Ireland.  The  Irishman  and  the 
negro  were  enslaved  upon  the  very  same  principle.  In  acts  of  foreign  tyranny 
the  British  minister  was  the  servant  both  of  the  Crown  and  the  people.  In 
acts  of  foreign  tyranny  the  British  Parliament  faithfully  represented  the 
wishes  of  its  constituents.  To  increase  the  commerce  of  England  seemed  a 
sufficient  motive  and  justification  for  the  foulest  injustice  and  most  licentious 
despotism  towards  other  nations  and  its  own  dependencies. 

Had  Ireland  been  less  the  favorite  of  nature,  she  would  have  been  less  the 
victim  of  policy.  But  Tier  great  natural  advantages,  which  impressed  the 
ministers  of  Elizabeth  with  the  well-founded  opinion  that,  possessed  of  a  good 
government,  she  must  soon  acquire  power,  consequence  and  riches,  seem  to 
have  marked  her  for  destruction.  The  maxims  of  the  ministers,  though  not 
so  directly  avowed,  were  embraced  by  their  successors.  They  have  been  in- 
variably pursued,  and  can  be  easily  traced  in  characters  deep  and  lasting.  Had 
Ireland  been  less  formidable,  England  might  have  been  less  unjust  both  to 
Ireland  and  to  herself. 

The  contracted  genius  and  dastardly  spirit  of  a  government,  filled  with  the 
constant  dread  of  competition  or  revolt,  seem  to  have  marred  the  fortune  of 
the  empire,  as  well  as  the  fortune  of  the  province.  Instead  of  the  wise  and 
magnanimous  conception  of  comprehending  Ireland  within  a  common  circle 
of  hopes  and  fears,  of  interests  and  wishes,  the  mean  and  dangerous  principle 
of  exclusion  was  adopted. 


44 


A  Crime  to  be  Enslaved 


Ireland  must  not  be  independent,  was  a  proposition  which  involved  a 
melancholy  train  of  base  and  malevolent  ideas.  It  was  a  maxim  which  con- 
stantly led  the  mind  to  jealousy  and  suspicion.  It  seemed  to  put  a  negative 
on  the  communication  of  happiness,  to  confine  the  genius  to  petty  temporary 
expedients  of  prevention,  and  to  limit  the  benefits  of  conquest  to  the  mere 
extinction  of  a  rival.  And  is  not  that  advantage  great  ?  Would  not  the  actual 
physical  extinction  of  Ireland  be  to  England  a  subject  of  congratulation  com- 
pared to  the  existence  of  Ireland  as  an  independent  separate  state?  Such  in- 
deed does  appear  to  be  a  question  ever  present  in  the  mind  of  British  states- 
men, and  their  idea  of  continuing  Ireland  impotent,  abject  and  dependent, 
seems  to  have  bounded  their  ambition. 

A  conviction  that  nature,  in  assimulating  the  powers,  had  contrasted  the 
interests  of  the  countries,  seems  to  have  precluded  every  generous  attempt  to 
unite  them  by  sympathy  or  affection  derived  from  a  participation  of  common 
advantages,  and  a  consciousness  of  reciprocal  benefaction. 

The  haughty  spirit  of  conquest  could  not  stoop  to  equality,  the  contracted 
spirit  of  commerce  either  could  not  conceive  or  would  not  tolerate  a  community 
of  rights.  The  idea  of  keeping  Ireland  down  was  the  only  idea  which  could 
satisfy  the  pride  and  the  prejudices  of  Englishmen,  which  could  reconcile  all 
interests,  allay  all  fears,  please  all  fancies,  indulge  all  passions,  and  silence 
all  complaints. 

But  in  this  conspiracy  of  weak,  sordid  and  malignant  principles  against  her 
peace,  Ireland  might  learn  to  respect  herself — to  respect  that  strength  which 
could  excite  the  jealousy  and  provoke  the  persecution  of  her  oppressor.  She 
might  learn  in  her  humiliation  a  lesson  of  lofty  ambition.  If  nature  had  not 
created  an  opposition  of  interests,  policy,  at  least,  had  produced  it.  If  nature 
had  given  the  means  of  independence,  policy  had  made  it  necessary  to  self- 
preservation.  The  nation  which  is  feared  ought  to  be  aspiring.  With  strength 
to  be  free  it  is  a  crime  to  be  enslaved. 


Bigotry    .    .    .    it  has  been  a  pestilence  to 
.   .   .   religion  has  retired  to  weep  over 
appeals  to  her  Founder,  to  the  Founder  of 
exciting  these  crimes. 


the  land  ...  in  the  hand  of  power 
the  horrors  committed  in  her  name — and 
universal  benevolence,  from  the  charge  of 

Miss  Emmet. 


Part  VIII 


English  Declaratory  Act — 6  George  I.  Blackstone — From  era  of  the  Revolution 
Irish  Parliament  presented  spectacle  of  vilest  debasement — The  Catholics  instead 
of  reposing  on  the  bosom  of  their  country,  were  forced  to  cling  for  safety  to  the 
mercy  of  the  English  crown — By  the  Act  6  of  George  I,  the  Parliament  of  England 
sanctified  all  its  past  usurpations  and  Ireland  acquiesced — Blackstone  justified  the 
"right  of  conquest". 


ROM  the  era  of  the  Revolution  the  Parliament  of  Ireland 
presented  a  spectacle  of  the  vilest  debasement.  Humbled 
by  the  Parliament  of  England  to  the  abject  condition 
of  a  subordinate  legislature,  even  the  limits  of  its  cir- 
cumscribed authority  were  not  ascertained  by  any  fixed 
distribution  of  powers  and  privileges,  but  depended  on 
the  undefined,  capricious  and  arbitrary  inclinations  of  the 
superior  assembly.  Whenever  the  English  Parliament 
deemed  it  expedient  to  interfere  either  in  the  legislative 
or  judicial  capacity,  its  will  constituted  at  once  the  principle  and  the  justi- 
fication. The  transient  and  feeble  complaints  of  the  Irish  Parliament 
were  treated  with  insolent  contempt.  Yet  this  Parliament,  thus  degraded 
and  insulted,  became  the  miserable  instrument  of  the  tyranny  which 
oppressed  it.  More  debased  by  its  own  passions,  than  by  the  des- 
potism to  which  it  bowed,  the  very  period  of  its  greatest  servitude  was 
stained  by  the  most  unprovoked  and  senseless  persecution.  At  the  very 
period,  when  it  presumed  to  feel  the  infringement  of  its  own  privileges  and  the 
destruction  of  Irish  commerce,  it  wantonly  outraged  the  most  sacred  rights  of 
nature,  and  assailed  the  most  sacred  duties  of  social  life.  In  a  country  beg- 
gared and  debilitated  by  a  foreign  parliament,  this  domestic  legislature,  blinded 
by  religious  bigotry,  or  moved  by  baser  self-interest,  enacted  laws  ruinous  to 
the  peace,  the  morals  and  the  industry  of  its  people.  The  Catholics,  instead  of 
reposing  on  the  bosom  of  their  country,  were  forced  to  cling  for  safety  to  the 
mercy  of  the  Crown.  The  policy  of  disunion  became  completely  triumphant. 
The  good  sense  or  pleasantry  of  a  deputy  might  now  extend  protection  to  the 
persons  of  men  deprived  of  every  right,  without  endangering  the  power,  which 
rested  securely  on  their  ignominious  proscription  and  on  the  delusion  of  the 
Protestant. 

This  frantic  or  corrupt  persecution  of  the  Catholic  seemed  to  be  revenged 
in  the  severe  mortification  of  the  Parliament.   This  Parliament,  thus  powerful 

45 


46 


Act  6.  Geo.  I 


to  destroy,  and  uncontrolled  in  desolation,  was  at  length  formally  and  expressly 
declared  by  an  English  Act  of  Parliament  to  be,  what  it  had  long  virtually 
been,  the  dependent  instrument  of  foreign  domination.  By  the  memorable 
Act  6th.  Geo.  I  the  Parliament  of  England,  with  imperious  despotism,  sanctified 
all  its  past  usurpations,  and  recorded  the  high  prerogative  of  strength  to  tyran- 
nize over  weakness. 

Whatever  ideas  of  self-importance  the  provincial  legislature  might  have 
hitherto  indulged,  were  now  completely  banished.  The  dream  of  independence 
was  at  an  end,  and  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  awoke  to  all  the  meanness  of  its 
condition.  This  wretched  assembly  now  exercised  an  authority  confessedly 
subordinate  and  precarious.  The  same  power,  which  had  declared  its  depend- 
ence might  destroy  its  existence.  That  existence  could  be  considered  as  con- 
tinued only  from  convenience.  When  it  was  declared  "that  the  British  Parlia- 
ment had,  hath,  and  of  right  ought  to  have  full  power  and  authority  to  make 
laws  and  statutes  of  sufficient  force  and  validity  to  bind  the  People  and  Kingdom 
of  Ireland",  it  was  really  declared  that  the  Irish  Parliament  existed  entirely 
by  sufferance,  as  the  instrument  of  those  menial  offices,  which  the  British  Par- 
liament might  consider  beneath  its  dignity  and  unworthy  its  regard ;  or  those 
offices  of  desolation,  which  the  British  minister  might  think  best  suited  to  the 
interests,  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  provincial  assembly.  Since  by  the 
Declaratory  Act  6th.  Geo.  I  the  authority  of  the  Parliament  of  England  to 
bind  Ireland  by  its  laws  was  assumed  to  be  an  authority  original,  universal, 
absolute  and  without  control,  it  is  demonstrative  that  the  Parliament  of  Ire- 
land was  permitted  to  legislate  from  policy  merely.  As  the  Parliament  of  Eng- 
land was  declared  to  have  a  right  to  legislate  in  every  instance,  the  Parliament 
of  Ireland  could  have  but  a  licence  to  legislate  in  every  instance,  and  could  be 
permitted  to  enjoy  that  licence  only  the  better  to  promote  the  views  of  the 
haughty  power  which  had  arrogated  the  right. 

While  the  friend  of  freedom  disdains  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  Irish 
Parliament,  he  must  sympathize  in  the  fate  of  the  Irish  people,  through  all 
the  changes  of  British  policy,  still  doomed  to  endure  the  bitter  curse  of  insult 
and  the  gloomy  horrors  of  servitude,  and  still  seize  every  opportunity,  which 
the  history  of  that  policy  presents,  to  illustrate  its  motives,  and  to  reprobate 
its  injustice. 

The  object  of  England  was  monopoly  in  trade,  as  the  support  of  present 
greatness  and  the  source  of  future  aggrandizement.  Most  of  her  dependencies 
seemed,  by  situation  and  productions,  naturally  excluded  from  competition, 
calculated  to  consume  the  produce  of  British  industry,  and  to  return  what 
British  luxury  might  consume,  or  British  industry  might  diffuse,  either  in  its 
original  state,  or  with  the  additional  improvements  of  ingenuity  and  art,  and 
what  the  wants  or  the  luxury  of  other  countries  might  finally  consume.  But 
Ireland  in  every  point  of  view,  in  geographical  station,  in  soil,  in  productions, 
in  people,  presented  the  constant  idea  of  competition  favored  by  superior  ad- 
vantages from  nature.  Ireland  irresistibly  forced  upon  the  mind  the  image  of 
a  country,  the  inhabitants  of  which  would  easily  fall  into' the  three  great  classes 


Ireland's  Unique  Situation 


47 


of  husbandmen,  manufacturers  and  merchants,  from  whose  various  and  recipro- 
cal connections  and  labors,  wealth,  strength  and  independence  would  necessarily 
be  derived  in  the  free  and  unrestrained  advancement  of  her  means.  Happy 
in  the  facility  of  supporting  a  multitude  of  laborious  hands,  in  the  means  of 
varied  and  abundant  agriculture,  in  many  productions  of  nature,  the  raw  ma- 
terials of  art,  and  in  an  industrious  and  ingenious  people  capable  of  adding 
to  these  materials  or  to  the  productions  of  other  climates  the  incalculable  value 
of  diligence  and  skill,  Ireland  seemed  formed  to  supply  the  wants  and  minister 
to  the  convenience  and  even  luxury  of  numerous  other  states.  Placed  on  the 
western  skirt  of  Europe,  and  three-fourths  of  her  shores  washed  by  the  At- 
lantic, after  the  discovery  of  a  new  world  had  opened  to  European  ambition 
new  sources  of  aggrandizement,  she  seemed  destined  to  connect  the  intercourse 
of  eastern  and  western  hemispheres.  Independently  of  the  discovery  of 
America  the  situation  of  Ireland  appeared  peculiarly  fitted  for  commercial  en- 
terprise. She  was  not  only  cast  between  England  and  the  West,  but  she  also 
possessed  a  greater  facility  of  communication  with  the  East,  and  with  many 
regions  of  Europe.  The  power  of  independent  competition  seemed,  indeed, 
marked  in  such  bold  characters  by  nature  that  it  required  the  unceasing  efforts 
of  an  active  and  malicious  policy  to  defeat  the  obvious  purposes  of  creation. 
But,  as  the  fears  or  folly  of  England  prevented  the  experiment  of  excluding 
the  idea  of  competition  between  the  countries,  by  cherishing  the  idea  of  com- 
mon interest  founded  on  the  enjoyment  of  common  rights,  the  desperate  and 
cruel  alternative  was  embraced.  It  was  determined  to  exclude  all  competition 
by  the  impotence  of  ignorance  and  the  torpor  of  despair,  by  insidious  artifices 
to  counteract  the  tendencies  of  nature,  and  by  open  and  direct  interference  to 
assail  the  energies,  which  artifice  might  enfeeble,  but  could  not  destroy.  By 
fraud  or  by  force  it  was  resolved  so  to  mould  and  fashion  the  natural  ad- 
vantages of  Ireland  as  to  convert  the  very  means  of  independence  into  sub- 
sidiary instruments  of  servitude.  Hence,  among  a  thousand  instances,  the 
unsheltered  peasantry  and  starving  manufacturers  of  Ireland  manned  the  fleets, 
and  recruited  the  armies  which  enslaved  her. 

When  England  seemed  to  have  added  strength  to  her  constitution  by  seat- 
ing the  House  of  Hanover  on  the  throne,  when  her  commerce  and  her  arms 
had  exalted  her  power  and  resources  above  every  other  European  state,  her 
policy  towards  Ireland  could  only  be  satisfied  by  the  most  unequivocal  ex- 
pression of  the  most  unbounded  despotism. 

By  the  statute  for  "better  securing  the  dependency  of  Ireland",  a  formal 
enunciation  was  made  of  the  vile  connection  between  tyrant  and  slave. 

The  grave  commentator  on  the  laws  of  England  was  now  to  initiate  the 
British  youth  in  the  pride  of  power  and  the  sophistry  of  ambition ;  and  the 
future  senator  was  to  imbibe  in  early  life  the  unhallowed  principles  of  op- 
pression. Ireland  was  now  enrolled  in  the  pompous  catalogue  of  countries 
subject  to  the  dominion  of  England.  She  was  now  told  by  high  authority  that 
even  previous  to  the  6th.  of  Geo.  I  she  was  bound  by  Act  of  the  British  Par- 
liament, whenever  that  parliament  condescended  to  have  her  in  its  contempla- 


48 


Right  of  Conquest 


tion  under  general  words  or  particular  nomination.  She  was  not  only  in- 
structed in  the  rule  of  her  subjection,  but  in  the  reason  of  the  rule.  "It  followed 
from  the  very  nature  and  constitution  of  a  dependent  state ;  dependence  being 
very  little  else  but  an  obligation  to  conform  to  the  will  or  law  of  that  superior 
person  or  state,  upon  which  the  inferior  depends."  She  was  also  informed  of 
the  reason  and  true  ground  of  this  superiority  to  which  she  was  submissively 
to  bend.  It  was  "what  we  usually,  tho'  somewhat  improperly,  call  the  right 
of  conquest ;  a  right  allowed  by  the  Law  of  Nations,  if  not  by  that  of  nature ; 
but  which  in  reason  and  civil  policy  can  mean  nothing  more  than  that,  in  order  to 
put  an  end  to  hostilities,  a  compact  is  either  expressly  or  tacitly  made  between 
the  conqueror  and  the  conquered,  that  if  they  will  acknowledge  the  victor  for 
their  Master  he  will  treat  them  for  the  future  as  Subjects,  and  not  as  enemies". 
When  Molyneaux  denied  that  Ireland  ever  had  been  conquered,  when  he  sup- 
ported her  rights  to  liberty  by  charters,  and  to  independence  by  her  distinct 
legislature,  he  only  attempted  to  defend  a  good  cause  by  means  unnecessary  or 
fallacious.  He  erred  through  an  extreme  anxiety  to  fence  his  argument  from 
every  possible  attack.  He  erred  through  the  vain  imagination  that  precedent 
might  control  those  whom  pity  could  not  melt,  whom  a  sense  of  justice  could 
not  influence,  and  that  men,  who  wielded  the  sword  of  power,  would  regard 
the  recorded  privileges  of  weakness.  When  Molyneaux  bowed  with  the  lowesf 
submission  to  the  great  council  of  England  he  only  betrayed  the  involuntary 
dejection  of  an  honest  mind  unconscious  of  its  own  humiliation. 

But  when  the  sanctified  commentator  on  the  rights  of  Englishmen,  who 
breathes  a  pious  prayer  for  their  perpetuity,  maintains  that  force  can  be  a  just 
foundation  for  dominion;  when  he  affirms  that  Ireland  by  right  of  conquest 
continued  in  a  state  of  dependence,  and  must  necessarily  conform  to  such 
laws,  as  the  superior  state  might  think  proper  to  prescribe,  and  that  when  this 
state  of  dependence  was  almost  forgotten  and  ready  to  be  disputed  by  the 
Irish  nation,  it  became  necessary  in  order  to  bring  back  these  mutinous  slaves 
to  a  recollection  of  their  condition  and  a  sense  of  their  duty,  to  declare  how  that 
matter  really  stood,  and  solemnly  to  record  in  the  rolls  of  the  British  Parliament 
its  own  opinion  of  its  own  title  to  subdue,  to  plunder  and  to  oppress ;  and  when 
he  delivers  this  with  all  the  gravity  of  a  professor,  in  the  midst  of  an  elaborate 
panegyric  on  laws  and  liberties  and  constitution,  the  indignant  advocate  of  truth 
cannot  stoop  to  refute  doctrines  so  impudent  and  absurd. 

What  is  the  right  of  conquest,  the  original  and  true  ground  of  the  de- 
pendence of  Ireland  and  of  her  obligation  to  conform  to  the  will  of  the 
superior  state,  according  to  the  definition  of  this  liberal  and  scientific  pre- 
ceptor of  British  youth?  "It  is  a  right  allowed  by  the  Law  of  Nations,  if  not 
by  that  of  nature,  but  which  in  reason  and  civil  policy  can  mean  nothing  more 
than  that,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  hostilities,  a  compact  is  either  expressly 
or  tacitly  formed  between  the  conqueror  and  conquered,  that  if  they  will 
acknowledge  the  Victor  for  their  Master  he  will  treat  them  for  the  future  as 
Subjects  [bound  to  conform  to  his  will  as  their  only  law]  and  not  as  enemies". 
Thus  was  the  ardent  and  ductile  mind  to  learn  the  principles  of  justice  in  the 


Crime  of  Oppression 


49 


practice  of  nations,  to  set  up  the  laws  of  ambition  against  the  laws  of  nature, 
and  compacts  of  compulsion  against  the  inalienable  rights  which  they  infringed, 
to  respect  in  the  sword  of  Zinges  or  Tamerlane  the  just  foundation  of  govern- 
ment, and  in  the  sword  of  Mahomet  the  just  foundation  of  religion.  Thus  the 
men  who  were  to  bind  Ireland  by  their  laws,  were  piously  taught  that  to  have 
stopped  short  of  the  crime  of  extermination  sanctified  for  ever  the  crime  of 
oppression,  and  that  Irishmen  might  be  murdered  as  enemies,  or  must  submit 
to  be  manacled  as  slaves. 


As  <well  might  you  seek  to  stem  the  impetuous  ocean  <with  a  mound  of  sand  as  hope  to 
confine  the  current  of  public  opinion,  and  public  wishes,  by  making  it  criminal  to 
think,  and  punishable  to  <wish;  as  quell  may  you  seek  to  calm  the  raging  minds  of 
heaven  by  bidding  them  be  still,  as  hope  to  limit  the  human  understanding  by  penal 
restriction. 

Miss  Emmet. 


Part  IX 


Free  Trade — Repeal  of  Poynings'  Law,  and  of  the  Act  6,  George  I. — In  1778 
the  wretchedness  of  Ireland  appeared  for  the  first  time  to  interest  the  English 
Parliament — Not  from  sense  of  justice  or  generosity,  but  from  fear — England  made 
sacrifices  to  fear  which  she  refused  to  justice — But  they  were  insincere — The  effect 
of  the  American  Revolution — It  assisted,  interested  and  elevated  the  Irish  mind — 
The  formidable  change  from  feeble  lamentation  to  bold  demands  and  the  array  of 
60,000  volunteers  demonstrated  to  England  the  necessity  of  concessions — Something 
resembling  Free  Trade  was  given — Poynings'  Statute  and  the  6th  of  George  I  were 
repealed — The  English  Parliament  renounced  "for  ever"  the  right  to  bind  Ireland 
by  its  laws — Generous  and  confiding  Ireland,  in  a  delirium  of  unsuspecting  en- 
thusiasm, accepted  it  all  as  genuine. 

HILE  an  unjust  and  unprovoked  invasion,  which  had  in- 
volved Ireland  in  centuries  of  darkness  and  blood,  was 
deliberately  advanced  as  a  rightful  origin  of  British 
domination ;  while  force,  which  she  could  not  resist,  was 
made  a  justification  of  the  servitude,  to  which  she  was 
consigned,  her  condition  exhibited  a  dreadful  illustration 
of  the  principles  of  her  dependence. 

The  policy  of  depression  had  been  carried  to  an 
extremity  which  seemed  inconsistent  with  the  very 
selfishness  from  which  it  flowed.  In  the  year  1778  the  wretchedness  of 
Ireland  appeared  for  the  first  time  to  interest  the  British  Parliament.  But 
it  was  not  the  justice  or  generosity  of  that  Parliament  which  the  wretchedness 
of  Ireland  had  moved.  It  had  alarmed  its  fears.  Individuals  in  the  zeal  of  party, 
or  perhaps  in  the  sincerity  of  virtue,  might  seem  to  feel,  or  might  really  feel 
the  truths  which  they  proclaimed,  but  the  mass  of  that  Parliament  was  actu- 
ated by  the  cold  maxims  of  prudence  alone,  in  a  wish  to  relax  in  some  degree 
the  commercial  bondage  of  Ireland.  For  some  time,  however,  the  people  of 
England,  less  prudent  than  the  Parliament,  could  not  see  that  even  selfishness 
was  deeply  concerned  in  the  demands  of  justice. 

Ireland  was  not  only  ruled  by  the  artful  temporising  policy  of  the  Cabinet 
of  England ;  she  was  also  subject  to  the  blind,  bigoted  selfishness  of  the  English 
manufactory  and  counting-house,  which  would  not  feel  or  would  not  confess 
that  Ireland  might  be  sunk  too  low  even  upon  the  base  calculations  of  com- 
mercial arithmetic. 

The  Minister  yielded  to  prejudices,  which,  however  marked  by  folly  and 

pregnant  with  mischief,  he  had  not  the  virtue  or  courage  to  resist.  The 

50 


Free  Trade 


51 


conduct,  which  is  not  founded  on  the  unbending  principle  of  right,  but  on  the 
pliant  maxims  of  expediency,  is  often  mortified  by  severer  sacrifices  to  fear 
than  need  have  been  made  at  first  to  justice.  The  Parliament  and  people  of 
England  were  soon  humbled  to  concession,  which  the  haughty  spirit  of 
despotism  could  never  have  anticipated,  and  which  it  was  impossible  could  be 
sincere.  The  unfeeling  and  unpolitic  exercise  of  legislation  terminated  in  the 
entire  and  absolute  renunciation  of  legislative  supremacy.  Ireland  was  at 
length  taught  by  necessity  a  lesson  she  might  have  long  known  from  reason, 
and  which  she  ought  never  to  forget.  She  was  taught  to  look  to  herself  for 
justice,  and  to  liberty  for  happiness. 

The  effect  of  the  memorable  war  between  England  and  America  will  long 
be  felt  by  the  nations  of  Europe.  America  has  triumphed,  but  the  struggle 
between  despotism  and  liberty  has  been  transferred  from  the  western  to  the 
eastern  hemisphere.  Europe  has  been  convulsed  by  the  shock  of  contending 
principles,  and  the  happiness  or  misery  of  ages  may  depend  on  the  final  issue 
of  the  contest.  From  the  era  of  the  American  War,  Ireland  may  be  considered 
as  acting  in  some  measure  by  a  distinct  individual  impulse,  as  contrasting  her 
existence  with  that  of  England,  and  forcing  herself  upon  the  notice  of  man- 
kind as  a  country  which  might  one  day  be  worthy  of  a  rank  among  inde- 
pendent nations.  The  power,  which  had  enslaved,  impoverished,  and  insulted, 
was  reduced  to  the  mortifying  confession  that  it  was  unable  to  protect.  Ireland, 
abandoned  and  cast  upon  herself,  discovered  in  the  exertions  of  self-preserva- 
tion the  means  of  greatness  as  well  as  safety.  The  important  discussion,  to 
which  the  American  War  had  given  rise,  and  the  magnanimous  struggle  of  the 
American  people  against  the  arrogant  pretensions  of  tyranny  had  assisted, 
interested  and  elevated  the  Irish  mind.  The  keen  sense  of  appropriate  suffer- 
ing had  produced  a  much  stronger  sensation  than  mere  sympathy.  The 
instincts  of  nature  were  confirmed  by  the  decisions  of  reason,  and  ennobled 
by  the  energies  of  freedom.  The  events  which  followed  produce  mingled 
sensations  of  admiration  and  disappointment,  exultation  and  sorrow. 

The  extreme  distress  to  which  Ireland  had  been  reduced  by  the  policy  of 
England,  the  extraordinary  and  formidable  change  from  feeble  lamentations 
to  bold  demands  and  active  retaliation  in  a  country  which  had  so  long  lan- 
guished in  obscurity  and  contempt;  the  awful  sanction  impressed  on  the 
language  of  truth  by  the  array  of  sixty  thousand  Volunteers ;  the  embarrassed 
situation  of  England  from  a  war  unjust  in  its  principle  and  disastrous  in  its 
events,  at  length  demonstrated  to  the  Minister  the  necessity  of  prompt  and 
decisive  concessions  to  Ireland.  But  it  entered  not  into  his  imagination  that 
these  concessions  should  extend  beyond  a  relaxation  of  the  excessive  and 
absurd  restrictions  on  her  trade,  which  had  been  intemperately  accumulated, 
without  even  an  attention  to  the  obvious  maxim  of  a  prudential  tyranny. 

The  concessions  proposed  as  a  relief  of  the  distress  and  a  satisfaction  of 
the  complaints  of  Ireland  were  entirely  commercial.  Though  limited  in  their 
extent,  and  in  many  respects  illusory  in  their  operation,  they  were  important. 
Contrasted,  at  least,  with  the  past  commercial  bondage  of  Ireland,  these  con- 


52 


Poynings'  Statute  Repealed 


cessions  might  well  justify  the  proud  boast  of  a  Free  Trade.  That  there  should 
be  some  relaxation  of  that  bondage  seemed  universally  acknowledged.  That 
such  ample  concessions  were  made  arose  from  the  perplexity  of  fear  and  the 
temporising  spirit  of  expediency.  While  England  possessed  the  supreme 
legislative  power  these  concessions  might  be  recalled  or  modified.  Perhaps 
in  the  very  moment  of  liberality  the  minister  anticipated  a  season  of  less 
danger  and  more  arrogance,  in  which  England  might  resume  whatever  should 
appear  formidable  to  her  jealousy  or  humbling  to  her  pride.  But  the  pride 
of  England  was  soon  to  experience  much  severer  mortification.  The  spirit 
which  had  demanded  and  obtained  for  Ireland  an  emancipation  in  trade  dis- 
dained to  submit  to  the  foreign  despotism,  which  had  reduced  her  to  beggary 
and  despair.  The  emancipation  of  the  Irish  Parliament  from  the  shackles  of 
Poynings'  Law  and  of  Ireland  from  the  supreme  control  of  the  Parliament 
of  England  seemed  from  recent  experience  absolutely  necessary  to  existence. 
In  the  delusion  of  unsuspecting  enthusiasm  it  seemed  all-sufficient  to  the  inde- 
pendence and  happiness  of  Ireland. 

Poynings'  Statute  was  repealed,  the  6th  Geo.  I  was  repealed,  and  the 
British  Parliament  renounced  for  ever  the  right  to  bind  Ireland  by  its  laws. 
These  lofty  claims  were  opposed  as  long  as  they  could  be  opposed  with  safety. 
The  desperate  counsels  which  lost  America  had  been  succeeded  by  more 
temper  and  more  prudence  in  a  new  administration,  and  the  apparent  com- 
placency, with  which  the  pretensions  of  a  foreign  legislature  were  finally 
relinquished,  completed  the  satisfaction  of  a  generous  and  confiding  nation. 

/ 


Liberty  is  the  child  of  oppression,  and  the  birth  of  the  offspring  is  the  death  of  the  parent. 

Robert  Emmet— Whitty's  "Life". 


Part  X 

New  Theory  of  Irish  Government — British  power  was  humiliated  not  subverted 
by  these  concessions — The  theory  of  British  despotism  was  unchanged,  and  the 
despotism  remained — In  the  emancipated  Parliament  of  1782  Ireland  did  not  obtain 
an  independent  legislature — The  triumph  of  1782  was  the  triumph  of  the  Volunteers — 
But  it  was  limited  by  their  objects — In  the  events  of  1779  their  first  hopes  had  cen- 
tered and  their  best  strength  had  perished — They  did  not  emancipate  Ireland  from 
British  tyranny — The  hopes  of  Dungannon  were  soon  disappointed — Their  plan  of 
reform  still  excluded  three-fourths  of  Irishmen  from  the  rights  of  citizens,  and 
from  that  moment  their  strength  was  gone — The  efforts  of  the  more  liberal,  daring 
and  decisive  minds  failed,  and  later  repentance  was  vain. 

HE  humiliation  of  British  pride  was  not  the  subversion 
of  British  power.  The  theory  of  despotism  was  un- 
changed; the  despotism  remained.  That  the  Crown  of 
Ireland  was  an  imperial  crown  inseparably  annexed  to  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain ;  but  that  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland 
was  a  distinct  kingdom  with  a  Parliament  of  her  own, 
the  sole  legislature  thereof,  and  a  negative  power  alone 
vested  in  the  Crown ;  and  that  on  this  annexation  and  dis- 
tinction the  interest  and  happiness  of  both  countries  essen- 
tially depended,  now  constituted  the  sublime  doctrine  of  Irish  independence. 
The  idea  of  an  inseparable  annexation  of  the  imperial  Crown  of  Ireland,  as  a 
distinct  independent  kingdom,  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  is  a  metaphy- 
sical subtlety,  which  the  mind,  no  doubt,  can  comprehend,  but  which  it  also 
perceives  to  be  totally  inapplicable  to  the  solution  of  a  question  of  fact.  The 
mere  power  of  comprehending  an  abstract  idea  can  not  influence  the  investi- 
gation of  general  probabilities,  nor  can  it  determine  the  truth  or  falsehood  of 
any  alleged  particular  existence.  The  nature  of  the  connection  between  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  must  depend  on  historical  evidence,  and  not  on  the  faculty  of 
forming  abstract  ideas  and  defining  possible  contingencies.  Yet  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  mental  compatibility  of  ideas,  not  conceded  by  the  reason,  but 
extorted  by  the  fears  of  England,  was  supposed  to  annihilate  her  ambition, 
her  injustice,  her  jealousy,  the  feelings  and  prejudices  of  ancient  power,  the 
habits  of  oppression  and  the  poignant  recollection  of  pride  chastised.  No,  but 
.  in  her  own  Parliament,  Ireland  now  possessed  her  security  against  the  long 
habits  of  uncontrolled  dominion,  against  the  sordid  apprehensions  of  com- 
mercial avarice,  against  the  inveterate  principles  of  jealous  policy,  against  the 
moral  tendencies  of  the  British  mind !   Ireland  in  the  bold  eminence  of  station, 

53 


54 


The  Irish  Volunteers 


which  proclaimed  her  as  "the  best  friend  or  the  worst  enemy  in  the  world  to 
Britain",  possessed  a  security  that  Britain,  dreading  her  enmity,  would  hence- 
forth conciliate  her  friendship ! 

Had  Ireland  indeed  obtained  an  independent  legislature,  the  improbability 
of  being  unjust  might  have  imposed  upon  England  the  necessity  of  being  wise. 
But  in  the  emancipated  Parliament  of  1782  Ireland  obtained  not  that  legislature. 

Her  fatal  pre-eminence  of  station  had  early  doomed  her  to  servitude,  and 
the  Parliament  of  1782  could  not  rescue  her  from  bondage.  That  Parliament 
had  even  opposed  its  own  elevation.  Trained  to  provincial  vileness,  it  seemed 
lost  to  every  sentiment  of  generous  ambition.  At  length  swept  before  an 
enthusiasm  which  it  could  not  feel,  it  presumed  to  boast  of  glories  which  it 
was  unworthy  to  reflect. 

The  triumph  of  1782  was  the  triumph  of  the  Volunteers.  It  is  an  era  in 
the  political  existence  of  Ireland  which  may  be  remembered  with  pride,  not 
because  Ireland  then  ceased  to  be  a  province,  but  because  Ireland  then  displayed 
the  powers  which  mark  her  destiny  to  be  a  nation.  In  her  Volunteers  may  be 
seen  at  once  her  strength  and  her  weakness.  Endeared  by  recollection,  inter- 
esting to  the  feelings  of  a  gallant,  a  generous  and  a  grateful  people,  the  name 
of  the  Volunteers  seems  consecrated  to  eternal  praise,  but  the  faithful  page  of 
history,  which  records  their  virtues  and  their  triumphs,  will  also  transmit  their 
errors  and  their  humiliation.  "It  was  a  sacred  truth  and  written  as  it  were  in 
the  tables  of  fate,  that  the  Irish  Protestant  never  should  be  free,  until  the  Irish 
Catholic  ceased  to  be  a  slave."  When  the  Volunteers  at  Dungannon  declared 
their  respect  for  the  inalienable  right  of  private  judgment  in  the  matters  of 
religion,  their  joy  in  the  relaxation  of  penal  laws  against  their  Roman  Catholic 
fellow-subjects,  and  their  opinion  that  it  was  a  measure  fraught  with  the  hap- 
piest consequences  to  the  union  and  prosperity  of  Irishmen,  they  uttered  a 
sentiment  more  honorable  to  themselves  and  more  interesting  to  their  country 
than  any  other  contained  in  the  splendid  resolutions  of  their  celebrated  assem- 
bly. Such  a  sentiment  proclaimed  in  a  season  of  growing  energy,  where  the 
resistless  impulse  of  an  hour  might  bear  down  the  prejudices  of  ages,  seemed 
to  announce  the  most  auspicious  effects.  But  darkness  still  rested  upon  the 
fortune  of  Ireland.  The  principle  of  energy  in  the  Volunteers  was  limited  by 
its  early  objects.  In  the  events  of  1779,  1782  and  1783  their  first  hopes  had 
centred  and  their  best  strength  had  perished.  In  these  events  were  involved 
merely  the  emancipation  of  the  trade  and  Parliament  of  Ireland,  the  trade 
from  extravagant  restrictions,  the  Parliament  from  Poynings'  Law  and  the 
direct  supremacy  of  the  British  legislature.  The  emancipation  of  Ireland  from 
British  tyranny  was  a  distinct  object,  demanding  new  and  more  difficult  exer- 
tions, opposed  by  the  most  powerful  interest,  prejudices  and  passions  of  the 
human  breast.  Healed  by  the  importance  of  their  first  exertions,  the  Volun- 
teers seemed  not  to  have  timely  perceived  how  very  little  complete  success  in 
these  might  be  connected  with  the  independence  and  happiness  of  their  country. 

When  cooler  reflection  had  succeeded  to  the  ardor  of  victory,  the  real  im- 
portance of  the  acquisition  could  be  more  distinctly  ascertained.   Reason  soon 


Decline  of  the  Volunteers 


55 


discovered  that  much  indeed  remained  to  be  done.  But  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm 
had  fled,  and  unassisted  reason  was  much  too  feeble  for  the  contest.  Whatever 
hopes  might  have  been  formed  from  the  early  liberality  of  Dungannon  were 
soon  disappointed. 

The  extent  of  that  liberality  appeared  to  be  bounded  by  a  relaxation  of 
positive  penalties  against  Catholics  merely.  When  the  Volunteers,  seated  in 
national  convention  in  the  capital,  announced  to  an  anxious  people  their  mem- 
orable plan  of  reform,  by  which  they  would  have  excluded  three-fourths  of 
their  countrymen  from  the  rights  of  citizens,  when  they  thus  deliberately 
recorded  the  bondage  of  Ireland  and  solemnly  consecrated  the  unhallowed 
policy  of  the  oppressor — from  that  moment  their  strength  was  gone. 

In  vain  did  some  liberal,  daring  and  decisive  minds  point  out  the  only  road 
to  honor  and  to  safety.  In  vain  did  late  and  magnanimous  repentance  attempt 
to  repair  the  fatal  error.  The  ruinous  advice  to  desist  from  a  pursuit  which 
might  create  disunion  among  the  friends  of  reform  of  the  Protestant  sects, 
produced  or  increased  the  mischief  which  it  affected  to  prevent,  or  professed 
to  deprecate.  Oppressed  by  their  own  dissensions  on  the  question  of  Catholic 
Emancipation,  by  their  reverence  for  the  opinion  of  men  of  great  talents  and 
undoubted  integrity  who  were  adverse  to  that  measure,  by  the  artifices  of  the 
secret  or  avowed  enemies  of  reform,  who  dreaded  in  the  union  of  Irishmen 
the  certain  overthrow  of  a  growing  system  of  foreign  influence  and  domestic 
corruption,  oppressed  by  the  accumulated  weight  of  the  fraud  and  the  preju- 
dices of  ages,  the  Volunteers  gradually  sank  into  the  common  mass  of  an 
abused,  insulted,  and  enslaved  people.  The  clouds  which  hung  over  their 
descending  glory  could  not  obscure  the  splendor  of  their  achievements.  They 
did  not  rescue  their  country  from  tyranny,  but  they  rescued  her  from  the 
calumnies  of  her  oppressors.  In  their  virtue  they  illustrated  her  title  to  liberty ; 
in  their  errors  and  misfortunes  they  demonstrated  the  causes  of  their  debase- 
ment. They  have  left  to  posterity  an  illustrious  example  in  victory  and  a  mis- 
erable lesson  in  defeat. 


Believe  me,  you  may  as  ivell  plant  your  foot  on  the  earth  and  hope  by  that  resistance  to 
stop  the  diurnal  revolution,  'which  advances  you  to  that  morning  sun,  tvhtch  is  to 
shine  alone  on  the  Protestant  and  Catholic,  as  you  can  hope  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
that  other  light,  reason  and  justice,  which  approaches  to  liberate  the  Catholic  and 
liberalize  the  Protestant. 

Grattan — Irish  Parliament. 


Part  XI 


Parliamentary  Reform — The  Repeal  of  the  Declaratory  Act,  6th  George  I.  and 
the  repeal  of  the  Poynings'  Act  did  not  in  any  sense  change  the  dependent  char 
acter  of  the  Irish  Parliament — The  Revolution  of  1688  had  merely  illustrated  the 
right  of  the  English  people  to  change  their  government — It  limited  the  power  of 
the  crown,  but  it  left  the  system  of  popular  representation,  which  was  utterly  in- 
adequate to  its  acknowledged  object,  untouched — A  new  method  was  adopted — Art 
was  substituted  for  violence  and  corruption  for  prerogative — These  the  crown  used 
freely  to  evade  the  limits  placed  on  its  direct  exercise  of  power — The  constitution  and 
system  of  election  and  representation  of  the  Irish  Parliament  rendered  it  incapable 
of  regenerating  Ireland — To  expect  it  to  work  for  the  good  of  Ireland  could  only  be 
the  baseless  vision  of  a  disordered  imagination — Domestic  corruption  became  the 
necessary  instrument  of  foreign  domination — The  Volunteers  bowed  to  the  con- 
temptuous recommendation  "to  convert  their  swords  into  plough-shares".  The 
English  government  seized  the  occasion  and  the  result  was  that  a  majority  of  the 
Irish  Parliament  was  found  capable  of  conspiring  against  National  independence 
by  recognizing  the  absolute  right  of  the  English  Parliament  to  legislate  for  Ireland 
— The  downward  course  of  the  Irish  Parliament  to  self-extinction  is  traceable  to  its 
failure  to  legislate  for  the  benefit  of  the  people — Progress  of  Protestants  toward 
more  liberal  treatment  of  Catholics  was  rapid,  but  did  not  reach  the  point  of 
granting  them  complete  participation  in  civil  and  political  rights — Impossibility  of 
regeneration  by  political  methods  led  up  to  a  genuine  Irish  movement — The  name 
assumed  by  the  men  composing  it  was  "The  Society  of  United  Irishmen". 


REPEAL  of  the  Declaratory  Act  of  the  6th.  Geo.  I  and  a 
renunciation  of  any  right  or  claim  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment of  legislating  for  Ireland,  together  with  a  repeal  of 
Poynings'  Statute,  gave  or  restored  to  Ireland  a  distinct 
legislature,  the  sole  acknowledged  authority,  by  which 
laws  could  in  future  be  made,  and  exhibiting  all  the 
forms  of  an  independent  national  legislature.   But,  while 
the  Parliament  of  Ireland,  from  the  era  of  these  boasted 
acquisitions,  exhibited  the  forms  of  independent  legisla- 
tion, that  Parliament  remained  essentially  unaltered.    It  remained  a  de- 
pendent provincial  assembly,  neither  representing  the  will,  influenced  by  the 
feelings,  nor  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  Irish  nation. 

The  acquisitions  which  had  just  been  made,  however  splendid  in  the 
attainment,  soon  appeared  to  be  of  importance  only  as  they  might  be  esteemed 
necessarily  antecedent  to  a  radical  change  in  one  of  the  three  estates,  of  which 
the  Parliament  was  composed.    According  to  the  admirable  theory  of  the 

56 


Influence  of  the  Crown 


British  Constitution,  which  the  Irish  Constitution  was  now  supposed  to  re- 
semble in  its  spirit,  and  the  forms  of  which  it  now  possessed,  the  House  of 
Commons  ought  to  consist  of  a  number  of  delegates,  freely  and  frequently 
chosen  by  the  people,  and  really  representing  the  general  will,  so  that  no  law- 
should  be  made  nor  tax  imposed  without  the  consent  of  the  nation.  While  a 
variety  of  opinions  might  prevail  on  the  extent  and  mode  of  elective  suffrage ; 
and  the  duration  of  the  delegated  trust  best  adapted  to  produce  the  desired 
effect,  there  was  not  a  man,  who  felt  or  who  professed  a  love  of  liberty  and 
of  the  British  Constitution,  who  did  not  maintain  that,  by  the  principles  of 
both,  the  House  of  Commons  ought  faithfully  to  represent  the  collective  body 
of  the  people,  and  be,  at  least  so  constituted,  that,  though  not  chosen  by  all, 
it  could  not  possibly  have  any  other  interest  than  to  prove  itself  the  repre- 
sentative of  all. 

Reason  demonstrated  that  on  this  representation  of  the  people  by  the 
House  of  Commons  the  existence  of  the  distribution  and  of  balance  of  power 
in  the  constitution,  and  the  secure  and  permanent  enjoyment  of  every  right 
which  it  conferred  or  guaranteed,  must  absolutely  depend.  Experience  had 
confirmed  the  deductions  of  reason.  The  Revolution  of  1688  in  England  had 
practically  illustrated  and  enforced  the  natural  and  indefeasible  right  in  the 
people  of  forming  a  government  agreeably  to  its  own  will,  of  deposing  gov- 
ernors and  new-modelling  a  constitution.  By  that  Revolution  a  solemn  declara- 
tion was  made  of  the  rights  of  the  people  and  new  limits  were  assigned  to  the 
powers  of  the  Crown.  But  the  popular  representation  was  left  untouched. 
That  representation  was  completely  inadequate  to  the  acknowledged  object 
of  its  action  in  the  political  system.  Art  was  henceforth  substituted  for  vio- 
lence, corruption  for  prerogative,  and  the  constantly  increasing  influence  of  the 
Crown  from  the  periods  of  the  Revolution  presented  to  the  attentive  mind  the 
irrefragable  evidence  of  fact,  that  the  necessity  of  another  revolution  could 
not  be  averted  save  by  restoring  or  establishing  that  intimate  relation  between 
the  constituent  and  the  representative  which,  making  the  House  of  Commons 
the  faithful  image  of  the  people,  might  secure  liberty  to  the  nation  and  perma- 
nence to  the  throne.  Every  sincere  and  provident  friend  of  the  constitution, 
devoted  to  liberty  and  fond  of  peace,  saw  with  deep  concern,  in  the  means 
of  corruption  and  in  the  progress  of  venality,  the  principles  of  that  constitution 
becoming  only  the  theme  of  declamation  or  the  vision  of  theory,  and  in  the 
reform  of  its  practice  by  its  principles  discovered  the  only  road  to  safety.  The 
greater  the  blessings  of  civil  liberty  actually  enjoyed  by  Englishmen,  the  more 
illustrious  the  station  to  which  their  country  had  been  raised  by  the  superiority 
of  its  constitution,  the  greater  ought  naturally  to  be  the  anxiety  to  preserve 
that  part  of  the  constitution  from  which  its  superiority  evidently  flowed,  sound 
and  entire,  or,  if  degenerated  and  corrupt,  to  restore  it  to  health  and  vigor. 
,  Every  right  and  every  blessing  must  be  insecure  unless  the  people,  by  their 
representatives  in  Parliament,  should  be  made,  or  continue,  the  guardians  of 
their  own  happiness. 

The  proud  pre-eminence  of  the  British  constitution  rested  on  this  founda- 


58 


Intrigue  in  House  of  Commons 


tion :  on  the  government  of  the  community  by  the  general  will,  without  the 
evils  of  democracy.  The  legislative  powers  of  the  Crown  and  of  the  aris- 
tocracy could  only  be  considered  as  wise  and  salutary  checks,  designed  and 
fitted  to  secure  the  deliberative,  well-advised,  and  real  expression  of  the 
general  will.  But  while  the  theory  of  British  liberty  presented  a  fair  and 
fascinating  picture,  it  could  not  be  denied  that  the  very  reverse  of  the  picture 
was  the  true  representation  of  the  actual  state  of  things — that,  while  English- 
men exulted  in  Magna  Charta,  in  trial  by  jury,  in  a  bill  of  rights,  in  a  habeas 
coipus  act,  in  the  sanctity  of  the  "straw-built  shed",  which  the  King  dared  not 
violate,  the  continuance  of  these  blessings  depended  on  a  House  of  Commons 
notoriously  under  the  influence  of  the  Crown. 

A  conviction  of  the  excellence  of  the  principles  and  the  magnitude  and 
danger  of  the  abuses  of  the  constitution  had  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the 
wise  and  virtuous  in  England  a  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  a  reform  in  the 
representation  of  the  people  in  that  country,  as  the  certain  and  salutary  means 
of  preserving  its  liberties  without  the  shock  and  hazard  of  a  revolution ;  and 
their  talents  and  their  hearts  had  been  accordingly  long  turned  towards  the 
attainment  of  this  object,  which  in  the  rapid  progress  of  parliamentary  corrup- 
tion gained  daily  new  importance  and  excited  increasing  solicitude.  While 
such  was  the  state  of  public  sentiment  in  England  on  the  necessity  of  reform 
in  its  legislature ;  every  general  topic  which  could  be  urged  in  favor  of  the 
measure  there  applied  with  ten-fold  force  to  the  Parliament  of  Ireland.  But 
it  was  not  merely  general  reasoning,  however  strong,  derived  from  the  principles 
of  political  liberty,  and  the  glaring  inadequacy  of  the  existing  representation 
of  the  people  to  give  efficiency  to  these  principles,  which  demonstrated  the 
necessity  of  parliamentary  reform  in  Ireland.  A  variety  of  appropriate  causes 
belonged  to  this  country,  which  identified  reform  with  national  existence  which 
presented  it  to  the  understandings  and  feelings  of  a  long  oppressed  and  im- 
poverished people,  not  as  the  regeneration,  but  as  the  acquisition  of  a  consti- 
tution, as  the  only  means  of  emancipating  their  country  from  the  bondage  and 
repairing  the  desolation  and  debasement  of  six  hundred  years. 

It  required  no  proof  from  experience  to  determine  that,  constituted  as  the 
Irish  Parliament  was,  the  late  changes  in  its  political  powers  would  only  render 
it  a  more  expensive  instrument  for  administering  British  domination  in  Ire- 
land; that  the  mode  of  governing  the  province  would  indeed  be  varied,  but 
that,  without  a  radical  reform  in  the  representation  of  the  people,  it  must  still 
remain  a  province,  dependent  and  degraded.  What  was  the  state  of  that  repre- 
sentation? Out  of  the  three  hundred  members,  of  which  the  House  of  Com- 
mons consisted,  the  counties,  counties  of  cities  and  towns,  and  the  university, 
returned  but  eighty-four,  leaving  two  hundred  and  sixteen  for  boroughs  and 
manors  (of  this  number  two  hundred  were  returned  by  individuals  instead  of 
bodies  of  electors;  from  forty  to  fifty  were  returned  by  ten  persons).  With 
respect  to  the  boroughs,  several  of  them  had  no  resident  elector  at  all,  some  of 
them  but  one,  and  on  the  whole  two-thirds  of  the  representatives  were  returned 
by  less  than  one  hundred  persons.    Even  the  county  representation,  the  only 


Need  of  Parliamentary  Reform 


portion  of  this  miserable  system  which  could,  by  any  effort  of  the  mind,  be 
conceived  to  express  the  popular  will,  was  grossly  defective  in  its  principles 
and  corrupt  in  its  practical  existence.  While  the  House  of  Commons  was  thus 
composed,  its  slender  connection  with  the  people,  by  means  of  such  members 
as  could  be  called  elected,  was  renewed  but  once  in  every  eight  years,  unless 
accelerated  by  the  royal  prerogative  of  dissolution.  Even  the  election  of  this 
very  small  portion,  which  alone  bore  the  semblance  of  representation,  exhibited 
a  disgraceful  and  afflicting  scene  of  bribery,  intemperance,  riot,  animosity  and 
revenge. 

The  necessity  of  ruling  Ireland  through  her  own  Parliament,  introduced  by 
recent  events,  soon  made  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons  an  object  of  keen 
and  expensive  contention  to  the  court  and  rival  factions  among  the  aristocracy. 
Every  engine  of  influence,  intrigue  and  corruption  was  employed  by  the  hostile 
parties ;  the  peace  of  society  was  disturbed ;  the  integrity  of  the  elector  awed 
or  seduced,  while  a  few  rare  instances  of  talents  and  patriotism  returned  to 
the  Parliament  served  but  to  illustrate  more  strongly  the  baseness  of  the  sur- 
rounding crowd,  unmoved  by  the  charms  of  reason  and  eloquence,  by  the  power 
of  virtuous  example,  or  the  dread  of  public  execration. 

To  denominate  a  system  of  which  such  a  House  of  Commons  constituted 
a  part,  and  that  the  part  on  which  the  character  of  the  whole  essentially  de- 
pended, a  free  constitution  was  an  insult  to  the  understanding  and  a  cruel 
mockery  of  the  wretchedness  which  had  groaned  for  ages  beneath  a  foreign 
yoke.  To  look  to  such  a  House  of  Commons  for  the  exercise  of  independent 
legislation,  for  protection  to  infant  trade,  for  encouragement  to  arts,  science 
and  morals,  for  healing  religious  animosities  by  impartial  and  magnanimous 
justice,  for  raising  Ireland  from  a  state  of  poverty  and  humiliation  to  pros- 
perity, dignity  and  strength,  for  guarding  her  rights  and  her  interests  from  the 
force  or  the  fraud  of  foreign  despotism  long  exercised  without  control  and 
without  mercy,  to  look  to  such  a  House  of  Commons  for  virtue  like  this,  could 
be  only  the  baseless  vision  of  a  disordered  imagination. 

Scarcely  had  the  Irish  Parliament  been  emancipated  from  the  usurped 
supremacy  of  the  British  legislature,  when  the  question  of  reform  in  the  na- 
tional representation  began  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  men  by  whose  spirit 
and  perseverance  that  emancipation  had  been  effected.  The  absolute  necessity 
of  reform,  in  order  to  complete  the  great  work  of  national  regeneration,  forced 
itself  with  irresistible  conviction  on  every  reflecting  and  unprejudiced  mind, 
while  the  formidable  array  of  a  Volunteer  convention  seemed  calculated  to  bear 
down  all  opposition  to  the  measure.  In  that  convention,  however,  the  ardor 
of  a  generous  enthusiasm  had  already  subsided.  By  the  demands  of  exclusive 
liberty  that  convention  seemed  to  court  and  to  deserve  the  mortification  which 
it  endured.  History  has  seldom  to  record  the  triumph  of  reason  over  preju- 
dice; her  common  and  melancholy  task  is  to  portray  the  disastrous  effects  of 
false  principles  and  malignant  passions,  to  connect  the  degradation  of  man 
with  the  causes  of  his  weakness  and  corruption,  and  to  trace  the  conspiracy 
of  a  profligate  few  against  the  rights  and  happiness  of  millions. 


60 


Two  Plans  Defeated 


If  upon  the  late  change  in  the  political  condition  of  Ireland,  a  conviction 
of  the  necessity  of  a  further  and  more  important  change  has  been  immediately 
pressed  upon  the  public  mind,  the  very  state  of  things,  which  had  produced  that 
early  and  well-founded  conviction,  began  as  immediately  to  operate  its  natural 
effect,  in  creating  a  determined  and  fierce  resistance  to  every  attempt  at  refor- 
mation. The  English  Court  had  recovered  from  its  perplexity  and  alarm,  and 
had  formed  a  fixed  determination  to  oppose  to  the  utmost  the  growing  spirit 
of  national  emancipation.  The  Irish  Parliament  presented  the  obvious  means 
of  opposing  this  spirit  with  success.  That  Parliament  had  been  raised  to  a 
rank  in  legislation  by  which  the  great  majority  of  its  members  became  more 
firmly  leagued  together  than  ever,  by  the  constant  and  powerful  operation  of 
private  interest  against  the  rights  and  interests  of  their  native  land.  Foreign 
influence  quickly  succeeded  foreign  legislation,  and  domestic  corruption  became 
henceforward  the  necessary  instrument  of  foreign  domination. 

The  Parliament  felt  at  once  the  advantage  of  its  situation,  and  appropriated 
to  itself  as  real  characteristics  all  the  figurative  epithets  with  which  a  glowing 
eloquence  had  emblazoned  its  recent  exaltation ;  when  called  upon  to  reform, 
it  assumed  the  lofty  tone  of  offended  majesty.  The  Volunteer  convention 
bowed  before  the  idol,  which  superstition  had  clothed  with  omnipotence.  The 
affected  importance  of  national  delegation  served  but  to  render  the  humiliation 
of  that  convention  more  complete,  from  the  secret  conviction  that  three-fourths 
of  the  people,  uninterested  in  its  success,  could  not  sympathize  in  its  defeat. 
The  Protestant  mind,  as  yet  only  disposed  to  cease  from  persecution,  but 
neither  expanded  to  benevolence  nor  enlightened  to  justice,  was  startled  at  the 
idea  of  Catholic  liberty.  The  convention,  conscious  of  its  weakness,  shrank 
from  a  contest  to  which  it  was  unequal,  and  the  Volunteers  of  Ireland  experi- 
enced the  first  effects  of  independent  legislation  in  a  contemptuous  recom- 
mendation "to  convert  their  swords  into  ploughshares".  When  the  first  plan 
of  reform  was  introduced  into  the  Irish  Parliament,  one  of  the  professed 
grounds  of  rejection  was  the  character  of  the  assembly  by  which  it  had  been 
prepared.  It  was  said  to  have  originated  with  a  body  of  armed  men  and  to 
be  proposed  to  the  House  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  This  objection,  however 
fallacious,  and  notoriously  adopted  for  the  purposes  of  deception,  was  studi- 
ously removed.  The  attempt  was  renewed,  supported  by  numerous  petition* 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Mr.  Pitt  was  now  minister  of  England.  His 
disastrous  career  had  commenced  with  brilliant  exertions  in  favor  of  reform. 
His  lofty  eloquence  had  been  mistaken  for  the  emanation  of  an  ardent  and 
virtuous  mind,  and  the  cold  duplicity  of  his  character  had  not  yet  been  un- 
folded. His  advancement  to  power  was  considered  as  an  era  auspicious  to 
liberty,  and  Ireland  rejoiced  in  the  commencement  of  an  administration,  which 
had  deluged  her  with  blood  and  contemplated  her  destruction.  The  second 
effort  of  reform  met  with  the  same  determined  opposition  from  the  Parliament 
as  the  first.  The  murmurs  of  a  disunited  people  were  heard  with  indifference, 
and  could  be  despised  with  impunity.  As  the  cause  of  defeat,  however,  was 
either  not  yet  understood,  or  could  not  be  removed,  a  new  attempt  was  soon 


Public  Sentiment  Defied 


61 


made  to  carry  the  measure  by  merely  a  new  disposition  of  the  force,  by  which 
it  was  originally  conceived  that  success  might  be  secured.  Delegates  chosen 
by  counties  and  cities  met  again  in  the  metropolis  in  1785,  to  concentrate  the 
scattered  sentiments  of  the  country  on  this  great  question  of  national  safety, 
and  to  digest  a  new  plan  of  reform. 

A  new  plan  of  reform  was  accordingly  prepared,  in  some  respect  differing 
from  the  former  plans,  but  still  founded  on  the  same  narrow  basis  of  exclusive 
rights.  As  its  principle  was  the  same,  so  was  its  fate.  It  was  rejected  by  the 
House  of  Commons  with  the  most  marked  contempt  for  the  wishes  even  of 
that  portion  of  the  people,  to  whose  reiterated  demands  no  objection  could  be 
raised  on  the  ground  of  religious  incapacity.  In  these  inefficient  efforts  for 
obtaining  reform,  while  a  variety  of  objections  were  raised  by  the  Parliament 
to  the  particular  nature  of  every  plan  proposed,  it  was  the  reform  and  not  the 
plan,  which  really  excited  its  reprobation.  Every  possible  modification  of 
reform  would  have  been  received  by  that  assembly  and  by  the  British  min- 
isters with  the  same  hostility,  as  a  presumptuous  attempt  to  subvert  a  system 
of  monopoly  and  corruption  in  a  vile  and  venal  aristocracy,  by  which  that 
aristocracy  was  to  be  the  instrument  of  British  supremacy,  now  that  the  direct 
legislative  supremacy  of  the  British  Parliament  had  been  formally  renounced. 
Resistance  to  reform  originated  in  the  same  principle  of  ruling  Ireland  as 
a  subject  state,  by  which  she  had  been  so  long  desolated  and  enfeebled;  and  in 
the  same  intestine  divisions,  which  had  hitherto  confirmed  the  bondage  of  Irish- 
men, oppression  still  found  its  ignoble  support.  This  resistance  on  the  part 
of  the  government  was  soon  marked  by  acts  of  injustice  and  violence,  which 
exposed  the  vain  imagination  that  with  the  forms  had  been  also  transferred 
to  Ireland  the  spirit  of  a  free  constitution. 

In  attacks  on  the  liberty  of  the  press ;  in  attempts  to  prevent  legal  peaceable 
meetings  of  the  people  for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  on  the  best  means  of 
reform ;  in  proceedings  by  the  summary  and  unconstitutional  mode  of  attach- 
ment against  sheriffs  for  convening  and  presiding  at  such  meetings,  proceed- 
ings subversive  of  the  trial  by  jury,  and  a  flagrant  usurpation  of  power  in  the 
King's  Bench,  in  matters  clearly  out  of  its  jurisdiction;  in  these  and  similar 
exertions  of  licentious  authority  was  early  evinced  a  contempt  for  all  ac- 
knowledged rights  and  privileges,  whenever  their  violation  should  appear 
necessary  to  awe  or  restrain  the  voice  of  the  people.  From  the  beginning  of 
the  conflict  the  desperate  determination  of  the  government,  to  defend  an  ini- 
quitous system  by  every  means  and  at  every  hazard,  may  be  discovered  and 
ought  to  be  traced,  in  order  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the  real  causes  of  the 
calamitous  scenes  which  followed. 

In  the  temper  and  conduct  of  Government  from  the  beginning  may  be  seen 
fatal  symptoms  of  those  arbitrary  principles,  of  that  haughty  defiance  of  public 
sentiment  and  feeling,  of  that  settled  purpose  of  subduing  the  rising  spirit  of 
the  nation,  which  led  first  to  a  system  of  legislative  coercion,  silencing  the 
voice  of  truth,  and  terminated  in  a  furious  and  sanguinary  system  of  exter- 
mination by  law  and  by  the  sword. 


62  New  Commercial  Arrangement 


While  such  was  the  early  and  obstinate  resistance  opposed  to  parliamentary 
reform,  a  memorable  example  was  presented  to  the  nation  of  the  imperious 
necessity  of  the  measure,  as  the  only  means  of  guarding  its  recent  acquisitions 
and  future  hopes  against  foreign  encroachment  and  domestic  treachery.  The 
plan  of  a  new  commercial  arrangement  between  Britain  and  Ireland  proposed 
by  the  British  minister  in  1785,  with  all  the  circumstances  attending  its  progress 
and  final  issue,  afforded  a  striking  illustration  of  the  nature  of  these  acqui- 
sitions and  the  foundation  of  these  hopes.  It  was  demonstrated  by  an  experi- 
ment addressed  to  every  understanding,  that  the  security  of  whatever  Ireland 
had  obtained,  that  the  hope  of  whatever  she  might  anticipate,  depended  abso- 
lutely on  the  attainment  of  such  a  reform  in  the  representation  of  the  people 
as  would  make  the  House  of  Commons  the  faithful  guardians  of  the  rights 
and  interests  of  an  independent  nation.  Without  such  a  reform  the  destiny 
of  Ireland  appeared  evidently  to  rest  on  the  mere  will  of  the  British  Cabinet 
and  on  the  quantum  of  corruption  which  that  Cabinet  might  at  any  time  think 
it  expedient  to  employ  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  wishes ;  without  such  a 
reform  it  was  manifest  that  the  commercial  and  political  views  of  British 
statesmen,  the  jealousy,  the  avarice,  or  the  folly  of  the  British  merchant  and 
manufacturer,  must  continue  to  be  the  standard  of  Irish  prosperity. 

In  the  commencement,  indeed,  of  this  interesting  transaction,  the  minister 
confessed  a  truth,  which  the  complicated  wretchedness  of  ages  loudly  pro- 
claimed: "that  the  constant  object  of  the  policy  exercised  by  the  English  gov- 
ernment in  regard  to  Ireland  had  been  to  disbar  her  from  the  enjoyment  and 
use  of  her  own  resources,  and  to  make  her  completely  subservient  to  the  in- 
terest and  opulence  of  Britain". 

Within  a  very  few  years  this  system,  according  to  the  minister  had  been 
entirely  reversed,  and  a  liberal,  enlightened  and  comprehensive  policy  had  suc- 
ceeded to.  the  jealousy  and  bigotry  of  past  ages. 

Upon  this  new  policy  he  now  prefessed  to  act.  With  his  mind  irradiated 
with  this  recent  illumination  he  brought  forward  his  new  system,  liberal,  bene- 
ficial and  permanent.  But  this  upright  and  beneficent  statesman,  this  elo- 
quent advocate  of  Irish  commerce  and  negro  emancipation,  had  been  led  away 
by  the  romantic  visions  of  speculative  justice,  and  was  soon  compelled  to 
acknowledge  the  necessity  of  modifying  his  original  plan  by  the  vulgar  standard 
of  British  liberality. 

The  original  plan,  in  the  form  of  eleven  propositions,  had  been  warmly  re- 
ceived and  hastily  adopted  by  the  Irish  Parliament.  But,  notwithstanding  this 
general  approbation,  which  seemed  at  first  to  have  also  pervaded  the  nation, 
the  proposed  arrangement,  however  specious  and  alluring,  was  in  reality  a 
covered  attack  on  the  newly  redeemed  rights  of  Ireland  in  commerce  and  con- 
stitution. The  sagacity  of  a  few  had  at  once  discovered  and  marked  the  de- 
ception. But  it  became  unnecessary  to  impress  by  argument  their  conviction 
on  the  minds  of  others.  The  nation  was  soon  roused  from  its  dream  of  British 
generosity  by  a  direct  attack  too  flagrant  to  be  disguised  or  mistaken. 

The  eleven  original  propositions  were  returned  to  Ireland  from  the  English 


Original  Measures  Changed 


63 


Parliament  enlarged  to  the  number  of  twenty,  so  modified  and  changed  as  to 
excite  in  a  large  portion  even  in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  sentiments  of, 
horror,  indignation  and  contempt.  Yet  even  these  latter  propositions,  thus 
altered,  containing  a  formal  surrender  of  th<.  lately  acquired  independence 
of  the  Irish  Parliament,  in  commercial  laws  arid  external  legislation,  together 
with  a  grant  of  perpetual  tribute  to  England,  and  an  abdication  of  Irish  Ma- 
rine; even  these  propositions,  thus  injurious  and  insulting,  thus  restrictive  of 
the  infant  trade  and  mortal  to  the  infant  constitution  of  Ireland ;  even  these 
propositions,  in  three  years  after  the  lofty  assertion  of  the  national  inde- 
pendence of  Ireland,  were  supported  by  a  majority  of  her  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, the  supposed  delegated  guardians  of  that  independence.  • 

The  measure,  it  is  true,  was  abandoned  by  the  minister.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  his  political  career  he  did  not  judge  it  wise  to  press  a  measure 
so  justly  odious  to  the  Irish  nation,  when  he  found  that  the  spirit,  which  had 
awed  Britain  in  1782  was  not  yet  extinct.  The  corruption  of  the  Parliament, 
which  in  1785  could  surrender  the  glories  of  1782,  might  inspire  him  with 
reasonable  confidence  that  at  some  future  period,  a  more  fatal  attack  might  be 
attempted  with  success.  With  such  a  Parliament  he  might  deem  it  unnecessary 
to  stipulate  expressly  for  the  controlling  supremacy  of  England  in  external 
trade  or  in  anything  else;  or,  meditating  on  the  nature  of  a  Parliament,  thus 
vile  and  traitorous  in  three  years  after  its  deliverance  from  bondage,  he  might 
even  then  have  anticipated  the  consummation  of  its  baseness  at  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  Though  the  measure  was  abandoned  by  the  minister, 
it  was,  in  its  nature  and  circumstances,  calculated  to  awaken  the  most  serious 
alarms  in  the  people  of  Ireland  for  the  safety  of  that  trade  and  constitution, 
from  which  so  much  prosperity  had  been  fondly  expected. 

The  measure  had  professedly  originated  in  a  conviction  of  the  justice  and 
expediency  of  a  more  equal  and  liberal  arrangement  of  the  commercial  inter- 
course between  the  countries.  From  that  free  trade,  which  had  been  granted 
by  the  policy,  or  extorted  from  the  fears  of  England,  Ireland  had  derived  few 
of  those  advantages,  respecting  which  such  sanguine  expectations  were  at  first 
indulged.  With  all  her  boasted  attainments  of  commerce  and  independence, 
her  manufacturers  were  starving.  Protecting  duties  were  loudly  called  for 
by  the  people,  and  sternly  denied  by  the  Parliament  under  the  influence  of  the 
minister.  The  Irish  trade  presented  an  appearance  of  national  agency  alto- 
gether incompatible  with  the  British  policy  of  imperial  regulation.  That  policy 
could  only  be  satisfied  by  compelling  the  Irish  nation  to  look  from  its  own 
legislature  to  England  for  relief.  The  original  plan  of  the  minister  was 
viewed  by  the  most  discerning  with  distrust,  as  illusory  in  its  benefits  and 
insidious  in  its  compensations.  But  admitting  it  to  be  as  liberal  as  its  advo- 
cates proclaimed,  it  soon  appeared  that  Ireland  must  depend,  not  on  the  com- 
,  prehensive  wisdom  of  the  statesman,  but  on  the  narrow  bigotry  of  the  counting- 
house  ;  that  either  the  minister  had  never  been  sincere,  or  had  quickly  learned 
that  to  sacrifice  the  interests,  invade  the  rights  and  despise  the  sufferings  of 
Ireland  were  traditional  dogmas  of  British  policy,  which  he  must  hold  sacred 


64 


Parliamentary  Corruption 


if  he  wished  to  be  the  British  minister.  His  liberality  was  found  to  terminate 
in  an  attempt  to  take  advantage  of  the  dejection  of  a  distressed  people  to 
cheat  them  into  a  surrender  of  both  trade  and  legislation,  and  a  majority  of 
the  Irish  Commons  was  found  vile  enough  to  conspire  with  foreign  perfidy 
against  national  independence.  When  within  three  years  after  repeal  and 
renunciation,  within  three  years  after  England  had  abjured  all  claim  to  im- 
perial legislation,  and  had  in  the  most  solemn  manner  recognized  the  unlimited 
absolute  right  in  the  Irish  Parliament  to  legislate  exclusively  for  Ireland,  such 
an  attempt  could  be  made  by  a  British  minister  and  supported  by  an  Irish 
House  of  Commons,  all  abstract  reasoning  on  the  necessity  of  a  reform  became 
superfluous. 

An  example  pregnant  with  the  most  melancholy  instruction  was  now  ad- 
dressed to  the  common  sense  and  common  feelings  of  every  man  who  could 
reflect  or  feel  on  the  rights  and  interests  of  his  country.  In  proportion  to 
the  joy  of  a  present  escape  was  the  dread  of  future  calamity,  when  calm  re- 
flection had  succeeded  to  the  tumult  of  victory. 

The  temporary  transport  passed  away,  and  the  pride  of  a  precarious  triumph 
was  soon  humbled  by  a  view  of  the  real  danger  and  real  weakness  of  the 
victors.  Uniformly  plundered  and  oppressed  by  Britain,  and  almost  blotted 
out  from  the  memory  of  nations,  Ireland  in  a  moment  of  glory  had  redeemed 
herself  from  obscurity  and  reproach.  But  her  difficulties  seemed  to  multiply 
with  her  pretensions. 

The  claim  of  independence  was  a  claim  to  danger  as  well  as  to  happiness. 
The  danger  seemed  every  day  to  increase,  the  chances  of  happiness  to  diminish. 
The  Parliament  advanced  in  confidence,  as  it  advanced  in  corruption.  Neither 
emanating  from  the  nation,  nor  sympathizing  in  the  national  distress,  it  uni- 
formly condemned  the  sentiments  and  sacrificed  the  interests  of  the  people. 

As  a  great  measure  in  the  representation,  so,  with  perfect  consistency,  every 
attempt  at  subordinate  reform  was  opposed  with  haughty  defiance,  or  dismissed 
with  insulting  disdain. 

A  place  bill,  a  pension  bill,  a  responsibility  bill,  were  successively  rejected 
by  rank  majorities,  and  with  circumstances  of  such  marked  indifference  to  the 
opinion,  the  grievances,  and  the  complaints  of  the  people,  as  not  only  demon- 
strated the  magnitude  of  corruption,  but  evinced  the  desperate  purpose  of  de- 
fendi«g  it  to  the  last,  under  every  form,  and  in  all  its  abominations.  The 
corruption  was  even  presumptuously  avowed  by  the  servants  of  the  Crown  in  the 
representative  assembly  of  the  nation.  Peerages  were  sold  by  Government  to 
purchase  seats  in  the  Commons,  and  all  enquiry  into  this  monstrous  prostitution 
of  the  royal  prerogative  refused.  The  infamous  traffic  of  boroughs  was  con- 
ducted with  the  most  shameless  publicity.  Private  jobs  for  the  aggrandizement 
of  particular  families  or  individuals,  either  originated  in  the  Parliament,  or  re- 
ceived its  sanction.  A  system  of  profligate  expense  was  supported  by  a  system 
of  profligate  taxation,  destructive  of  the  industry,  the  health  and  the  morals 
of  the  people.  A  vile  aristocracy,  courted,  flattered,  paid  and  despised,  calumni- 
ating the  country  which  it  plundered,  and  converted  the  new  legislative  powers 


Radical  Changes  Imperative 


65 


of  the  Irish  Parliament  into  a  source  of  private  revenue.  The  nation,  taxed 
without  its  consent,  paid  the  very  bribes  by  which  it  was  undone,  and  Britain 
raised  a  tribute  in  Ireland,  by  means  of  an  Irish  Parliament,  to  perpetuate  the 
old  relation  of  imperial  rule  and  provisional  subjection,  under  the  new  phrase- 
ology introduced  at  the  era  of  1782. 

In  the  course  of  a  very  few  years  from  that  memorable  era,  the  anticipa- 
tions of  reason  had  been  fully  confirmed  by  the  evidence  of  experience.  A 
reform  in  the  national  representation,  which  political  sagacity  had  immediately 
connected  with  the  events  of  that  period  as  indispensable  to  Irish  independence, 
was  a  measure  soon  brought  home  to  the  understanding  of  ordinary  men,  by 
personal  observation  of  existing  abuses ;  and  a  strong  sentiment  of  its  necessity 
had  easily  pervaded  the  reflecting  and  disinterested  part  of  the  nation. 

The  foreign  power,  which  had  roused  to  resistance,  by  an  arrogant  as- 
sumption of  direct  supremacy  in  legislation  enforced  with  senseless  severity  in 
point  of  trade,  still  continued,  through  the  medium  of  corruption,  an  indirect 
but  absolute  and  injurious  domination,  exercised  with  more  temper  as  to  the 
commerce,  but  with  the  same  violation  of  the  natural  rights  and  dearest  in- 
terests of  Ireland.  By  what  it  vouchsafed  to  communicate  were  discerned  more 
clearly  the  benefits  withheld.  Even  the  security  of  commercial  advantages 
depended  upon  interested  views  of  policy  in  England. 

On  her  own  Parliament  Ireland  could  have  no  reliance ;  and  if  happiness 
consists  not  more  in  the  actual  possession,  than  in  the  prospect  of  its  continu- 
ance; if  enjoyment  in  the  present  rests  in  excluding  all  apprehension  of  the 
future,  it  was  impossible  that  Irishmen  could  rejoice  in  their  condition,  had 
that  condition  been  as  prosperous  and  exalted  as  it  was  calamitous  and  degrad- 
ing. While  the  recent  advancement  of  Ireland  in  trade  was  freely  admitted,  it 
was  observed  to  bear  no  proportion  to  her  capacities ;  and  the  amelioration  of 
the  wretched  state  of  the  lower  orders  of  the  people  seemed  not  in  the  least 
promoted  by  the  change.  The  same  squalid  poverty,  the  same  debasing  ignorance, 
the  same  vices  and  the  same  crimes,  the  offspring  of  that  poverty  and  that 
ignorance,  continued  to  betray  unequivocal  symptoms  of  deep  and  untouched 
defects  in  the  constitution  of  the  government,  by  which  their  destiny  was 
controlled.  Their  wretchedness  depended  upon  a  variety  of  causes,  constitut- 
ing in  the  aggregate  that  miserable  system,  by  which  the  country  had  been 
ruled  for  centuries  of  desolation,  and  which  nothing  but  a  radical  change  in  the 
principles  of  legislation,  finance,  and  in  the  entire  political  economy  of  the 
state  could  ever  effectually  remove.  Such  a  change  could  only  be  expected 
from  a  national  parliament,  which,  identified  in  interest  with  the  community, 
would  consider  the  comfort  and  morality  of  the  mass  of  the  people  the  great 
object  of  its  care,  as  the  great  end  of  its  institution. 

While  the  lower  orders  could  only  be  sensible  of  their  misery,  but  could 
discern  neither  the  cause,  nor  the  remedy,  it  was  felt  and  acknowledged  by 
every  enlightened  person  in  the  country,  uninterested  in  perpetuating  abuse,  and 
the  opinion  had  deeply  impressed  all  the  middle  classes  of  society,  that  from 
parliamentary  reform  alone  could  be  hoped  any  general  and  permanent  good. 


66 


Catholic  Rights  Considered 


But,  though  the  popular  sentiment  in  favor  of  this  measure  was  thus  gen- 
eral and  ardent,  the  minds  of  those,  who  could  most  influence  and  direct  public 
opinion,  had  been  much  agitated  and  divided  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
reform,  which  ought  to  be  insisted  upon  as  necessary  and  safe.  This  difference 
of  sentiment  in  the  friends  of  reform  among  the  Protestant  sects  arose  chiefly 
from  the  interesting  question,  whether  the  Catholic  should  be  comprehended 
equally  with  the  Protestant  in  the  proposed  improvement  of  the  representation? 
This  was  a  question  calculated  to  engage  the  most  violent  passions,  the  most 
obstinate  prejudices  and  the  most  lively  apprehensions  of  the  Protestant  mind. 
Protestants  in  general  had  been  rapidly  advancing  towards  the  idea  of  emanci- 
pating Catholics  from  the  inhuman  penalties  and  prohibitions  of  the  Popery 
Code ;  but  the  idea  of  granting  the  Catholic  a  complete  participation  of  all  civil 
and  political  rights  was  violently  resisted  by  any  number  of  honest  and  en- 
lightened Protestants,  whose  tolerant  principles  and  zeal  for  liberty  could  not 
be  doubted,  but  whose  reasonings  had  taken  a  bias  from  their  prejudices,  or 
their  apprehensions,  too  powerful  to  be  easily  changed  by  argument  or  by  ex- 
perience. 

The  opinion  that  to  admit  the  Catholics  to  a  community  of  rights  would  en- 
danger the  established  religion  and  property  of  the  country  had  hitherto  pre- 
vailed. It  was  an  opinion  which  the  first  great  advocates  of  reform  either 
actually  entertained,  or  to  which  they  submitted  from  a  belief  that  the  measure 
could  be  more  easily  carried  unencumbered  by  Catholic  claims ;  and  that  under  a 
reformed  Protestant  government,  at  no  very  distant  period,  all  distinctions 
might  with  safety  be  for  ever  abolished.  The  experiment  of  exclusive  reform, 
however,  had  been  repeatedly  made,  supported  by  the  greatest  talents  that 
ever  adorned  the  Irish  Parliament,  and  had  been  made  in  vain.  These  talents 
had  been  supported  from  without  by  whatever  of  authority  or  of  intimidation 
could  be  derived  from  the  sentiments  and  resolutions  of  an  armed  association, 
formidable  in  fame,  in  numbers,  in  prosperity,  in  a  union  of  no  inconsiderable 
proportion  of  men  of  rank,  with  a  mass  of  general  respectability,  in  such  a 
combination  of  circumstances  and  character,  calculated  to  impress  weight  upon 
opinion,  that  the  decided  and  high-toned  reprobation  of  their  interference  by 
the  Parliament  seemed  to  astonish  and  confound  the  delighted  representatives 
of  such  various  and  commanding  titles  to  respect.  The  experiment  of  ex- 
clusive reform  had  been  made  under  other  auspices  and  had  failed.  It  was  op- 
posed by  a  combination  of  external  power  and  internal  corruption,  too  power- 
ful to  be  overcome  by  the  partial  efforts  of  a  disunited  people. 

While  the  evil  and  the  remedy  agitated  all  passions,  and  were  canvassed 
by  all  understandings,  the  cause  of  defeat  became  every  day  more  discernible, 
and  the  necessity  of  calling  forth  the  energies  of  all  seemed  first  to  demonstrate 
the  injustice  of  exclusion.  In  tracing  the  subjection  and  calamities  of  Ireland 
from  the  introduction  of  the  English  power  down  to  the  formal  abdication  of 
the  legislative  supremacy  of  England,  the  disunion  of  Irishmen  must  have  ap- 
peared to  every  attentive  and  candid  observer  to  have  been  the  direful  source 
of  their  degradation. 


Efforts  Towards  Reform 


67 


This  disunion  had  invited  invasion  and  had  made  conquest  permanent.  At 
different  intervals  the  power  of  the  rapacious  and  sanguinary  foreigners  was 
shaken,  but  the  want  of  national  views  and  general  co-operation  among  the 
natives  terminated  at  length  in  the  common  subjugation  of  all. 

When  every  attempt  to  expel  the  invaders  from  the  country  was  finally  re- 
linquished in  despair ;  when  a  vast  portion  of  the  original  inhabitants  had  been 
rooted  out  by  the  sword,  or  by  legal  proscription,  and  the  space,  which  they  had 
occupied,  filled  up  by  Englishmen ;  when  the  descendants  of  these  colonists 
had  grown  Irishmen  in  interests,  in  feelings  and  in  sufferings,  it  might  seem 
reasonable  to  expect  that  the  connection,  by  which  the  two  countries  were  united 
under  a  common  king,  would  become  a  connection  of  reciprocal  advantages 
and  equal  rights,  and  that  Ireland,  in  her  utility  and  her  strength,  would  pos- 
sess the  guarantee  of  her  prosperity  and  independence.  Such  indeed  might 
have  been  the  final  issue  of  things,  but  for  the  unfortunate  circumstances,  by 
which  the  disunion  of  Irishmen  was  prolonged  in  a  new  and  more  disastrous 
form.  But  the  ultimate  division  of  the  people  into  two  great  religious  denomi- 
nations enfeebled  both,  and  surrendered  them  an  easy  prey  to  the  insidious 
policy  of  England. 

Mutual  bigotry  blinded  the  Protestant  and  the  Catholic;  it  destroyed  or 
blunted  the  social  and  benevolent  feelings ;  it  engendered  the  most  cruel  and 
inveterate  suspicions,  the  events  of  history,  viewed  through  this  deceitful 
medium,  were  seen  neither  in  their  just  color  nor  proportion,  and  the  personal 
experience  of  the  existing  generation  was  borne  down  by  the  traditional 
prejudice  of  the  preceding.  Towards  the  era  of  the  Volunteers  these  religious 
antipathies  had  become  less  violent,  and  in  the  progressive  liberality  of  that 
illustrious  body  might  have  for  ever  perished. 

But  the  growing  sentiment  of  general  liberty  was  checked  by  the  artifices 
of  the  interested,  the  violence  of  the  intolerant,  the  apprehensions  of  the  timid, 
and  above  all  by  the  authority  of  some  men  of  revered  worth  and  talents,  who 
from  prejudice  or  from  prudence  were  decidedly  adverse  to  the  admission  of 
the  Catholic  to  an  equality  of  political  rights.  Before  the  error  was  fully 
understood  and  felt  in  its  effects,  the  early  ardor,  which  might  have  repaired 
the  ruin,  had  ceased. 

It  became  necessary  to  kindle  a  fresh  spirit  proportioned  to  the  ends  to  be 
attained,  and  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered.  The  magnitude  of  the  abuses 
to  be  reformed,  the  obstinacy,  with  which  they  were  defended,  the  discomfiture 
of  past  exertions,  the  increasing  danger  of  delay,  seemed  to  demand  new  and 
extraordinary  efforts. 

To  emancipate  public  opinion  from  destructive  prejudice,  to  redeem  the 
Protestant  character  from  the  stain  of  persecution,  to  exalt  the  Catholic  from 
mental  darkness  and  political  debasement,  to  turn  all  parties  from  the  bitter 
remembrance  of  past  hostility,  and  from  mutual  crimination,  to  the  contempla- 
tion of  a  common  country,  oppressed  and  impoverished  through  the  miserable 
delusion  of  its  people ;  to  dissolve  the  artificial  and  mischievous  connection  be- 
tween politics  and  religion,  to  substitute  national  enthusiasm  for  sectarian 


68 


The  United  Irishmen 


bigotry;  to  unite  all  hearts  and  combine  all  talents  in  the  pursuit  of  parlia- 
mentary reform  by  interesting  the  entire  nation  in  its  attainment,  and  by 
means  of  a  legislature  really  independent ;  to  secure  to  Ireland  the  free  exer- 
cise of  her  powers,  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  own  resources,  presented  to 
the  benevolent,  the  ardent,  and  the  aspiring  mind,  the  noblest  objects  of  am- 
bition. 

With  such  objects  before  them,  a  few  individuals  conceived  the  idea  of 
forming  a  political  association,  the  essential  characteristic  of  which  should  be 
the  promoting  of  union  among  Irishmen  of  every  religious  persuasion,  in  the 
attainment  of  an  equal  representation  of  the  people  in  Parliament,  without  am 
distinction,  founded  merely  in  a  difference  of  religious  belief  and  worship. 
Impressed  with  a  conviction  that  a  radical  reform  in  the  popular  representation 
could  alone  establish  and  secure  the  liberties  of  Ireland,  and  that  no  reform 
could  be  either  practicable,  efficacious  or  just,  which  did  not  comprehend  Irish- 
men of  every  religious  sect ,  deeply  impressed  with  the  important  conclusion, 
furnished  by  every  page  of  Irish  history  and  confirmed  by  the  events  of  every 
passing  hour,  that  the  intestine  divisions  among  Irishmen  had  produced,  and, 
while  they  continued,  must  confirm  their  degradation  ;  the  founders  of  this  novel 
institution  submitted  to  their  countrymen  in  forcible  and  animated  language  their 
principles  and  their  pretensions.  The  striking  truths  which  they  proclaimed, 
the  bold  doctrines  which  they  advanced,  the  great  and  beneficial  ends,  which 
they  proposed,  soon  attracted  the  attention  both  of  the  government  and  the 
people.  To  the  government  these  appeared  most  formidable ;  to  the  people 
most  alluring. 

The  name  of  the  "Society  of  United  Irishmen,"  assumed  by  this  celebrated 
association,  pointed  out  at  once  the  source  of  past  calamity  and  the  foundation 
of  future  hope.  It  is  a  name  which  has  been  loaded  with  every  reproach,  and 
adorned  with  every  praise ;  it  has  left  upon  the  minds  of  friends  and  foes  im- 
pressions deep  and  lasting;  it  has  kindled  the  most  violent  and  opposite  pas- 
sions; it  has  engaged  the  most  powerful  and  hostile  interests;  it  has  made  the 
noble  tremble  for  his  titles,  the  man  of  wealth  for  his  abused  possessions,  an 
endowed  priesthood  for  their  Establishment ;  it  has  been  connected  either  really 
or  artificially  with  the  most  momentous  events ;  it  has  presented  to  the  heated 
or  affrighted  imagination  the  most  magnificent  or  the  most  terrific  objects;  it 
has  awed  oppression ;  it  is  now  allied  to  misfortune ;  how  shall  it  be  transmitted 
to  posterity  in  the  faithful  characters  of  truth? 


If  you  allow  your  foundations  io  be  undermined,  your  resources  destroyed;  you  must 
expect  to  see  the  baseless  fabric  of  Irish  independence  sink. 

Miss  Emmet— To  the  Irish  Parliament— 1799 


Part  XII 


Conclusion — Separation  of  Ireland  from  England  and  its  erection  into  a  dis- 
tinct and  independent  nation  avowed. 


HE  last  ten  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  will  furnish 
to  the  historian  by  far  the  most  important  events  which 
have  yet  marked  the  progress  of  the  human  race.  The 
events  which  have  been  crowded  into  this  short  period 
are  not  only  in  themselves  deeply  interesting  to  the 
present  generation,  but  will  probably  be  viewed  in  their 
effects,  at  no  very  distant  era,  as  decisive  of  the  future 
destinies  of  every  nation  upon  earth. 

The  mighty  struggle  between  despotism  and  the 
rights  of  manhood  is  indeed  suspended  for  a  season,  but  a  triumphant 
issue  to  the  cause  of  truth  and  liberty  may  well  be  anticipated  by  sober 
and  unprejudiced  reason.  Insignificant  as  the  history  of  Ireland  may  have 
appeared  previous  to  this  period,  as  connected  with  the  fate  of  other  nations, 
the  late  war  between  France  and  England  has  given  an  importance  to  Ireland, 
in  the  great  question  between  old  establishments  and  the  rights  of  the  people, 
which  has  been  widely  felt  and  will  not  easily  be  forgotten.  That  the  existence 
of  Ireland,  as  a  distinct  and  independent  nation,  must  necessarily  involve  the 
subversion  of  the  British  monarchy,  a  revolution  in  the  commerce  and  a  still 
more  momentous  evolution  in  the  ancient  government  of  Europe,  seems  to  have 
been  a  proposition  well  understood  and  universally  conceded  by  all  parties.  As 
this  proposition  is  supposed  either  to  have  originated  with  the  societies  of 
United  Irishmen,  or  to  have  been  eagerly  embraced  by  them  when  proposed 
by  France,  an  enquiry  into  the  objects  and  conduct  of  these  associations  will 
present  a  view  of  Ireland  from  the  year  1?'90  to  the  peace  with  France  in  1801 
embracing  the  most  important  and  interesting  events  in  its  history  during  that 
period. 


Without  the  concurrence  of  the  Irish  Parliament,  the  power  of  the  English  minister 
mould  have  been  innoxious;  against  the  wishes  of  the  Irish  Parliament,  it  would  have 
been  impotent. 

Miss  Emmet. 


69 


A  large  majority  of  the  Irish  nation  have  irrevocably  pronounced  their  determination 
that  Ireland  shall  sooner  or  later  be  released  from  the  grasp  of  the  British  Parliament. 
That  vov)  is  lisped  in  the  first  orisons  of  the  child,  and  mingles  with  the  latest 
prayer  of  the  aged  and  of  the  dying. 

William  Smith  O'Brien,  "The  Nation". 


It  is  England  <o>ho  supports  that  rotten  aristocratic  faction,  among  which  not  the  tenth 
part  of  your  population  has  arrogated  to  itself  five-sixths  of  the  property  and  power 
of  your  tuition. 

Theobald  Wolfe  Tone. 


PART  OF  AN  ESSAY 

TOWARDS  THE  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND 
BY 

T.  A.  EMMET 

WRITTEN  WHILE  A  PRISONER 
AT 

FORT  GEORGE 


Merciful  God!  what  is  the  state  of  Ireland,  and  where  shall  you  find  the  wretched  in- 
habitant of  this  land?  You  may  find  him  perhaps  in  a  gaol,  the  only  place  of  security, 
I  had  almost  said,  of  ordinary  habitation;  you  may  see  him  flying  by  the  conflagra- 
tion of  his  own  dwelling;  or  you  may  find  his  bones  bleaching  on  the  green  fields  of 
his  country,  or  he  may  be  found  tossing  upon  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  mingling 
his  groans  with  those  tempests  less  savage  than  his  persecutors,  that  drive  him  to  a 
returnless  distance  from  his  family  and  his  home. 

Curran,  in  defence  of  Wm.  Orr,  1797. 


As  to  the  personal  and  political  virtues  of  the  United  Irishmen,  there  can  be  no  difference — 
the  <world  has  never  seen  a  more  sincere  or  more  self-sacrificing  generation. 

Rev.  Patrick  F.  Kavanagh,  "The  Insurrection  of  1798". 


Part  of  an  Essay  Towards  the  History  of  Ireland 


By  T.  A.  Emmet. 


FTER  the  king's  recovery  from  his  indisposition  in  1789. 
the  Parliament  of  Ireland  became  an  object  of  ridicule 
and  contempt  from  its  profligate  versatility.  Several 
measures,  founded  more  or  less  on  popular  principles., 
were  proposed  by  the  Opposition ;  they  were,  however, 
uniformly  lost,  and  the  failure  seemed  to  excite  but  little 
public  interest. 

The  year  1790  was  for  the  most  part  spent  in  the 
agitation  and  corruption  of  contested  elections. 
But  an  event  was  now  taking  place,  which  seemed  calculated  to  make  an 
epoch  in  the  history  of  every  nation,  and  which  has  peculiarly  acted  on  the  con- 
dition of  Ireland.  The  French  Revolution  was  beginning  to  unfold  its  im- 
mense importance.  In  order  the  better  to  understand  its  effects  on  that  country, 
it  may  be  advisable  to  take  a  short  view  of  its  situation  and  political  sentiments 
at  that  period. 

The  situation  of  Ireland,  in  respect  to  strength,  opulence,  prosperity  and 
happiness,  was  never  a  subject  of  exultation  or  praise  to  the  humane  or  reflect- 
ing mind.  Her  destitution  of  every  manufacture  but  one,  her  fisheries  unex- 
plored, her  noble  harbors  unoccupied,  her  navigable  rivers  unheeded,  her 
inland  improvements  neglected,  her  unreclaimed  bogs  and  mountains,  her 
uncultivated  fields,  her  unemployed,  houseless,  starved,  uneducated  peasantry, 
had  been  long  the  theme  of  sorrow  to  the  patriot,  and  of  contempt  to  the 
unfeeling.  That  her  situation,  in  many  of  these  respects,  had  greatly  improved 
within  the  ten  preceding  years,  could  not  admit  of  doubt ;  but  enough  still 
remained  to  excite  considerable  discontent  in  a  suffering  people,  and  to  de- 
serve the  most  serious  attention  from  an  honest  government.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  amount  of  those  grievances,  they  gave  rise  to  very  opposite 
opinions,  as  to  their  cause. 

Some  supposed, — what  has  also  been  asserted  of  the  negro  race, — that  the 
Irish  were  an  inferior,  semi-brutal  people,  incapable  of  managing  the  affairs 
of  their  country,  and  submitted,  by  the  necessity  of  their  nature,  to  some 
superior  power,  from  whose  interference  and  strength  they  must  exclusively 
derive  their  domestic  tranquillity,  as  well  as  their  foreign  protection ;  and  to 
whose  bounty  they  must  owe  whatever  they  can  enjoy  of  trade,  commerce, 
comfort  or  opulence.    Those  who  entertained  this  opinion,  said,  that  from  the 

73 


74 


Act  of  Uniformity 


insignificant  extent  and  unfortunate  locality  of  Ireland,  she  was  doomed  to  be 
dependent  either  on  England  or  France ;  and  that,  of  course,  not  only  gratitude, 
but  policy  should  make  her  cling  to  that  state,  with  whom  her  interests  had 
been  interwoven  for  ages,  and  from  whose  fostering  protection  she  had  derived 
her  civil  and  religious  liberty,  together  with  all  the  blessings  of  which  she 
could  boast.  These  assertions,  both  of  a  natural  inferiority,  and  of  the  im- 
mutable necessity  of  submission,  which  had  been  for  ages  not  uncommon  in 
England,  chiefly  found  their  Irish  advocates  in  those  who  might  lay  claim  to 
be  regenerated  by  the  force  of  English  connections  and  habits,  or  who,  at  least, 
felt  themselves  qualified,  by  a  peculiar  felicity  of  exception,  to  fill  the  office 
and  enjoy  the  emoluments  of  the  Irish  government. 

Others,  however,  whose  pride,  perhaps,  would  not  permit  them  to  allow  a 
natural  inferiority,  asserted,  that  the  source  of  Ireland's  misfortunes  was  to 
be  traced  back  to  remote  antiquity. 

History  and  a  knowledge  of  her  laws  and  government  enable  us,  they  said, 
to  detect  the  cause  of  all  her  calamities.  She  was  subdued  and  ruled  by  the 
sword;  she  was  depopulated  by  the  ravages  of  war,  and  wasted  by  perpetual 
and  bloody  conflicts  between  settlers  and  natives ;  she  was  occasionally  tran- 
quillized by  despoiling  from  a  fresh  portion  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  their 
hereditary  properties;  and  repeopled  through  confiscation  and  forfeitures. 
Even  the  Reformation  itself,  by  which  so  many  other  countries  were  illustrated 
and  improved,  was  made  an  instrument  for  brutalizing  Ireland.  Without  con- 
sulting the  opinions  of  the  Irish ;  without  compassionating  or  endeavoring  by 
reason  to  dispel  their  errors ;  without  affording  means  of  improvement,  or 
time  for  those  means  to  operate,  their  religion  was  regulated  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, to  the  precise  standard  of  English  faith.  Although  the  natives  entirely 
rejected,  and  scarcely  any,  even  of  the  settlers,  adopted  these  new  tenets,  yet, 
by  force  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  every  man  was  compelled  to  attend  on, 
and  conform  to  the  Protestant  worship ;  while,  by  force  of  a  royal  proclamation, 
every  man  was  interdicted  the  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion,  its  clergy 
were  banished,  and  the  severest  penalties  denounced  against  those  who  dared 
to  give  them  hospitality  or  shelter.  Nor  was  this  all ;  a  code  of  disfranchise- 
ment, robbery,  persecution,  oppression  and  debasement  was  further,  and  in 
more  civilized  times,  erected  as  a  buttress  to  what  might  in  mockery  have  been 
called,  the  Church  of  Ireland.  The  inhabitants  of  that  devoted  country,  in 
name  a  nation,  in  fact  a  province  planted  with  a  colony, — were  studiously  kept 
at  variance  and  distracted  by  civil  and  religious  pretexts,  that  they  might  never 
coalesce  for  the  attainment  of  national  objects.  Her  government  was  per- 
mitted to  extend  over  the  land,  only  in  proportion  as  the  English  Pale  was 
widened;  and  even  then,  its  members  (for  the  most  part,  from  their  birth  or 
dispositions),  its  feelings,  legislation  and  ordinances,  were  entirely  English. 
Whenever  a  clashing  of  interests  between  the  two  isles  was  perceived  or  ap- 
prehended, Ireland  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  overbearing  ascendancy  of  an 
insatiable  and  jealous  rival.  Her  commerce  was  fettered,  her  manufactures 
surrendered,  her  raw  materials  delivered  over,  her  population  drained,  her 


The  Irish  Government 


75 


resources  exhausted,  her  agriculture  neglected, — all  to  aggrandize  the  power 
from  which  her  government  was  derived,  and  with  which  her  governors  are 
connected. 

If,  in  one  instance,  a  brilliant  exception  cheers  the  afflicted  memory,  to  what 
is  it  to  be  attributed  ?  To  the  military  array  of  Ireland ;  to  the  transitory  dis- 
play of  something  like  national  energy  in  the  Irish  people;  to  the  alarm  of 
England;  to  the  panic  of  its  government,  lest  another  oppressed  province 
should  imitate  the  example  of  America,  and  assert  its  independence,  in  alliance 
with  France.  The  restrictions  on  the  Irish  trade  were  repealed  by  the  English 
Parliament  itself,  in  the  moment  of  consternation  and  weakness ;  their  removal 
was  not  a  gift  from  liberality  or  affection,  but  a  restoration  from  fear.  Even 
the  constitutional  arrangements  of  1782,  insignificant  as  subsequent  experience 
has  shown  them  to  be,  were  solely  produced  by  the  momentary  influence  of 
the  Irish  people  on  the  English  Government.  The  Parliament  of  Ireland  con- 
stantly resisted  every  proposal  for  asserting  the  national  independence,  so  long 
as  that  resistance  was  agreeable  to  the  ministers  of  England ;  nor  did  its 
chameleon  color  change,  until  the  object  on  which  its  undeviating  eyes  were 
fixed  had  assumed  a  short-lived  splendor. 

Those  arrangements,  however,  gave  to  Ireland  no  more  than  the  mere 
name  of  independence.  She  is  still  a  province,  and  still  destitute  of  a  national 
government.  Her  rulers  are  English,  and  totally  divested  of  all  kind  of  Irish 
responsibility.  Her  legislature  is  devoted  to  the  English  ministry,  and  prac- 
tically unconnected  with  the  Irish  nation.  On  the  Lords  it  would  be  absurd 
to  bestow  a  thought;  nor  are  the  Commons  deserving  of  more  attention. 
Three-fourths  of  the  people  are  formally  excluded,  by  the  Catholic  laws,  from 
being  counted  among  their  constituents ;  and  the  other  fourth  is  but  as  dust  in 
the  balance.  Exclusive  of  private  adventures  in  the  political  market,  about 
thirty  individuals,  principally  Lords,  possess  the  power  of  returning  a  majority 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  even  two-thirds  of  the  representation  are  en- 
grossed by  less  than  one  hundred  persons.  These  wholesale  dealers  as  regu- 
larly sell  their  members  as  a  country  grazier  does  his  cattle,  and  the  steady 
purchaser  is  the  British  agent.    Such  is  the  Irish  Government. 

As  to  inferiority  of  nature,  added  they,  it  is  peculiarly  absurd,  when  asserted 
of  a  people  composed  of  settlers  from  so  many  different  countries.  It  is 
obviously  false  of  the  Irish,  who,  even  at  home,  though  deprived  of  whatever 
stimulus  to  genius  or  industry  may  result  from  trade  and  commerce;  though 
nearly  interdicted  from  education  by  law,  and  for  the  most  part,  debarred 
from  it  by  poverty ;  though  brayed  and  crushed  under  the  weight  of  so  many 
vicious  institutions,  yet  show  themselves  sagacious,  brave,  warmhearted  and 
enterprising;  but  when  abroad,  they  are  released  from  the  oppressions  of  their 
native  land,  and  can  enter  into  the  career  of  fair  and  honorable  competition; 
then,  even  unsupported  by  interest  or  connection,  they  prove  themselves  worthy 
of  the  utmost  confidence,  and  of  the  highest  distinctions  in  council  and  in 
the  field. 

As  to  the  natural  necessity  of  seeking  protection  from  a  superior  state, 


76 


Natural  Resources  of  Ireland 


it  is  scarcely  credible,  said  they,  of  a  country  which  is  intersected  with  navi- 
gable rivers  and  indented  with  the  finest  bays ;  which  is  blest  with  a  temperate 
climate,  a  diversified  and  fruitful  soil,  productive  mines  and  inexhaustible 
fisheries ;  which  is  also  situated  in  one  of  the  most  advantageous  points  for  uni- 
versal commerce,  particularly  since  the  rapidly  increasing  demands  of  America, 
seem  to  open  an  incalculable  market.  The  assertion  can  not  be  true  of  a 
country,  which,  in  itself  protected  by  its  insular  situation,  contains  19,000 
square  miles ;  which,  by  being  sacrificed  to  the  aggrandizement  of  England, 
and  turned  into  its  best  market,  instead  of  its  most  formidable  competitor, 
has  probably  increased  the  capital  and  opulence  of  that  kingdom  by  almost 
one-third ;  which,  notwithstanding  repeated  wars,  constant  emigration,  and 
want  of  trade,  manufactures  or  agriculture,  has  been  able  to  create  and  sup- 
port a  population  of  five  millions ;  which  furnishes  to  Europe  some  of  her  most 
distinguished  officers,  to  the  British  army  about  one-half  of  its  soldiers,  and 
to  her  navy  almost  two-thirds  of  its  seamen ;  and  which,  after  paying  the  ex- 
penses of  its  own  extravagant  government,  and  many  useless  establishments, 
is  able  to  pour  without  reserve  or  return,  four  millions  annually  into  the  lap 
of  Britain, — even  perhaps  an  infinitely  larger  sum,  if  a  fair  estimate  could  be 
made  of  the  enormous  rents  unproductively  remitted  to  Irish  absentees, — and 
of  the  losses,  that  Ireland  still  sustains,  to  the  benefit  of  England,  by  the 
slowly  disappearing  effects  of  those  commercial  restraints,  which  for  a  cen- 
tury, annihilated  her  trade,  in  every  article  but  linen ;  and  which,  by  their  sur- 
viving consequences,  still  continue  to  surrender  her  foreign  and  domestic 
markets  to  a  country,  in  natural  productions,  as  well  as  in  every  commercial 
and  manufacturing  point  of  view,  essentially  her  rival. 

Scarcely  any,  however,  of  those  who  entertained  these  sentiments  har- 
bored a  thought  of  destroying  the  connection  between  the  two  kingdoms. 

Ireland,  said  they,  in  its  early  infancy  received  an  incurable  organic  injury, 
which  will  always  prevent  her  rising  to  her  natural  strength  and  stature  as  a 
nation.  But  since  it  is  incurable,  it  must  be  borne  with  resignation,  and  the 
best  office  that  affection  or  science  can  perform,  is  to  relieve,  by  occasional 
palliatives,  whatever  symptoms  may  become  urgent  or  dangerous.  Let  us  en- 
deavor to  procure  some  alleviation  for  our  peasantry,  by  encouraging  agricul- 
ture, by  bettering  their  situation,  and  by  mitigating  their  burthens ;  let  us 
bargain,  as  prudently  as  we  can,  for  the  commercial  arrangements  that  remain 
unsettled ;  but,  above  all  things,  let  us  labor  to  give  a  national  and  patriotic 
spirit  to  our  legislature,  by  restraining  the  force  of  English  influence,  by 
checking  the  profligate  extent  of  corruption,  and  by  correcting  the  enormously 
unequal  and  inadequate  state  of  the  representation  in  Parliament. 

Such  were  the  views  and  objects  of  even  the  most  ardent  Irish  patriots 
before  the  commencement  of  the  French  Revolution. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  one  or  other  of  the  very  opposite  opinions 
already  stated,  respecting  the  cause  of  Ireland's  calamities,  and  the  system 
of  policy  she  should  pursue,  was  entertained,  in  its  full  extent,  by  every  person 
in  the  country.    On  the  contrary,  each  intermediate  sentiment  had  its  advo- 


Protestant  Support  of  England 


77 


cates ;  and,  contradictory  as  the  extremes  may  appear,  they  were  sometimes 
blended,  almost  always  diversified  and  modified,  according  to  the  different 
points  of  view,  in  which  the  British  constitution  and  connection  were  regarded, 
from  interests  or  prejudices,  from  education  or  habits,  from  information  or 
ignorance,  from  inconsideration  or  deep  reflection.  Perhaps  a  knowledge  of 
these  points  of  view  may  be  best  obtained  by  examining  into  the  state  and 
opinions  of  the  leading  religious  sects. 

Religion  may  be  said  to  have  separated  Ireland  into  two  people,  the  Prot- 
estants and  Catholics.  The  Protestants  were  divided  into  the  members 
of  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Dissenters.  Both  of  these  had  been  in  their 
origin  foreign  colonists,  introduced  and  enriched  in  consequence  of  long- 
continued  massacres  and  warfare,  of  confiscations  and  new  grants,  of  ousters 
under  the  Popery  Laws,  and  acquisitions  as  Protestant  discoverers ;  by  all  of 
which  the  original  Irish  had  been  systematically  dispossessed  or  extirpated, 
and  the  dependence  of  their  country  on  another  state  permanently  secured. 

The  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  no.t  exceeding  one-tenth  of  the 
people,  possessed  almost  the  whole  government  and  five-sixths  of  the  landed 
property  of  the  nation,  which  they  inherited  by  odious  and  polluted  titles. 
For  a  century  they  had  nearly  engrossed  the  profits  and  patronage  of  the 
Church,  the  law,  the  revenue,  the  army,  the  navy,  the  magistracy  and  the  cor- 
porations of  Ireland,  deriving  their  superiority  and  consequence  from  the 
interweaving  of  the  ecclesiastical  establishment  with  the  civil  authority  of 
the  country.  Independent  of  religious  animosity,  their  desire  to  retain  what 
they  possessed,  made  them  regard  with  aversion  and  mistrust  the  Catholics 
whom  they  had  oppressed,  and  from  whom  they  dreaded  a  resumption  of 
property,  should  any  change  render  the  measure  practicable ;  and  their  eager- 
ness to  monopolize  what  they  so  largely  enjoyed,  excited  the  jealousy  of  the 
Dissenters,  who  shared  with  them  somewhat  of  the  emoluments  of  power. 
Conscious  also  of  their  natural  weakness,  they  saw  their  only  security  in  the 
superiority  and  assistance  of  England  to  the  aggrandizement  of  which  they 
were  therefore  uniformly  devoted.  The  protection  of  that  country  was  indeed 
afforded  to  them ;  but  in  return  they  paid  the  surrender  of  the  commerce  and 
liberties  of  Ireland.  During  the  American  Revolution,  concurrent  circum- 
stances had  enabled  and  emboldened  the  other  sects  to  hurry  them  into  measures, 
by  which  that  commerce  and  those  liberties  were  partially  resumed ;  but  their 
dispositions  remained  unchanged,  and  faithful  to  their  interests,  they  still 
continued  to  defend  the  British  connection  as  the  bulwark  of  their  importance 
and  strength. 

The  Dissenters,  who  were  originally  settled  for  the  most  part  in  Ulster, 
regarded  no  doubt  with  filial  affection  the  country  from  whence  they  came,  and 
with  contempt  and  dislike  the  people  whom  they  displaced.  They  also  detested 
Catholics  with  the  fanatic  fervor  that  characterized  the  early  disciples  of 
Knox  and  Calvin.  Their  descendants,  however,  possessing  few  overgrown 
landed  properties,  and  being  mostly  engaged  in  manufactures  and  trade,  did 
not  feel  a  dependence  on  England  as  essential  to  their  existence  or  happiness ; 


78 


Dissenters  and  Catholics 


but  they  felt  the  commercial  restrictions  to  which  it  gave  rise  as  injurious  to 
their  prosperity  and  pursuits.  They  were  twice  as  numerous  as  the  Lutherans,* 
and  had  not  the  same  inducement  of  weakness  and  fears,  for  seeking  support 
and  succor  in  the  arms  of  a  foreign  power.  The  predilection  for  their  native 
country  being  therefore  checked  by  no  extraneous  causes,  they  gradually 
ceased  to  consider  themselves  in  any  other  light  than  Irishmen ;  they  became 
anxious  for  Ireland's  welfare,  and  sensible  of  its  wrongs.  Lovers  of  liberty, 
and  almost  republicans  from  religion,  from  education  and  early  habits, 
they  sympathized  with  the  Americans,  when  that  kindred  people  was  struggling 
to  shake  off  the  British  yoke.  They  principally  composed  in  their  own  island 
the  never-to-be-forgotten  Volunteers,  and  most  energetically  raised  their  voices 
and  their  arms  in  favor  of  its  commercial  freedom  and  constitutional  independ- 
ence, as  far  as  those  points  were  at  that  time  understood.  They  were  even 
suspected  of  aiming  at  separation  from  England.  There  was,  however,  no 
union  of  sentiment  or  sense  of  common  interests  among  the  different  religious 
sects  sufficiently  strong  to  justify  the  hope  that  Ireland  could  maintain  itself 
as  a  distinct  power ;  and  many,  in  whom  the  efforts  of  the  transatlantic  colonies 
had  necessarily  excited  congenial  wishes,  apprehended  that  it  must  be  de- 
pendent on  either  England  or  France. 

In  this  alternative  the  Dissenters  saw  no  room  to  hesitate ;  for  however  great 
their  admiration  of  America  and  its  constitutions,  they  preferred  England  when 
contrasted  with  France,  for  the  freedom  of  its  government;  and  would  not  by 
a  change  of  masters  risk  the  horrors  of  Popery  and  slavery  which  they  had 
been  taught  to  believe  and  boast  that  their  forefathers  had  combatted  and 
repelled.  They,  however,  continued  to  be  distinguished  by  their  zeal  in  pursuit 
of  parliamentary  reform,  and  of  every  other  measure  founded  on  the  principles 
of  democracy  and  liberty. 

The  Catholics  were  the  descendants  of  the  primitive  Irish,  or  of  those  early 
settlers  whom  the  Reformation  had  identified  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants. 
While  in  the  violence  of  contest,  the  adherents  of  the  Pope  everywhere  re- 
garded with  hatred  and  horror  the  sects  that  had  separated  from  his  Church, 
unquestionably  the  Irish  Catholics  strongly  participated  in  the  common  feel- 
ings ;  but  they  were  rapidly  disappearing  in  Ireland  as  in  the  rest  of  Europe. 
Those  men,  however,  still  continued  estranged  from  their  Protestant  country- 
men by  causes  much  more  substantial  than  religious  bigotry.  They  were  nearly 
three-fourths  of  the  population,  and  instead  of  enjoying  the  estates  of  their 
forefathers,  they  scarcely  possessed  one-fifteenth  of  the  landed  property  of 
the  kingdom.  To  this  state  they  had  been  reduced  by  various  causes  which 
might  have  been  forgotten  in  the  lapse  of  years,  but  that  one  still  remained  in 
the  code  called  the  Popery  Laws,  which  by  its  continued  operation  perpetuated 
the  remembrance  of  the  past,  excited  resentment  for  the  present,  and  appre- 
hensions for  the  future.   Nor  was  that  the  only  injury  they  experienced  from 

*When  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  the  above  those  who  accepted  Luther's  views  were  termed  "Lutherans" 
and  those  who  followed  Calvin  were  "Calvinists."  The  Lutherans  formed  the  Protestant  Church,  now 
the  Church  of  England  "as  by  Law  Prescribed,"  and  claimed  to  be  the  Protestants.  The  Calvinists 
were  termed  Dissenters  and  not  Protestants,  as  they  had  dissented  from  the  Established  Church.  The 
term  Anglican  is  in  use  only  from  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 


Popery  Laws 


79 


these  laws,  which  undermined  the  affections,  controlled  the  attachments,  re- 
strained the  industry,  closed  the  prospects,  prohibited  the  education,  and  pun- 
ished the  religion  of  those  against  whom  they  were  enacted.  This  code  had 
indeed  suffered  some  mitigation  within  the  last  twelve  years ;  but  enough  still 
remained  to  injure  and  to  degrade. 

The  effect  of  such  a  complicated  system  of  persecution  and  oppression  upon 
its  victims  may  be  easily  conceived.  The  peasantry  were  reduced  to  a  lament- 
able state  of  physical  wretchedness  and  moral  degradation.  Even  the  gentry 
were  broken  down ;  and,  though  individually  brave,  and  characteristically  na- 
tional, they  seemed  devoid  of  collective  courage  and  political  spirit.  The 
Catholics  loved  Ireland  with  enthusiasm,  not  only  as  their  country,  but  as  the 
partner  of  their  calamities ;  to  the  actual  interposition  of  England,  or  to  its 
immediate  influence,  they  ascribed  their  sufferings,  civil  and  religious,  with 
those  of  their  forefathers.  Hereditary  hatred,  therefore,  and  sense  of  injury 
had  always  conspired  with  national  pride  and  patriotism  to  make  them  adverse 
to  that  country  and  enemies  to  British  connection.  This  they  had  often  mani- 
fested, when  there  was  a  prospect  of  doing  it  with  success.  Now,  however, 
they  appeared  only  anxious  to  soften  the  rigors  of  their  situation  by  an  uniform 
support  of  Government,  which  had  carefully  insinuated  to  them  that  it  was 
their  protector  against  the  other  sects,  but  most  especially  against  the  Dis- 
senters, and  that  it  alone  prevented  the  severe  execution  of  the  Popery  Laws. 
This  obsequiousness  on  the  part  of  the  Catholics,  their  former  well-known 
attachment  to  the  French  Court  while  they  could  hope  for  its  assistance,  and 
some  remaining  prejudices  against  their  religion  itself,  caused  them  to  be 
regarded  by  the  Protestants  as  unfit  for  liberty  and  hostile  to  its  establishment. 

Much  mutual  distrust  and  alienation  naturally  flowed  from  this  difference 
of  interests,  sentiments  and  opinions.  Some  progress  towards  conquering  them, 
had,  indeed,  been  made  in  the  time  of  the  Volunteers ;  but  the  antipathies  of 
centuries  were  far  from  being  completely  removed.  For  that  reason,  when, 
in  the  Volunteer  Convention,  called  together  in  1784,  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing about  a  parliamentary  reform,  the  delegates  from  Belfast,  obedient  to  the 
early  liberality  and  enlightened  instructions  of  their  constituents,  supported  the 
equal  admission  of  Catholics  to  the  rights  of  free  men,  they  were  left  almost 
alone.  The  plan  of  representation  proposed  by  that  assembly  was  founded  on 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  Protestants ;  and  because  its  base  was  so  narrow 
(the  prejudices  of  the  times  not  perhaps  admitting  of  its  being  enlarged),  it 
was  easily  defeated ;  for  the  people  felt  no  interest  in  that  from  which  they 
were  to  derive  no  benefit.  The  French  Revolution,  however,  paved  the  way 
for  the  entire  accomplishment  of  what  the  Volunteer  institution  had  begun. 
A  Catholic  country  had,  by  its  conduct,  contradicted  the  frequently  repeated 
dogma,  that  Catholics  are  unfit  for  liberty ;  and  the  waning  glory  of  the  British 
constitution  seemed  to  fade  before  the  regenerated  government  of  France. 
These  things  sunk  deep  into  the  minds  of  the  Dissenters,  who  likewise  saw 
another  lesson  of  "liberality  enforced  by  their  new  teachers :  that  no  religious 
opinions  should  be  punished  by  civil  disfranchisement.   The  Catholics,  on  their 


80 


Injustice  of  Tithes 


part,  perhaps,  derived  some  instruction  from  the  same  event.  If  there  was 
any  truth  in  the  imputation  of  their  being  unfit  for  freedom,  which  is  much 
more  than  problematical,  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  striking  example 
quickly  changed  their  opinions  and  feelings ;  and  that  as  the  French  Revolution 
reconciled  the  Protestant  reformer  to  his  Catholic  countrymen,  so  it  ripened 
the  Catholics  for  liberty. 

Another  circumstance  seemed  also  to  draw  nearer  together  the  Catholics 
and  Dissenters,  and  to  excite  in  them  a  common  admiration  of  that  Revolu- 
tion; an  identity  of  opinions  and  interest  on  the  subject  of  tithes,  which  had 
for  many  years  been  a  topic  of  violent  discussion  at  home,  and  were  recently 
abolished  in  France.  Nowhere,  perhaps,  on  earth,  were  tithes  more  unpopular, 
or  considered  by  the  people  as  a  greater  grievance  than  in  Ireland.  They  went 
to  the  support  of  an  Established  clergy  that  preached  a  religion  which  was 
adopted  by  only  one-tenth  of  the  nation,  and  which  was  not  merely  disbelieved, 
but  considered  as  heresy,  by  three-fourths  of  those  that  were  forced  to  pay 
them.  They  had  been  the  frequent  subject  of  partial  insurrection,  and  were 
always  the  fertile  source  of  general  discontent ;  so  that  the  French  reformers, 
by  abolishing  them,  exceedingly  increased  the  numbers,  and  awoke  the  energy 
of  their  Irish  admirers.  Accordingly,  the  approbation  of  that  Revolution  was 
very  early,  as  well  as  extensive  in  Ireland;  and  the  impulse  it  communicated 
to  the  public  mind  has  given  direction  to  all  that  country's  subsequent  political 
proceedings. 

The  example  of  France,  in  not  permitting  civil  disqualification  to  result 
from  any  profession  of  religious  belief,  impressed  itself  most  powerfully  on 
the  minds  of  many  Protestants.  They  felt  not  only  the  justice,  but  the  wisdom 
of  liberality,  and  became  convinced  that  a  similar  measure,  with  an  entire  ob- 
livion of  all  religious  feuds  and  jealousies,  was  necessary  to  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  Ireland.  Some  of  them,  considering  more  maturely  the  argu- 
ments respecting  the  admission  of  Catholics  to  the  rights  of  citizenship,  which 
had  been  fruitlessly  urged  in  1784,  during  the  exertions  for  amending  the 
parliamentary  representation,  and  deriving  instruction  from  the  defeat  of  that 
measure  to  which  they  were  ardent  friends,  wished  to  array  the  members  of 
that  religion  also  in  support  of  reform,  by  giving  them  an  interest  in  its  success. 
If  it  were  combined  with  Catholic  Emancipation,  and  its  Protestant  advocates 
could  be  induced  to  forego  their  sectarial  prejudices,  the  chance  in  favor  of 
both  objects  would  be  infinitely  increased  by  the  union.  Reform  would  be 
again  raised  from  the  neglect  into  which  it  had  fallen  since  its  rejection  by 
Parliament,  and  would  derive  additional  consequence  from  a  fresh  reinforce- 
ment of  popular  support.  The  Catholics  would  count  among  their  friends 
those  whose  hostility  had  hitherto  appeared  to  be  the  chief  obstacle  to  their 
relief ;  and  the  two  sects  being  engaged  in  pursuit  of  the  same  object,  their 
former  distrust  and  animosities  would  vanish  before  their  common  interest. 

The  first  step  towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  plan  was  naturally  taken 
by  the  Dissenters  in  the  North,  whose  habit  of  public  discussion,  ardent  love 
of  liberty,  and  greater  independence  of  Government,  emboldened  them  to 


Influence  of  Clubs 


81 


begin.  They  felt  also  that,  as  their  forefathers  had  been  pre-eminently  instru- 
mental in  oppressing  the  Catholics,  justice  as  well  as  policy  required  them  to 
make  the  earliest  advances  towards  conciliation  and  union.  Before  that  time, 
the  violent  prejudices,  vaunted  superiority  and  repulsive  arrogance  of  the 
Protestants  in  general,  had  placed  such  a  gulf  of  separation  between  the 
followers  of  the  two  religions,  that  the  Catholics,  the  most  enlightened  and 
attached  to  liberty,  despaired  of  effecting  anything  in  conjunction  with  their 
countrymen ;  and,  however  reluctantly,  were  forced  to  purchase  occasional 
mitigations  of  the  penal  code  by  dependency  on  the  Court  and  humble  solicita- 
tions at  the  Castle.  But  it  is  unquestionable  that  when  that  body  saw  itself 
likely  to  be  supported  by  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Protestants,  it  mani- 
fested a  perfect  willingness  to  make  common  cause.  The  spirit  of  religious 
liberty  having  made  great  progress  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  it  was  intended 
at  a  public  celebration  of  the  French  Revolution,  on  the  14  July,  1791,  at  Bel- 
fast, the  political  capital  of  the  North,  to  introduce  a  collateral  resolution  in 
favor  of  admitting  the  Catholics  to  the  rights  of  citizenship,  which  was,  how- 
ever, withdrawn,  from  an  apprehension  that  the  minds  of  those  present  were 
not  yet  fully  prepared  for  the  measure.  It  was  shortly  afterwards  received 
and  adopted  by  the  first  Belfast  Volunteer  Company,  a  remnant  of  the  old 
Volunteers. 

That  resolution  drew  from  the  Catholics  of  Elphin  and  Jamestown  others, 
expressive  of  their  thanks,  which  were  forwarded  to  Belfast;  and  this,  at  the 
time,  almost  unheeded  event,  was  the  first  foundation  of  an  union  which  in  its 
progress  seemed  destined  to  strike  a  tremendous  blow  against  British  connec- 
tion. 

More  energetic  measures  remained  still  to  be  adopted.  Clubs  were  long 
used  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  for  the  accomplishment  of  political  objects. 
At  this  very  time,  the  parliamentary  opposition,  with  its  adherents,  was  asso- 
ciated under  the  name  of  the  Whig  Club ;  the  most  public-spirited  citizens  of 
Dublin  had  formed  themselves  into  a  society  called  the  "Whigs  of  the  Capi- 
tal" ;  and  other  similar  institutions  existed  in  the  country  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
particularly  at  Belfast,  all  professing  to  revive  the  decaying  principles  of 
Whiggism.  To  the  French,  however,  is  the  world  indebted  for  completely 
demonstrating  the  political  efficacy  of  clubs ;  and  the  proof  that  they  were  then 
giving  pointed  out  the  advantage  of  employing  an  instrument  which  promised 
so  much  benefit,  and  which  seemed  peculiarly  calculated  for  overcoming  those 
antipathies  that  opposed  the  progress  of  reform  in  Ireland.  The  clubs  already 
established  seemed  by  the  ancient  principles  of  the  party  from  which  they  were 
named,  as  well  as  by  the  prejudices  of  many  of  their  members,  rather  to  exclude 
religious  toleration.  In  consequence,  therefore,  of  an  agreement  between  some 
popular  characters  in  the  North  and  some  of  the  most  enterprising  Catholics 
of  Dublin,  together  with  a  few  members  even  of  the  Established  Church, 
whom  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  times  had  liberalized,  societies  were  to  be 
instituted  for  uniting  together  objects  of  parliamentary  reform  and  Catholic 
Emancipation. 


82 


United  Irishmen  and  the  Press 


Accordingly  one  was  constituted  in  Belfast,  in  October,  1791 ;  in  the  Novem- 
ber following,  another  in  Dublin ;  and  shortly  after  many  others  throughout 
the  North,  all  under  the  attractive  title  of  United  Irishmen.  In  their  declara- 
tion they  stated,  as  their  "heavy  grievance",  that  they  had  "no  national  govern- 
ment, but  were  ruled  by  Englishmen  and  the  servants  of  Englishmen" ;  and, 
as  its  "effectual  remedy",  they  pledged  themselves  "to  endeavor  by  all  due 
means,  to  procure  a  complete  and  radical  reform  of  the  representation  of  the 
people  in  Parliament,  including  Irishmen  of  every  religious  persuasion". 

The  press,  too,  that  most  important  engine  in  popular  proceedings,  it  was 
determined  to  employ  in  this  cause.  There  was,  therefore,  established  by  some 
of  the  most  active  and  zealous  in  Belfast  a  newspaper,  called  the  "Northern 
Star",  which  began  with  the  commencement  of  1792,  and  during  the  whole  of 
its  existence  was  undeviatingly  devoted  to  the  principles  and  views  of  the 
United  Irishmen.  A  pamphlet  written  in  the  preceding  September,  by  Theo- 
bald Wolfe  Tone,  under  the  signature  of  a  "Northern  Whig",  was  likewise 
made  extremely  conducive  to  the  same  purpose.  Its  scope  was  to  show  to  the 
Protestant  friends  of  reform  that  they  could  never  hope  for  success  unless  by 
embodying  with  their  measure  a  repeal  of  the  Popery  Laws,  and  thus  giving 
to  the  mass  of  population  an  interest  in  its  favor.  The  eloquent  and  forcible 
development  of  this  principle,  though  proceeding  from  an  unknown,  and  at 
that  time,  perfectly  unconnected  individual,  did  not  fail  to  excite  the  attention 
and  approbation  of  those  who  were  occupied  in  endeavoring  to  give  it  effect. 
They  bestowed  on  the  author  their  most  confidential  friendship,  and  employed 
his  work  as  a  powerful  instrument  for  spreading  their  opinions.  Ten  thousand 
copies  of  it  were  struck  off  in  Belfast,  and  circulated  with  unceasing  industry 
and  perseverance  throughout  the  province  of  Ulster,  while  a  cheap  edition  of  it 
was  selling  in  Dublin ;  and  its  effects  were  proportioned  to  the  abilities  of  the 
writer. 

Such  were  the  measures  adopted  by  a  few  men,  of  inconsiderable  rank, 
and  of  no  peculiar  importance  in  society,  to  subvert  the  exclusive  principles, 
both  constitutional  and  religious,  which  had  for  ages  characterized  the  Irish 
government;  and,  when  the  difficulties  they  encountered  are  considered,  it  is 
almost  astonishing  that  the  success  of  their  exertions  should  ever  have  entitled 
them  to  the  historian's  notice.  In  the  first  place,  they  had  to  surmount  the 
prejudices  and  suspicion  of  different  sects,  which  length  of  time  and  tradition 
had  almost  interwoven  with  their  respective  creeds.  This  they  hoped  to  accom- 
plish, and  they  succeeded  to  a  great  degree,  by  bringing  Catholics  and  Prot- 
estants together  into  societies  and  familiar  intercourse,  that  mutual  knowledge 
might  remove  mutual  distrust ;  but  the  hatred  of  the  lowest  order  of  Catholics 
and  Dissenters  was,  in  many  places,  still  violent  and  inveterate ;  so  that,  not- 
withstanding the  utmost  efforts  of  the  United  Irishmen,  it  was  sometimes  sub- 
sequently fanned  into  actual  hostilities. 

In  addition  to  this  original  difficulty,  they  were  counteracted  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  Establishment,  who,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  alarmed 
at  the  new  combination  of  parties,  and  endeavored  to  dissolve  it  with  a  zeal 


The  Catholic  Committee 


83 


proportioned  to  their  fears.  Besides,  even  those  Presbyterian  men  of  property, 
who  had  obtained  reputation  by  co-operating  with  Lord  Charlemont,  and  the 
Whig  interest,  cried  out  against  and  opposed  the  visionary  wildness  of  obscure 
men,  who  were  outstripping  them  in  the  career  of  politics,  and  rendering  in- 
significant the  exertions  by  which  they  hoped  to  have  signalized  their  names. 
Thus  abandoned  by  the  rich  and  the  respected,  and  not  yet  supported  by  the 
poor  and  despised  parts  of  the  community,  the  societies  of  United  Irishmen 
were  left  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  Government  and  its  adherents  from  every 
quarter.  The  insignificance  of  their  individual  members  was  derided,  the  sin- 
cerity of  their  principles  and  professions  was  denied,  and  they  were  charged 
with  harboring  concealed  designs  of  republicanism  and  separation  from  Eng- 
land. This  assertion  was  subsequently  made  against  them  by  high  authority, 
and  a  letter  quoted  in  proof  from  Tone  (the  original  planner  of  these  societies) 
to  one  of  his  friends,  in  which  he  declared  himself  a  decided  enemy  to  British 
connection.  Whether  that  enmity  be  deserving  of  censure  or  panegyric,  it  was 
unquestionably  felt  by  him  and  by  many  others ;  but  no  design  of  interfering 
with  the  connection  was  entertained  by  the  bodies  at  large;  nor  can  it  be  justly 
ascribed  to  them,  at  that  time,  whatever  changes  may  have  been  since  produced 
by  the  progress  of  principles,  which  have  swept  away  all  veneration  for  ancient 
establishments,  merely  as  such,  and  substituted  in  its  stead  new  feelings  and 
opinions. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  the  Catholics  were  likewise  soliciting, 
by  their  accustomed  organ,  a  relaxation  of  the  penal  code.  About  twenty  years 
before,  a  committee  for  conducting  their  affairs  had  been  instituted  with  the 
knowledge  and  tacit  sanction  of  Government.  It  consisted  of  lords  and  gentle- 
men of  rank  and  fortune,  who  sat  in  their  own  right,  and  of  delegates  from 
towns  and  cities.  As  their  business  was  little  more  than  presenting  addresses 
of  congratulation  and  loyalty  to  every  newly-arrived  viceroy,  and  endeavoring, 
by  humbly  suing  to  his  secretary,  with  occasional  petitions  to  Parliament,  to 
procure  some  mitigation  of  the  Popery  Laws,  the  constitution  of  the  committee 
was  found  fully  adequate  to  all  its  purposes.  Auguring  favorably  from  the 
progressive  liberality  of  the  times,  this  body  in  the  latter  end  of  1790,  prepared 
a  petition  to  Parliament,  presuming  to  ask  for  nothing  specific ;  but  merely 
praying  that  the  case  of  the  Catholics  might  be  taken  into  consideration.  Major 
Hobart,  the  Lord  Lieutenant's  secretary,  was  waited  on  with  this  petition,  to 
implore  the  countenance  and  protection  of  Government ;  but,  liberal  as  were 
the  times,  Government  deemed  this  a  season  for  resisting  innovation  of  every 
kind,  and  its  protection  was  refused.  The  committee  were,  however,  inclined 
to  persevere ;  but  such  was  the  Irish  Parliament,  that  they  could  not  prevail 
on  any  one  member  of  that  body  to  bring  in  their  petition ! 

Another  circumstance,  too,  strongly  marked  the  determination  of  Govern- 
ment respecting  them.  In  the  summer  of  1790,  Lord  Westmoreland,  then 
Lord  Lieutenant,  visited  the  South  of  Ireland.  On  his  arrival  at  Cork,  it  was 
intimated  to  the  Catholics  there,  that  an  expression  of  their  loyalty  would  be 
acceptable.   Accordingly  an  address  of  that  nature  was  prepared,  which,  how- 


84 


Division  in  Committee 


ever,  concluded  with  a  hope  that  their  loyalty  would  entitle  them  to  some 
relaxation  of  the  present  code.  Before  its  being  formally  presented,  it  was 
submitted  to  His  Excellency,  and  was  returned  to  them,  to  strike  out  the  clause 
which  expressed  the  hope.  With  a  feeling  rather  natural  to  men  not  perfectly 
broken  down  by  oppression,  they  refused  to  strike  it  out,  and  declined  present- 
ing any  address  at  all. 

In  the  beginning  of  1791,  the  Catholic  Committee  were  again  disposed  to 
urge  their  suit.  They  deputed  twelve  of  their  body  to  go  to  the  Castle  with  a 
list  of  those  laws,  and  entreat  the  protection  of  Government  to  remove  any 
part  of  them  it  thought  fit ;  but  more  forcibly  to  mark  disapprobation,  delegates, 
who  were  soliciting  on  behalf  of  three  millions  of  people,  were  dismissed  with- 
out the  civility  of  an  answer ! 

The  patience  of  the  Committee  was  not  yet  exhausted.  They  had  been 
repulsed  by  the  Irish  Government;  but,  perhaps,  without  the  concurrence  of 
its  English  superiors.  Mr.  Keogh  was,  therefore,  delegated  to  London,  to 
make  a  similar  application  at  the  fountainhead.  After  three  months'  solicita- 
tion, he  was  informed  that  no  opposition  would  occur  from  England  to  the 
Irish  Catholics  being  admitted  to  the  profession  of  the  law,  to  their  serving 
on  grand  juries,  to  their  being  county  magistrates  and  high  sheriffs;  and,  that 
their  admission  to  the  elective  franchise  should  be  taken  under  consideration. 

But,  in  the  meantime,  the  Irish  administration  appears  to  have  attempted 
defeating  the  Catholic  application,  by  working  on  some  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee, and  to  have  hoped,  at  least,  to  draw  from  it  some  pledges  that  it  would 
never  connect  itself  with  the  United  Irishmen.  For  this  purpose,  some  of  the 
country  gentlemen  who  sat  in  right  of  their  rank,  and  who  were  always  the 
most  prominent  persons  in  every  humble  application  at  Court,  directed  by  its 
obvious  wishes,  perhaps  by  its  secret  suggestions,  endeavored  to  induce  the 
Committee  to  adopt  the  resolution  of  seeking  no  removal  of  the  existing  dis- 
abilities, but  in  such  manner  and  extent  as  to  the  wisdom,  liberality  and  benevo- 
lence of  the  legislature  should  seem  expedient.  This  was  resisted  by  others, 
as  a  real  abandonment  of  their  object,  and,  on  a  division  in  the  general  Com- 
mittee, in  December,  1791,  this  last  opinion  prevailed  by  a  majority  of  ninety 
to  seventeen.  This  success,  and  the  account  of  the  exertion  that  produced  it, 
were  received  with  enthusiasm  in  the  North.  Coming  from  that  part  of  the 
Catholics  which  was  thought  the  least  likely  to  resist  administration,  it  was 
considered  as  shaking  off  hereditary  aristocracy,  and  as  a  convincing  proof 
that  the  body  at  large  was  sincerely  determined  to  coalesce  with  the  Protestant 
reformers.  It,  therefore,  gave  a  deep  root  to  the  union  there,  in  Dublin,  and 
elsewhere. 

These  proceedings  deserve  also  to  be  particularly  noticed,  as  having  given 
birth  to  the  first  general  discussion  of  politics  by  the  Irish  Catholics  in  their 
distinct  capacity.  The  landed  gentlemen,  who  had  so  long  assumed  to  be  the 
head  of  that  body,  could  not  be  easily  brought  to  feel  their  weakness,  or  sur- 
render their  situation.  After  having  gained  a  reinforcement,  by  a  very  diligent 
exertion,  of  fifty-one  other  names,  Lords  Fingal,  Gormanston  and  Kenmare, 


Langrishe's  Bill 


85 


with  the  rest  of  the  Sixty-eight,  published  to  the  world  the  resolution  that  had 
been  negatived  in  the  Committee.  It  has  been  alleged  in  their  excuse  for  this 
obsequious  exertion,  that  it  was  procured  by  the  promise  of  a  more  extensive 
relief  than  was  solicited  by  the  Committee.  Perhaps  they  also  presumed  to 
hope,  that  the  display  of  so  much  strength  and  importance  would  silence  or 
confound  their  not  much  more  numerous  opponents.  It,  however,  produced 
counter  resolutions  from  the  Catholics  of  almost  all  the  counties  and  principal 
towns  in  the  kingdom,  approving  of  the  conduct  of  the  Committee,  and  censur- 
ing that  of  the  Sixty-eight.  In  the  course  of  the  meetings,  where  these  counter 
resolutions  were  passed,  the  condition  of  the  Catholics  was  the  subject  of 
universal  discussion ;  and  thus  the  sense  of  their  rights,  and  indignation  at  their 
wrongs  was  exceedingly  increased. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  friends  of  what  has  since  been  called  the  Protestant 
ascendancy  had  taken  considerable  alarm,  and  declared  themselves  against  the 
Catholic  claims  and  measures  with  the  utmost  violence  and  passion.  As  they 
were  almost  entirely  members  of  the  Established  Church,  in  possession  or 
expectation  of  all  the  exclusive  benefits  derived  from  their  religion,  and  in 
general  the  uniform  supporters  of  administration,  they  were  either  actually 
members  of  Parliament,  or  at  least  more  peculiarly  connected  with  that  body. 
This,  therefore,  will  account  for  the  proceedings  of  the  session  which  com- 
menced on  the  nineteenth  of  January,  1792. 

On  the  first  night  of  its  meeting,  Sir  Hercules  Langrishe  (a  confi- 
1792    dential  servant  of  Government,  but  an  early  and  decided  enemy  to 

the  Popery  Laws),  gave  notice  in  the  House  of  Commons  of  his  in- 
tention to  introduce  a  Bill  for  the  relief  of  the  Catholics,  which  was  accordingly 
brought  in  on  the  fourth  of  February.  It  opened  to  them  the  Bar,  up  to  the 
rank  of  King's  Counsel ;  permitted  their  intermarriage  with  Protestants,  pro- 
vided it  were  celebrated  by  a  Protestant  clergyman ;  but  continued  the  dis- 
franchisement of  a  Protestant  husband  from  marrying  a  Popish  wife ;  and 
subjected  a  Catholic  clergyman,  celebrating  such  intermarriage,  to  the  penalty 
of  death;  at  the  same  time,  declaring  the  marriage  itself  null  and  void.  It 
further  gave  the  Catholics  the  privilege  of  teaching  school  without  licence  from 
the  ordinary,  and  permitted  them  to  take  two  or  more  apprentices. 

Whether  this  Bill  was  intended  as  a  reward  for  the  fidelity  of  the  Sixty- 
eight,  or  a  compliance  of  some  order  from  the  English  Cabinet,  does  not  clearly 
appear ;  but  it  certainly  was  introduced  without  consulting  the  Catholic  Com- 
mittee. That  body,  however,  in  pursuance  of  its  resolution,  and  of  the  decided 
wishes  of  those  who  declared  in  its  favor,  prepared  a  petition,  which  detailed 
at  large  the  peculiar  hardships  of  their  situation.  This  Mr.  O'Hara  attempted 
to  present  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  January ;  but  he  quickly  withdrew  it,  in  con- 
sequence of  some  formal  objections,  and  of  the  hostile  temper  of  the  House, 
very  unequivocally  manifested  by  the  furious  speeches  of  some  members,  and 
the  heat  and  ferment  that  seemed  to  agitate  the  whole.  Another  petition  was 
substituted  a  few  days  after,  and  presented  on  the  eighteenth  of  February  by 
Mr.  Egan.    This  last  was  couched  in  language  the  most  humble,  and  simply 


86 


Belfast's  Petition  Rejected 


entreated  the  House  to  take  into  consideration:  "Whether  the  removal  of 
some  of  the  civil  incapacities  under  which  they  labored,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  petitioners  to  some  share  in  the  elective  franchise,  which  they  enjoyed 
long  after  the  revolution,  would  not  tend  to  strengthen  the  Protestant  state, 
add  new  vigor  to  industry,  and  afford  protection  and  happiness  to  the  Catholics 
of  Ireland". 

A  petition  was  likewise  presented  by  the  inhabitants  of  Belfast  in  favor  of 
the  Catholic  claims.  While  the  sufferers  themselves  were  supplicating  partial 
relief,  in  terms  almost  abject,  their  northern  friends,  little  accustomed  to 
temporize  with  the  passions  or  prejudices  of  their  opponents,  boldly  relied  on 
the  justice  of  the  application,  and  asked  for  a  complete  repeal  of  all  penal 
and  restrictive  laws  against  the  Catholics;  so  that  they  might  be  put  on  the 
same  footing  with  their  Protestant  fellow-subjects.  It  has  been  already  men- 
tioned that  a  resolution  expressing  similar  sentiments  was  withdrawn,  lest  it 
should  be  lost  at  the  preceding  celebration  of  the  fourteenth  of  July  in  Belfast ; 
but  such  had  been  the  progress  of  liberality  among  the  Dissenters,  that  this 
unqualified  application  to  Parliament  was  accompanied  by  six  hundred  Prot- 
estant signatures. 

The  House  of  Commons,  however,  was  not  actuated  by  the  same  spirit. 
These  petitions  were  indeed  received;  but  after  some  days  they  were  taken 
off  the  table,  on  the  motion  of  the  Right  Hon.  David  Latouche,  and  rejected 
by  a  very  large  majority;  thereby  cementing  the  already  formidable  union  of 
sects,  and  binding  the  Catholics  and  Dissenters  more  closely  together  by  a 
community  of  insult. 

In  the  debate  on  this  motion,  Mr.  Grattan  reprobated  the  bigotry  of  the 
Protestant  ascendancy,  and  predicted  the  final  success  of  the  Catholics,  by 
one  of  those  sublime  comparisons  that  peculiarly  characterize  his  eloquence. 

What!  never  be  free?  (exclaimed  this  overwhelming  orator).  Three  millions  of 
your  people  condemned  by  their  fellow-subjects  to  an  everlasting  slavery,  in  all  changes 
of  time,  decay  of  prejudice,  increase  of  knowledge,  the  fall  of  papal  power,  and  the 
establishment  of  philosophic  and  moral  ascendancy  in  its  place!  Never  be  free!  Do 
you  mean  to  >tell  the  Roman  Catholic,  it  is  in  vain  that  you  take  oaths  and  declarations 
of  allegiance;  it  would  be  in  vain  even  to  renounce  the  spiritual  power  of  the  Pope,  and 
become  like  any  other  Dissenter,  it  would  make  no  difference  as  to  your  emancipation: 
go  to  France:  go  to  America:  carry  your  property,  industry,  manufacture,  and  family, 
to  a  land  of  liberty.  This  is  a  sentence  which  requires  the  power  of  a  god  and  the 
malignity  of  a  demon :  you  are  not  competent  to  pronounce  it.  Believe  me,  you  may  as 
well  plant  your  foot  on  the  earth,  and  hope  by  that  resistance  to  stop  the  diurnal 
revolution,  which  advances  you  to  that  morning  sun,  which  is  to  shine  alone  on  the 
Protestant  and  Catholic,  as  you  can  hope  to  arrest  the  progress  of  that  other  light, 
reason  and  justice,  which  approaches  to  liberate  the  Catholic  and  liberalize  the  Protestant. 
Even  now  the  question  is  on  its  way,  and  making  its  destined  and  irresistible  progress, 
which  you,  with  all  your  authority,  will  have  no  power  to  resist ;  no  more  than  any  other 
great  truth,  or  any  great  ordinance  of  nature,  or  any  law  of  motion,  which  mankind  is 
free  to  contemplate,  but  cannot  resist:  there  is  a  justice  linked  to  their  cause,  and  a 
truth  that  sets  off  their  application. 

Notwithstanding  the  adverse   disposition   of   Parliament,   Sir  Hercules 


The  Whig  Club 


87 


Langrishe's  Bill  was  allowed  to  pass  into  a  law ;  but  in  the  debate  to  which  it 
gave  rise,  the  speakers  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  even  many  of  its  sup- 
porters, who  were  likewise  adherents  of  Government,  vented  the  most  un- 
measured abuse  against  the  Catholic  Committee,  against  those  who  defended 
it  by  resolutions  and  addresses,  against  the  people  of  Belfast,  and  the  Societies 
of  United  Irishmen.  Of  these  last,  that  of  Dublin  was  attacked  with  peculiar 
severity,  because  it  had  made  itself  pre-eminently  obnoxious,  by  several  publi- 
cations of  various  merits  and  importance.  One  of  these,  "The  Digest  of  the 
Popery  Laws,"  prepared  by  the  Hon.  Simon  Butler,  an  eminent  lawyer,  and 
the  first  chairman  of  the  society,  was  admirably  calculated  to  promote  the 
cause  for  which  it  was  written.  By  merely  stripping  the  statutes  of  their 
preamble  and  recitals,  and  bringing  the  enacting  clauses  together  in  a  simple 
arrangement,  it  presented,  at  one  view,  such  a  monstrous  mass  of  tyranny  and 
oppression  as  shocked  almost  every  reader. 

Indeed,  although  this  society  appeared  to  be  actuated  by  the  purest  prin- 
ciples of  patriotism,  it  had  so  conducted  itself  that  it  did  not  seem  to  have 
gained  a  single  friend  in  either  House  of  Parliament.  The  Castle  and  its 
followers  were  such  enemies  as  it  must  have  counted  on  from  its  very  origin ; 
but  their  enmity  was  not  mOre  marked  than  the  aversion  of  the  Opposition. 
This  party  had  formed  itself,  as  already  stated,  about  the  time  of  the  regency 
dispute,  into  a  Whig  Club,  and  had  hoped  to  collect  the  nation  under  its 
standard,  by  pledging  itself  to  a  Bill  for  preventing  placemen  and  pensioners 
from  sitting  in  Parliament,  with  others  of  a  similar  nature  and  equal  im- 
portance. The  members  of  the  Opposition  were  by  no  means  agreed  as  to 
the  Catholic  claims  or  a  parliamentary  reform ;  although  the  able  and  eloquent 
Mr.  Grattan,  whose  talents,  exertions  and  public  estimation  deservedly  made 
him  the  head  of  the  party,  together  with  Mr.  Curran  and  some  others,  were 
avowed  friends  to  both.  In  order,  therefore,  to  preserve  the  appearance 
of  co-operation  and  unanimity,  the  club  remained  intentionally  silent  on  these 
two  vital  questions.  Its  prudence,  however,  did  not  increase  its  strength ;  for 
so  entirely  had  the  United  Irishmen  succeeded  in  drawing  general  attention 
to  their  own  objects,  that  a  place  Bill  and  a  pension  Bill  were  considered  as 
petty  evasions  of  more  important  measures.  The  candidates  for  political  situ- 
ation who  rested  their  pretensions  on  them  were  despised  and  derided,  and 
those  societies  had  not  been  instituted  many  months  before  they  destroyed  the 
popularity  and  extinguished  the  power  of  the  Whig  Club.  No  wonder,  then, 
that  the  members  of  Opposition  were  not  their  parliamentary  advocates,  and 
were  in  some  instances  among  their  most  inveterate  abusers. 

But  the  effects  of  the  abuse  thrown  but  against  the  Catholics  and  their 
Committee  were  infinitely  more  important.  The  members  of  that  religion  had 
been  charged  with  tenets  inimical  to  good  order  and  government ;  with  harbor- 
ing pretensions  to  the  forfeited  estates  of  their  forefathers ;  and  with  wishing 
to  subvert  the  existing  establishment  that  they  might  erect  a  Popish  one  in 
its  stead.  These  declarations  were  denied  by  a  very  full  and  unequivocal 
declaration  from  the  Committee ;  which  was  subsequently  subscribed  both  by 


88 


Committee  Reorganized 


the  clergy  and  laity.  It  also  published  the  answers  of  foreign  universities  to 
queries  proposed  at  the  desire  of  Mr.  Pitt,  by  the  Committee  of  English 
Catholics  on  the  same  religious  opinions  attributed  to  their  communion ;  which 
in  all  their  answers  are  explicitly  disavowed.  The  faculty  of  divinity  at  Lou- 
vain  in  particular  expressed  itself  "struck  with  astonishment  that  such  ques- 
tions should,  at  the  end  of  this  eighteenth  century,  be  proposed  to  any  learned 
body,  by  inhabitants  of  a  kingdom  that  glories  in  the  talents  and  discernment 
of  its  natives".   These  measures  exceedingly  comforted  the  timid  Protestants. 

The  majority  of  the  Committee  had  also  been  stigmatized  in  Parliament 
as  turbulent  and  seditious  agitators,  whose  conduct  should  rather  operate  to 
prevent  the  relief  granted  to  the  good  demeanor  of  the  Sixty-eight.  The 
petition  of  the  former  was  said  to  be  only  the  act  of  an  obscure  faction,  con- 
fined merely  to  the  capital,  disavowed  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Catholics, 
ignorant  of  their  sentiments,  and  incompetent  to  speak  on  their  behalf. 

If  it  was  intended  ever  to  proceed  further,  by  any  secondary  body,  in  pur- 
suit of  emancipation,  this  objection  of  incompetency  could  no  longer  be  over- 
looked, urged  as  it  had  been  with  peculiar  force,  and  well-founded  as  it  cer- 
tainly appeared  to  be,  were  the  organization  only  of  the  Committee  con- 
sidered. The  necessity  of  unequivocally  showing,  that  whatever  future  appli- 
cation might  be  made,  was  conformable  to  the  wishes  of  the  Catholics  at  large, 
and,  perhaps,  also,  the  desire  of  shaking  off  an  hereditary  aristocracy,  which 
had  become  odious  in  consequence  of  the  conduct  of  the  Sixty-eight,  deter- 
mined the  Committee  to  devise  a  plan,  whereby  the  sentiments  of  every  in- 
dividual of  that  persuasion  in  Ireland  should  be  ascertained.  To  this  it  was 
further  impelled,  by  an  assurance  which  was  possibly  given  under  an  idea  that 
compliance  with  the  requisite  would  be  impracticable,  and  which  is  alluded  to 
in  the  plan  itself,  in  the  following  words: 

We  have  the  first  authority  for  asserting,  that  this  application  [a  petition  to  the 
king]  will  have  great  weight  with  our  gracious  sovereign  and  with  parliament,  if  our 
friends  are  qualified  to  declare  that  it  is  the  universal  wish  of  every  Catholic  in  the 
Nation. 

The  necessary  unanimity  was  further  promoted  by  a  declaration  from  the 
leaders  of  the  Sixty-eight  (repentant  from  the  inadequacy  of  the  relief  granted 
to  the'ir  good  demeanor),  that  they  would  never  again  enter  into  any  act  to 
oppose  the  general  Committee,  in  its  endeavors  to  obtain  emancipation. 

The  plan  itself  proposed,  that  electors  should  be  chosen  by  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  that  religion  in  every  parish,  and  that  those  electors  should,  in  each 
county,  choose  its  delegates  to  the  Committee.  This  manner  of  conducting  the 
election  was  most  satisfactory  to  the  United  Irishmen,  who  had  now  begun 
to  maintain  universal  suffrage,  as  the  only  just  mode  of  appointing  represen- 
tatives ;  and  it  removed  from  the  Dissenters  all  remaining  apprehensions  that 
the  Catholics  might  be  unfit  for  liberty. 

This  project  for  re-organizing  the  general  Committee  was  at  first  strongly 
opposed  by  the  Catholic  bishops,  who  probably  foresaw  from  its  accomplishment 
the  annihilation  of  their  own  influence  in  that  assembly,  as  well  as  the  dis- 


Meeting  of  Volunteers 


89 


pleasure  it  would  afford  to  Government.  They  strenuously  insisted  to  their 
flocks  that  the  measure  was  not  only  impolitic,  but  illegal,  and  imminently 
dangerous  to  those  who  might  attempt  to  carry  it  into  effect.  This  charge  of 
illegality,  which  was  also  made  from  other  quarters,  determined  the  Committee 
to  submit  the  plan  itself  to  the  opinion  of  two  eminent  lawyers,  whose  pro- 
fessional characters  might  remove  all  apprehensions  or  doubt,  while  the  inde- 
pendence and  the  liberality  of  their  principles  would  guard  against  the  injurious 
operation  of  corrupt  influence  or  religious  prejudice.  For  this  purpose  they 
chose  the  Hon.  Simon  Butler  and  Beresford  Burston,  whose  answers  being 
entirely  favorable,  were  printed,  and  universally  dispersed  throughout  the 
country.  From  thenceforward  no  farther  mention  was  expressly  made  of  the 
illegality  of  the  measure,  and  Catholic  opposition  to  it  gradually  died  away. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Committee  were  seconded  in  the  strongest  manner 
by  Belfast  and  its  neighborhood,  at  their  commemoration  meeting  on  the  four- 
teenth of  July.  As  Volunteer  associations  had  never  been  totally  discontinued 
in  Ulster,  that  day's  immense  assembly  consisted  not  only  of  those  with  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  the  vicinity,  but  also  of  a  very  considerable 
number  of  distant  Volunteer  companies,  together  with  a  great  concourse  from 
a  wide  circuit  of  the  North.  The  objects  to  be  proposed  to  the  meeting  having 
been  the  subject  of  a  year's  general  and  public  discussion,  were  perfectly  well 
understood  by  all  before  their  assembling.  These  objects  were  to  express  a 
decided  approbation  of  the  French  Revolution,  with  entire  confidence  in  its 
success,  and  to  adopt  its  principles  as  far  as  they  were  applicable  to  Ireland, 
through  the  means  of  Catholic  Emancipation  and  parliamentary  reform.  A 
number  of  principal  Catholics  and  others  from  Dublin  attended  this  meeting 
by  previous  agreement,  that  they  might  themselves  witness  the  spirit  of  the 
North.  The  resolutions  and  addresses  were  carried  with  acclamation,  and  the 
visitors  returned  satisfied  as  to  the  present  and  sanguine  as  to  the  future  issue 
of  the  popular  exertions. 

But  the  agitation  which  the  plan  of  the  General  Committee  produced 
throughout  the  kingdom,  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1792,  was  most 
extraordinary.  Wherever  their  adversaries  were  sufficiently  strong,  corporate 
or  county  meetings  were  held  to  reprobate  the  plan,  and  to  resist  the  exorbitant 
pretensions  of  the  Catholics ;  but  if  defeat,  or  even  formidable  resistance  was 
dreaded,  similar  resolutions  were  entered  into  by  the  grand  juries,  where  suc- 
cess could  be  easily  secured  from  the  mode  of  their  appointment. 

These  resolutions  breathed  no  common  opposition.  In  general,  they  charged 
the  Committee  with  the  interests  of  overawing  the  legislature ;  they  drew  a  line 
of  circumvallation  round  the  Protestant  ascendancy,  and  pledged  those  who 
adopted  them,  as  solemnly  as  could  be  done  by  words,  to  resist  with  their  lives 
and  fortunes  every  attempt  to  regain  a  right  within  its  limits.  The  corporation 
of  Dublin  went  still  further ;  for,  alluding  to  the  possibility  of  Government's 
finally  acceding  to  the  Catholic  claims,  it  expressly  says,  that 

The  Protestants  of  Ireland  would  not  be  compelled,  by  any  authority  whatever,  to 
abandon  that  political  situation  which  their  forefathers  won  with  their  swords,  and 
which  is  therefore  their  birthright. 


90 


Protestant  Ascendancy 


And  to  this  threatened  resistance  against  the  constituted  authorities,  it 
solemnly  pledged  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  its  members.  That  no  doubt  might 
be  entertained  as  to  the  extent  of  what  it  was  determined  at  all  hazards  to 
maintain,  it  gave  a  definition  of  Protestant  ascendancy  in  these  words : 

A  Protestant  king  of  Ireland,  a  Protestant  Parliament,  a  Protestant  hierarchy, 
Protestant  electors  and  government,  the  benches  of  justice,  the  army  and  the  revenue, 
through  all  their  branches  and  details,  Protestant;  and  this  system  supported  by  a  con- 
nection with  the  Protestant  realm  of  England. 

What  gave  to  those  resolutions  a  still  more  important  appearance  was, 
that  they  seemed  to  be  made  with  the  immediate  sanction  of  Government, 
inasmuch  as  the  most  confidential  servants  of  the  Crown,  and  even  its  ministers, 
stepped  forward  to  give  them  countenance  and  support  in  their  respective 
counties.  This  authoritative  interference  on  the  part  of  persons  high  in  the 
administration  of  the  country  (such  as  Mr.  Foster,  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  in  the  County  of  Louth,  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  in  the  County 
of  Limerick),  against  a  plan,  calculated  to  ascertain  an  universal  wish,  formed 
a  very  striking  and  suspicious  contrast  with  the  assertion  of  the  Committee, 
that  it  had  the  first  authority  to  declare  an  application  would  have  infinite 
weight,  if  it  appeared  to  be  the  wish  of  every  Catholic  in  the  nation. 

The  friends  of  emancipation  were  not  on  their  parts  much  less  active.  The 
United  Irishmen  of  Dublin  and  several  Catholic  bodies,  treated  with  indig- 
nation, argument,  contempt,  severity  and  ridicule,  the  pledges  and  menaces 
of  the  opposite  party.  Those  in  the  capital  particularly  directed  their  attention 
to  the  circular  letters  issued  by  the  corporation  of  that  city,  and  in  a  pointed 
declaration  denied  its  assertions  and  replied  to  its  reasonings.  The  meeting 
convened  for  that  purpose  was  remarkable,  among  other  things,  for  affording 
to  the  Catholics  the  first  public  opportunity  of  exerting  their  unknown,  and 
almost  despised  talents.  All  the  speeches  on  that  occasion,  but  particularly  the 
able,  artful  and  argumentative  declamation  of  Mr.  Keogh,  the  classic  and  cul- 
tivated eloquence  of  Dr.  Ryan,  filled  their  ascendancy  opponents  with  mortifi- 
cation and  surprise. 

In  order  to  further  do  away  the  effects  of  the  grand  jury  resolutions,  and 
to  consider  the  situation  of  affairs,  a  great  number  of  meetings  of  different 
towns  and  districts  was  likewise  held  throughout  the  province  of  Ulster  during 
the  winter  of  1792.  At  all  of  them  it  was  declared,  that  a  radical  reform  in 
the  representation  of  the  people  was  the  only  remedy  for  the  many  existing 
grievances.  Some  few,  with  Londonderry  at  their  head,  expressed  themselves 
as  favorable  to  the  gradual  admission  of  the  Catholics  into  this  basis  of  reform ; 
but  the  great  majority  followed  the  example  of  Belfast,  and  declared  for  the 
immediate  and  unqualified  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  whole 
Catholic  body. 

These  declarations,  from  different  assemblies,  having  testified  some  slight 
disagreement  on  one  of  the  great  questions,  it  was  proposed  to  call  a  convention 
of  the  province,  as  had  twice  before  been  done,  and  on  one  occasion  with 


Influence  of  the  French  Revolution  91 


marked  success.  Dungannon,  the  former  place  of  meeting,  and  even  the  fif- 
teenth of  February,  its  anniversary,  were  deemed  auspicious,  and  were  there- 
fore selected.  It  was  also  judged  fit  that  the  delegates  should  be  appointed 
on  the  plan  then  pursued  by  the  Catholics. 

Their  elections  had  been  everywhere  carried  on,  even  during  the  heat  of  the 
grand  jury  and  county  resolutions,  with  tranquillity,  and  almost  without  obser- 
vation. But  the  threatened  hostilities  of  the  Protestant  ascendancy  roused  a 
martial  spirit  in  its  opponents.  The  ranks  of  the  old  Volunteer  corps  were 
filling,  and  new  ones  springing  up  in  every  part  of  the  North.  Vague  and 
obscure  notions,  that  the  resistance  of  those  who  benefitted  by  the  existing 
exclusions,  together  with  the  tide  of  political  opinions  now  strongly  setting  in 
from  France,  would  cause  Ireland  to  be  the  theatre  of  revolution  and  the  seat 
of  war,  seemed  already  to  have  possessed  the  minds  of  many ;  and  the  military 
dispositions  and  habits  of  the  Irish  were  not  such  as  to  make  them  shrink 
from  the  struggle.  Ever  since  the  defection  of  the  Sixty-eight,  the  Catholics 
had  been  kept  in  constant  heat  and  agitation  by  political  disputes  and  discus- 
sions. They  first  stepped  forward  to  resist  that  aristocracy  and  support  their 
Committee :  their  attention  was  then  more  peculiarly  turned  inwards  upon 
their  disabilities,  by  those  occurrences,  and  by  the  debates  in  Parliament,  while 
their  affection  was  in  no  respect  conciliated  by  the  temper  with  which  these 
debates  were  marked.  The  ensuing  summer  called  forth  all  their  reasoning 
faculties  in  their  own  defence,  and  excited  all  their  animal  feelings  by  insult, 
asperity  and  menace.  To  them,  therefore,  the  proceedings  of  the  last  year  had 
been  a  continual  study  of  the  Rights  of  Man,  and  a  gradual  incitement  to 
assert  them.  The  Dissenters,  who  never  stood  in  need  of  much  preliminary 
preparation,  contemplated  with  enthusiasm  the  progress  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, and  remembered  their  own  fame  in  1782.  They  saw  indeed  that  their 
dearest  objects,  Catholic  Emancipation  and  parliamentary  reform  were  likely 
to  be  resisted,  and  conceded  only  to  force :  but  so  far  from  being  terrified  at 
the  prospect,  they  rather  began  to  speculate  upon  the  ulterior  consequences 
of  the  conflict.  What  those  consequences  might  be,  the  eventful  tenth  of 
August  and  twenty-first  of  September  seemed  to  develop.  The  first  of  those 
days  dethroned  the  King  of  France,  and  the  last  of  them  made  that  country  a 
republic.  But  this  extraordinary  change  was  far  from  disagreeable  to  men  who 
had  been  republicans  in  theory  ever  since  the  establishment  of  American 
independence ;  or  whose  minds  were  now  rapidly  advancing  towards  the  same 
principles,  almost  without  their  consciousness. 

Irish  enthusiasm  was  likewise  raised  to  its  highest  pitch,  by  the  rapid  and 
surprising  victories  with  which  the  French,  after  their  first  disasters,  had 
signalized  the  war.  Nor  was  it  overawed  by  the  fear  of  opposition ;  for  the 
military  force  in  the  country  was  small,  and  the  gentry  of  more  liberdl  senti- 
ments, but  who  had  kept  aloof  from  fear  of  shame,  were  beginning  to  flock 
round  the  popular  standard. 

Such  were  the  auspicious  circumstances  under  which  the  Catholic  Com- 
mittee assembled  nn  the  third  of  December,  1792,  and  its  meeting  could  not 


92 


Petition  to  the  King 


but  afford  some  matter  for  speculation.  The  body  which  had  previously  held 
its  meetings  in  Dublin,  under  the  same  name,  and  with  the  privity  and  consent 
of  Government,  though  of  no  alarming  appearance,  either  from  its  numbers 
or  importance;  and  though  during  almost  the  whole  of  its  time,  religious  preju- 
dices seemed  at  least  dormant,  did  not  think  proper  to  make  itself  an  object  of 
any  notoriety ;  so  that  even  its  existence  was  nearly  unknown  to  the  greater 
part  of  the  Protestant  community.  Now,  however,  notwithstanding  that  civil 
war  had  been  denounced  by  the  ascendancy,  and  the  menace  countenanced  at 
least  by  men  very  high  in  the  government  of  the  country,  or  enjoying  very 
lucrative  places  in  the  administration,  this  Committee  assembled  with  the 
utmost  publicity :  and  so  imposing  was  its  appearance  from  numbers  and 
respectability,  that  its  original  title  was  soon  merged  in  the  more  expressive 
appellation  of  The  Catholic  Convention.  To  what  was  this  change  attribut- 
able? To  the  consciousness  of  strength  which  its  constituents  had  acquired, 
by  being  repeatedly  involved  in  political  discussions ;  to  the  increasing 
liberality  and  firmness  of  the  Protestants  who  espoused  their  cause;  but  most 
peculiarly  to  the  unequivocal  and  energetic  support  they  derived  from  their 
former  enemies,  the  Northern  Dissenters,  by  many  strong  and  explicit 
declarations,  together  with  corresponding  military  preparations. 

The  most  active  Northerns,  who  had  the  year  before  procured  a  petition 
from  Belfast  to  Parliament  for  a  complete  repeal  of  the  whole  Popery  Code, 
now  pressed  upon  those  of  the  Committee  with  whom  they  were  in  habits  of 
communication,  that  it  should  also  make  the  same  extensive  claim.  If  there 
had  been  any  difference  of  opinion,  the  effectual  co-operation  which  they  had 
always  given,  would  have  added  infinite  weight  to  their  advice.  But  in  truth, 
the  Committee  from  the  very  outset  seemed  perfectly  disposed  to  assert  all  the 
rights  infringed  on  by  those  laws. 

It  replied  in  a  very  dignified  style  to  the  different  corporation,  county  and 
grand  jury  resolutions,  by  its  vindication.  Well  knowing  the  authoritative  in- 
fluence which  a  royal  recommendation  would  have  on  both  legislative  Houses, 
it  prepared  a  petition  to  the  king,  setting  forth  all  the  disabilities  of  the  Cath- 
olics ;  praying  that  he  would  recommend  to  his  Parliament  of  Ireland  to  take 
into  consideration  the  whole  of  their  situation ;  and  expressing  their  wish  to 
be  restored  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  constitution  of  their  country. 

The  next  question  was,  how  this  petition  should  be  forwarded  to  England. 
Some  were  for  transmitting  it,  in  the  ordinary  mode,  through  the  viceroy ;  and 
this,  Government  itself  seemed  very  solicitous  to  procure.  The  measure  was 
expressly  solicited  by  Lord  Donoughmore,  who,  with  his  family,  had  always 
espoused  the  Catholic  cause ;  and  who  was  likewise  among  the  most  steady  sup- 
porters of  administration.  He  waited  outside  the  Hall  where  the  Committee 
met,  to  know  their  determination :  he  was  informed  by  order  of  the  meeting, 
that  if  the  Lord  Lieutenant  would  promise  to  forward  the  petition,  with  a 
recommendation  in  its  favor,  it  should  be  intrusted  to  him.  Lord  Donoughmore, 
having  carried  this  communication  to  the  Castle,  and  returned  with  an  answer 
that  His  Excellency  could  not  in  his  official  situation  pledge  himself  to  the  re- 


The  First  National  Battalion 


93 


quired  recommendation;  a  remembrance  of  the  hostile  denunciations  during  the 
preceding  summer,  a  suspicion  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  excited,  pre- 
vailed, and  it  was  determined  that  the  petition  should  be  presented  to  the  king 
himself,  by  deputies  of  the  Committee's  own  appointment.  These  were  Messrs. 
Edward  Byrne,  John  Keogh,  James  Edward  Devereux,  Christopher  Bellew 
and  Sir  Thomas  French,  Bart.  They  were  accompanied  by  Mr.  Tone,  who, 
though  a  Protestant,  had  in  consequence  of  his  very  uncommon  talents  and  ex- 
ertions in  the  Catholic  cause,  been  appointed  one  of  the  secretaries  to  the 
Committee,  and  the  secretary  to  the  delegation. 

This  Committee  was  also  remarkable  for  having  as  one  of  its  members  a 
Protestant  and  officer  in  the  king's  service,  Major  Edward  Sweetman,  returned 
by  the  County  of  Wexford,  a  place  since  accused  of  having  manifested  a  spirit 
of  bigotry  and  intolerance.  The  representative  which  it  chose  proved  himself, 
however,  every  way  worthy  of  the  trust,  by  his  firmness,  liberality  and  splendid 
talents. 

The  delegates,  on  their  way  through  the  North,  were  received  at  Belfast 
with  the  most  marked  affection.  Their  horses  were  taken  from  their  carriages, 
and  they  were  drawn  through  the  streets  by  a  Presbyterian  populace,  who 
wished  to  mark  the  sincerity  with  which  they  embraced  the  Catholic  cause. 

The  Volunteer  corps  were  at  this  time  continuing  to  increase  and  extend 
rapidly  through  the  North.  In  Belfast,  particularly,  a  very  numerous  town- 
meeting  was  held  and  attended  by  even  the  most  moderate  and  opulent  in- 
habitants. Resolutions  were  there  passed,  urging  in  the  strongest  manner  a 
complete  re-establishment  of  the  Volunteer  institution,  and  determining  to 
form  a  military  fund. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  Government  seemed  to  be  feeling  its  way, 
and  hesitating  whether  it  should  concede  or  resist.  Its  measures  accordingly 
often  appeared  experimental,  embarrassed,  and  when  compared  together,  the 
result  of  contradictory  sentiments. 

A  new  military  association  was  forming  in  Dublin,  called  the  First  National 
Battalion,  which  unequivocally  avowed  republican  principles  by  its  emblematic 
device, — a  harp  without  a  crown,  surmounted  by  a  cap  of  liberty.  As  repub- 
licanism had  not  then  stricken  deep  root  in  the  capital,  this  very  avowal  served 
exceedingly  to  discredit  the  corps  and  to  prevent  its  increase.  In  consequence, 
therefore,  of  a  proclamation  which  appeared  the  eighth  of  December,  and  was 
well  known  to  be  directed  against  that  body,  under  the  vague  description  of 
seditious  associations,  it  was  never  able  to  parade  in  public,  because  it  was 
conscious  of  wanting  public  support.  The  proclamation  not  being  generally 
supposed  to  allude  to  the  old  Volunteers,  they,  however,  still  continued  to  as- 
semble. At  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  Dublin  corps  on  the  fifteenth  of  De- 
cember, thanks  were  voted  to  the  United  Irishmen  of  that  city,  for  their 
address  of  the  night  before  to  the  Volunteers,  calling  upon  them  to  resume 
their  arms,  stating  the  necessity  of  a  reform  in  Parliament,  pointing  out  the 
advantages  that  would  accrue  from  a  convention's  meeting  for  that  purpose, 
and  suggesting  the  propriety  of  calling  provincial  assemblies  preparatory  to 


94 


Revised  Petition  Distributed 


the  national  meeting.  As  this  address  became  a  subject  of  criminal  prosecution, 
the  resolution  of  thanks  gave  great  offence  to  Government. 

A  publication  having  appeared  in  the  "Northern  Star",  which  was  deemed 
libellous,  an  officer  was  sent  down  to  arrest  the  printer  and  proprietors  of  that 
paper,  then  nineteen  in  number,  and  consisting  of  some  of  the  most  popular 
characters  in  the  town.  When  the  officer  arrived  there  and  saw  the  disposition 
of  its  inhabitants,  he  began  to  doubt  the  propriety  of  executing  his  warrant, 
and  communicated  his  opinion  to  some  of  the  friends  of  Government  on  the 
spot,  whose  apprehensions  rather  corresponded  with  his  own.  In  this  state 
of  indecision  he  remained  for  many  days,  waiting  ulterior  orders ;  when  the 
nature  of  his  commission  having  transpired,  the  proprietors  informed  the 
sovereign  of  the  town  that  if  the  warrant  was  legal  they  would  surrender  them- 
selves ;  but  if  it  were  otherwise  they  would  forcibly  resist  its  execution.  He 
directly  brought  them  the  warrant  to  satisfy  them  of  its  legality,  and  they  sub- 
mitted to  a  voluntary  arrest.  On  their  arrival  in  Dublin,  as  if  no  opportunity 
were  to  be  lost  of  marking  the  union  of  sects,  they  were  attended  to  the  chief 
justice's  house  by  a  numerous  retinue  of  Catholic  gentlemen  of  the  first  im- 
portance, and  every  bail  bond  was  jointly  executed  by  a  member  of  that  religion 
and  by  a  Protestant. 

The  Catholic  delegates  having  presented  their  petition  at  St.  James's 
1793    on  the  2d  January,  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  in  his  speech  from  the  throne 

on  the  tenth,  communicated  a  particular  recommendation  from  His 
Majesty  to  take  into  serious  consideration  the  situation  of  his  Catholic  subjects, 
and  relying  on  the  wisdom  and  liberality  of  his  Parliament.  This  recommenda- 
tion seemed  to  work  a  rapid  change  of  sentiment  in  many  of  those  who  had 
before  brought  forward  the  counties  and  grand  juries,  to  pledge  their  lives 
and  fortunes  against  any  further  restoration  of  rights  to  their  fellow-subjects. 
In  general  it  was  received  with  a  chastened  and  meek  submission;  but  those 
who  had  most  signalized  themselves  by  their  effusions  of  Protestant  zeal  could 
not  so  easily  subject  themselves  to  the  charge  of  tergiversation.  The  Lord 
Chancellor  and  Dr.  Duigenan,  as  if  speaking  by  concert,  each  in  the  House 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  in  the  debate  on  the  address,  accused  the  Catholics 
of  having  deceived  the  king  by  a  tissue  of  the  greatest  falsehoods  and  misrep- 
resentations in  their  petition,  and  pledged  themselves  to  prove  this  assertion 
at  the  proper  period.  The  chancellor  in  particular  said  there  was  no  such 
legal  disabilities  as  stated  in  the  petition,  the  laws  relating  to  them  having  ex- 
pired or  been  repealed.  These  assertions  by  the  highest  judicial  character  in 
the  country  were  very  unceremoniously  contradicted  by  the  Catholic  sub- 
committee, which  was  appointed  to  act  during  the  adjournment  of  the  General 
Committee.  In  two  days  after  the  assertion  was  made,  they  published  a  second 
edition  of  their  petition  with  notes  specifying  the  different  statutes,  sections 
and  clauses,  on  which  the  alleged  falsehoods  and  misrepresentations  were 
grounded,  and  this  they  caused  to  be  distributed  to  every  member  of  either 
House  of  Parliament.  His  lordship  never  thought  fit  to  confute  their  false- 
hoods or  correct  their  misrepresentations. 


Resolutions  of  Citizens 


95 


Four  days  after  the  opening  of  Parliament,  the  House  of  Commons,  on 
the  motion  of  Mr.  Grattan,  amended  by  Mr.  Corry  (a  supporter  of  adminis- 
tration), unanimously  agreed  to  a  committee  for  enquiring  into  the  state  of 
the  representation ;  and  the  staunchest  courtiers  appeared  eager  to  promote 
the  great  work  of  parliamentary  reform.  The  two  objects  of  the  United  Irish- 
men seemed  now  on  the  point  of  being  peaceably  accomplished,  and  hope  took 
possession  of  every  mind. 

Parliament  having  been  understood  to  sanction  the  discussion  of  those 
two  heretofore  proscribed  subjects,  an  aggregate  meeting  of  the  citizens  of 
Dublin  was  convened  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  January  to  take  them  into  con- 
sideration and  instruct  their  representatives.  In  the  resolutions  adopted  by 
this  meeting  the  House  of  Commons  was  said  not  to  be  freely  chosen  by  the 
people :  and  that  House,  as  then  influenced  by  places  of  emolument  and  pen- 
sions, it  was  alleged,  did  not  speak  the  sense  of  the  people.  These  resolutions 
having  appeared  in  the  "Hibernian  Journal",  the  printer  was  ordered  to  attend 
at  the  bar  of  that  House  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  January,  for  a  breach  of 
privilege.  When  questioned  as  to  his  defence,  he  said  the  resolutions  were 
sent  to  him  authenticated  under  the  signature  of  Henry  Hutton,  one  of  the 
high  sheriffs  of  the  city ;  and  that  the  sheriff  authorized  him  to  say  he  had 
signed  them,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting,  and  was  ready  to  avow  the  fact  if 
called  upon.  After  a  long  debate  the  printer  was  ordered  into  custody,  where 
he  was  kept  for  a  few  days  and  then  discharged :  but  no  notice  was  taken  of 
the  sheriff,  who  was  attending,  dressed  in  the  insignia  of  his  office,  and  ready 
to  justify  his  conduct. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  the  same  month,  when  the  Goldsmiths'  Corps  of 
Volunteers  was  marching  to  exercise,  as  it  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  every 
week,  it  was  informed  by  a  civil  magistrate  that  its  meeting  was  contrary  to 
the  proclamation  of  the  eighth  of  December,  and  that  he  had  orders  to  disperse 
it,  but  would  not  call  in  the  military  except  in  case  of  refusal.  Unprepared 
and  surprised  at  this  totally  unexpected  application  of  the  proclamation,  it 
declined  committing  the  country. 

This  proclamation  was  taken  into  consideration  by  the  House  of  Commons 
on  the  thirty-first  of  that  month,  and  it  was  there  stated  by  Mr.  Secretary 
Hobart,  that  the  Goldsmiths'  Company  was  dispersed  because  it  was  one  of 
those  which  had,  on  the  antecedent  fifteenth  of  December,  thanked  the  United 
Irishmen;  and  also  because  it  had  sometime  in  the  November  before  issued 
a  summons  entitled  "Citizen  Soldiers",  and  dated  "last  year,  would  to  God  it 
were  the  last  hour  of  slavery".  Which  summons,  reciting  that  the  delegates 
of  the  corps  were  to  assemble  to  celebrate  the  retreat  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
and  the  French  victories  in  the  Low  Countries,  called  upon  the  members  of  that 
body  to  attend.  An  address  of  thanks  was  unanimously  voted  to  the.  Lord 
Lieutenant  for  the  proclamation ;  but  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,  intending  to 
oppose  it,  began  thus : 

I  give  my  most  hearty  disapprobation  to  that  address,  for  I  do  think  that  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  and  the  majority  of  this  house  are  the  worst  subjects  the  king  has. 


96 


Influence  of  War 


His  words  were  instantly  taken  down,  and  he  was  ordered  to  the  bar.  On 
his  explaining,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  that  his  excuse  was  unsatisfactory 
and  insufficient.  The  next  day,  however,  an  apology  that  was  rumored  to  be 
an  aggravation  of  the  insult,  was  received  by  a  great  majority. 

The  inhabitants  of  Belfast,  finding  that  the  king's  speech  had  opened  a  pros- 
pect of  success  to  their  Catholic  brethren,  again  petitioned  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  their  favor.  Such  was  the  progress  of  liberality,  and  this  petition  was 
signed  by  almost  two-thirds  of  the  adult  male  population  of  the  town.  But  as  if 
to  manifest  the  utmost  extent  of  contempt  towards  the  House,  which  they  alleged 
had  insulted  the  petitions  of  the  people,  and  then  crouched  to  a  recommendation 
from  the  throne,  their  present  was  an  exact  transcript  of  that  which  had  been 
rejected  the  year  before.  No  attempt  was  made,  however,  to  repeat  the  indig- 
nity. 

So  far  administration  and  its  adherents  seemed  to  fluctuate  between  con- 
cession and  resistance.  But  on  the  twenty-first  of  January,  Louis  the  Sixteenth 
had  suffered  death,  and  his  execution  caused  a  great  revulsion  of  public  sen- 
timent. On  the  first  of  February,  war  was  declared  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, and  the  armies  of  the  former  were  for  months  after  everywhere  repulsed 
and  driven  within  its  territories.  The  affairs  of  that  republic  were  thought  to 
be  rapidly  tumbling  to  ruin,  by  those  who  conceived  the  possibility  and  enter- 
tained the  hopes  of  replacing  a  Bourbon  on  the  throne.  Perhaps  these  changes 
in  the  appearances  of  a  revolution,  the  influence  of  which  operated  powerfully 
on  Ireland,  banished  indecision  from  the  councils  of  the  Castle.  Perhaps,  too, 
the  hope  occurred  to  men,  who  always  regarded  the  union  of  sects  in  the  com- 
bined pursuit  of  Catholic  Emancipation  and  parliamentary  reform  with  hatred 
and  dread,  that  by  carefully  keeping  separate  the  two  questions,  an  opportunity 
might  arise  of  breaking  the  union,  which  rendered  them  irresistible ;  and  that 
by  conceding  enough  to  meet  the  actual  necessities  of  a  considerable  number  of 
the  Catholics,  such  a  temporary  content  might  be  produced  among  them  as 
would  destroy  their  energy  in  co-operating  with  the  other  sect,  and  would 
facilitate  the  subduing  of  both  in  detail. 

That  Government  did  not  wish  to  do  more  than  meet  the  actual  necessities 
of  such  a  number  of  the  Catholics,  and  destroy  their  co-operation  with  the 
Dissenters,  seems  probable  from  the  following  circumstances.  While  some 
of  the  delegates  from  the  Committee  were  yet  in  London,  the  sub-committee, 
apprehending  from  private  circumstances  that  it  was  advisable  to  make  the 
extent  of  their  wishes  fully  known  to  the  Irish  administration,  deputed  some 
of  their  body  to  wait  on  Major  Hobart,  and  acquaint  him  that  the  object  and 
expectations  of  the  Catholics  were  the  entire  repeal  of  the  Popery  Laws.  This 
declaration  the  secretary  received  with  perfect  politeness,  but  without  impli- 
cating his  responsibility  by  an  indiscreet  reply.  Some  days  after,  a  second  in- 
terview on  the  same  subject  having  been  judged  necessary,  the  sub-committee 
feeling  that  it  was  called  upon  to  be  precise  and  specific,  desired  its  deputies 
to  read  to  Mr.  Hobart  on  its  part,  the  same  declaration  reduced  to  writing. 
When  this  was  accordingly  done,  Mr.  Hobart  addressed  himself  to  Mr.  Keogh, 


Relief  Measures 


97 


one  of  the  deputation,  and  asked,  did  he  not  think  that  if  Government  went 
for  the  elective  franchise,  and  the  repeal  of  the  Catholic  laws  relating  to  juries, 
with  some  minor  circumstances  then  stated,  enough  would  be  done.  Mr.  Keogh 
replied,  that  as  one  of  the  deputation  he  could  only  answer,  that  it  would  not 
content  the  Catholics,  and  that  there  he  had  no  right  to  deliver  any  private 
opinion.  "But  it  is  your  private  opinion  I  request  to  know,"  rejoined  the 
secretary.  "Why  then",  said  Mr.  Keogh,  "if  I  was  to  give  my  private  opinion 
I  should  say,  they  are  substantial  benefits".  "It  is  not  in  Government's  power", 
directly  answered  the  minister,  "to  grant  more".  Some  vague  discourse  was 
then  carried  on  with  others  of  the  deputation,  as  if  it  was  possible  to  negotiate 
on  the  footing  of  partial  emancipation.  When  the  convention  (in  substance 
at  least,  the  same  as  the  foregoing),  was  reported  to  the  sub-committee,  it  was 
exceedingly  irritated,  and  hoping  to  retrieve  what  was  past,  instantly  sent  a 
new  deputation,  consisting  of  different  members  to  reiterate  the  declaration  in 
stronger  terms :  but  the  secretary  had  taken  his  ground. 

Accordingly  on  the  seventh  of  February  he  obtained  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill, 
for  giving  to  the  Catholics  the  elective  franchise;  the  right  of  being  grand 
and  petty  jurors  in  all  cases;  of  endowing  a  college  and  schools;  of  carrying 
arms  if  possessed  of  a  certain  property  qualification ;  of  holding  subordinate 
civil  offices ;  and  of  being  justices  of  the  peace.  It  also  repealed  all  the  remain- 
ing penal  laws  respecting  personal  property. 

The  progress  of  this  Bill  through  Parliament  was  by  no  means  rapid.  It 
was  violently  opposed  by  the  ascendancy  phalanx.  They  insisted  that  yielding 
to  the  Catholic  claims  was  incompatible  with  the  constitution  and  connection 
between  the  two  countries,  and  a  violation  of  the  coronation  oath.  "They  have 
done  this",  replied  Mr.  Grattan,  "when  a  new  enthusiasm  has  gone  forth  in  the 
place  of  religion,  much  more  adverse  to  kings  than  popery,  and  infinitely  more 
prevailing — the  spirit  of  republicanism.  At  such  a  time  they  have  chosen  to 
make  the  Catholics  outcasts  of  a  Protestant  monarchy,  and  leave  them  no 
option  but  a  republic ;  such  a  policy  and  such  arguments  tend  to  make  Irish 
Catholics  French  republicans."  "You  are  trustees,"  said  he  again,  "to  preserve 
to  Great  Britain  the  physical  force  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  and  nothing  but 
you  can  forfeit  it — not  religion — not  the  Pope — not  the  Pretender — but  your 
proscription,  which  argues  that  the  franchise  of  the  Catholic  is  incompatible 
with  British  connection,  and  of  course  teaches  the  Catholic  to  argue  that  British 
connection  is  incompatible  with  Catholic  liberty". 

In  the  House  of  Peers,  indeed,  the  opposition  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  did 
not  seem  so  violent  and  determined  as  at  the  first  agitation  of  the  question. 
This  very  striking  change  gave  an  air  of  credibility  to  certain  rumors  then 
in  circulation.  It  was  reported  that  his  lordship  had  been  reminded  of  his 
being  the  first  native  ever  permitted  to  hold  the  Irish  seals;  and  that  the  im- 
propriety of  departing  from  constant  usage  in  his  favor  would  become  very 
manifest  if  he  set  himself  at  the  head  of  any  Irish  party  in  opposition  to  what 
had  been  decided  on  by  the  English  Cabinet.  The  doctrine  to  which  he  owed 
his  elevation  was  that  the  government  of  Ireland  should  be  subordinate  to  that 


98 


The  Ulster  Convention 


of  England,  and  as  such  was  the  condition  of  his  appointment,  he  must  concur 
in  the  measures  of  those  by  whom  it  was  conferred. 

The  Bill,  however,  was  not  only  opposed  but  procrastinated  in  its  different 
stages,  by  circumstances  that  seemed  scarcely  accidental,  and  created  frequent 
anxiety  and  suspense  in  those  who  were  to  profit  by  its  success.  While  this 
uncertainty  was  hanging  over  their  heads,  and  restraining  their  exertion  for 
any  other  political  object,  Parliament  carefully  separated  the  questions  of 
reform  and  Catholic  Emancipation,  which  the  Dissenters  and  reformers  so 
ardently  wished  to  unite ;  for  it  repaired  the  error  it  had  fallen  into  through 
indecision,  when  it  consented  to  the  Committee  on  the  state  of  the  representa- 
tion. At  the  first  sitting  of  that  Committee  on  the  ninth  of  February,  Mr. 
Grattan  proposed  three  resolutions,  stating: 

That  the  representation  of  the  people  is  attended  with  great  and  heavy  charges 
in  consequence  of  the  elections  and  returns  of  the  members  to  serve  in  parliament,  and 
that  said  abuses  ought  to  be  abolished. 

That  of  three  hundred  members  elected  to  serve  in  parliament,  the  counties  and 
counties  of  cities  and  towns,  together  with  the  university,  return  eighty-four  members, 
and  that  the  remaining  two  hundred  and  sixteen  are  returned  by  boroughs  and  manors. 

That  the  state  of  the  representation  of  the  people  in  parliament  requires 
amendment. 

In  the  speech,  by  which  these  resolutions  were  prefaced,  he  asserted  that 
of  three  hundred  members,  above  two  hundred  were  returned  by  individuals; 
from  forty  to  fifty  by  ten  persons ;  that  several  of  the  boroughs  had  no  resident 
electors  at  all ;  some  of  them  had  but  one ;  that  on  the  whole,  two-thirds  of  the 
representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons  were  returned  by  less  than  one  hun- 
dred persons. 

The  resolutions  were  opposed  by  Sir  John  Parnell,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  who  proposed  instead  of  them,  but  in  the  form  of  an  amendment : 
"That  under  the  present  system  of  representation  the  privileges  of  the  people, 
the  trade  and  prosperity  of  the  country  have  greatly  increased,  and  that  if  any 
plan  be  proposed  likely  to  increase  those  advantages  and  not  hazard  what  we 
already  possess,  it  ought  to  be  taken  into  the  most  serious  consideration".  After 
a  long  debate  this  resolution  was  carried  by  a  repentant  majority  of  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three  to  seventy-one. 

Notwithstanding  the  inauspicious  bodings  which  were  caused  by  this  divi- 
sion, the  Ulster  convention  met  at  Dungannon  on  the  appointed  fifteenth  of 
February.  When  it  was  assembled  Antrim,  Down,  Londonderry,  Tyrone, 
Donegal  and  Monaghan  were  found  to  be  very  fully  represented ;  several  dis- 
tricts in  Armagh,  Fermanagh  and  Cavan  had  totally  failed  to  meet,  or  appoint 
any  delegates.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  was  considered  a  more  complete 
representation  of  the  province  than  either  of  the  preceding  meetings,  because 
the  delegates  had  been  chosen  directly  by  the  whole  people,  which  was  not 
formerly  the  case. 

In  order  to  prevent  any  danger  from  the  coming  together  of  violent  or  fac- 
tious men,  the  gentlemen  of  rank,  property  and  moderate  principles,  were 


Militia  Bill 


99 


anxious  to  be  chosen,  and  were  very  successful.  This  body  after  a  sitting  of 
two  days  came  to  a  decision  in  favor  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  radical 
reform,  including  the  unqualified  and  immediate  admission  of  the  Catholics. 
A  resolution  was  also  entered  into,  declaring  in  very  pointed  terms  the  protest 
of  that  province  against  the  war  with  France ;  another  was  likewise  passed 
expressing  disapprobation  of  the  militia  establishment,  as  tending  to  supersede 
the  Volunteers. 

For,  among  the  strong  measures  which  were  proceeding  at  least  yan  passu 
with  the  Catholic  Bill,  was  one  for  raising  sixteen  thousand  militia  in  Ireland. 
An  augmentation  of  five  thousand  men  was  also  made  to  the  ordinary  estab- 
lishment of  twelve  thousand  regulars.  Besides,  obviously  in  order,  by  pre- 
venting the  Volunteers  from  being  supplied  with  arms  or  ammunition,  to  strike 
at  their  existence,  and  to  throw  every  practicable  impediment  in  the  way  of 
the  people's  arming,  a  Bill  was  passed  to  prevent  the  importation  of  arms 
and  gunpowder  into  the  kingdom,  and  the  removing  or  keeping  of  arms  or 
gunpowder  without  licence.  Directly  after  the  assent  had  been  given  to  this 
Bill  the  artillery  belonging  to  the  Liberty  Corps  in  Dublin  was  seized,  that  of 
the  Merchants'  Corps  was  taken  by  private  agreement,  and  the  lawyers  with 
a  public  procession  gave  up  theirs.  The  houses  of  gunsmiths  and  others  in 
that  city  that  were  suspected  as  containing  concealed  arms  were  searched,  and 
every  manifestation  given  there  that  the  Volunteers  were  to  be  no  further 
tolerated  than  should  be  agreeable  to  administration.  An  Alien  Bill  was  also 
enacted  similar  to  that  adopted  in  England. 

These  Bills  were  agreed  to  in  Parliament  with  so  much  readiness  on  all 
sides  that  Opposition  could  not  be  charged  with  clogging  the  wheels  of  govern- 
ment. Both  parties  concurred  in  the  necessity  of  repressing  faction  and  sedition  ; 
while  the  United  Irishmen  and  their  adherents  thought  that  Opposition  for- 
feited all  pretence  to  public  confidence,  by  consenting  to  such  measures,  at 
least  before  any  advance  had  been  made  to  correct  the  acknowledged  radical 
vice  in  the  representation. 

Sir  Lawrence  Parsons,  indeed,  pressed  strongly  that  this  reform  should  be 
included  in  the  same  Bill,  and  incorporated  with  the  restoration  of  the  Catholic 
franchise,  which  he  imagined  would  secure  both  by  uniting  the  nation  in  one 
common  interest. 

But  sever  these  measures,  said  he,  and  what  is  the  consequence?  The  minister 
will  think  that  he  has  gratified  so  great  a  part  of  the  people  by  the  Catholic  measure, 
that  he  may  venture  to  control  the  rest;  and  under  this  delusion  he  may  crush  the 
reform.  And  what  a  multitude  of  mischiefs  the  rejection  of  the  reform  would  produce, 
it  is  for  you  to  consider  after  the  public  expectation  has  been  so  much  excited  upon  it.  Or 
if  you  say  that  the  Catholics  having  got  franchise  would  join  in  calling  for, reform, 
true;  but  what  would  the  minister  think?  that  the  Catholics  having  obtained  so  much, 
would  abate  much  in  their  fervor.  He  would  hope,  after  he  had  drawn  off  by  the 
Catholic  Bill  so  great  a  portion  of  discontent,  that  he  might  venture  for  a  while  to 
leave  the  rest  to  ferment,  resolving,  however,  at  his  leisure  to  put  a  heavy  curb  on 
your  future  exertions. 

During  this  part  of  the  session,  another  subject  occupied  the  serious  atten- 


100 


Origin  of  Defenders 


tion  of  the  Upper  House  of  Parliament.  Disturbances  had  broken  out,  and 
outrages  were  committed  in  the  county  of  Louth,  and  the  neighboring  counties 
of  Meath,  Cavan  and  Monaghan,  by  persons  of  the  very  lowest  rank  in  life, 
associated  under  the  name  of  Defenders.  This  body  had  its  origin  in  religious 
persecution,  and  was  an  almost  inevitable  consequence  of  the  system,  according 
to  which  Ulster  had  been  colonized  and  settled  and  Ireland  ruled  since  the 
Reformation.  In  that  province  English  and  Scotch  planters  had  been  estab- 
lished on  the  forfeited  lands  of  the  native  Catholics.  These  last  were  for  the 
most  part  obliged  to  retire  to  the  bogs  and  mountains;  but  even  there  they 
were  not  permitted  to  lose  the  remembrance  of  their  forefathers,  their  power 
and  opulence,  in  the  tranquil  enjoyment  of  security  and  content.  The  bogs 
and  mountains  afforded  them  no  refuge  against  the  Acts  of  Uniformity  and 
Supremacy  or  the  accumulated  oppression  of  the  Popery  Laws.  Nor  were  the 
wretched  inhabitants  exempted  by  their  defenceless  condition  from  the  hatred, 
contempt  and  persecution  of  their  privileged  and  arrogant  neighbors.  Hence 
arose  a  mutual,  rancorous  animosity  between  the  new  settlers  and  natives,  or 
in  other  words  between  the  Protestants  and  Catholics,  transmitted  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  until  at  last  it  became  more  violent  and  intolerant  than  in 
any  other  part  of  Ireland. 

The  Volunteers  by  the  benign  influence  of  their  institution,  had  for  the  first 
time  considerably  abated  this  spirit,  and  by  their  successful  activity  as  military 
men  in  keeping  the  peace,  had  prevented  its  receiving  fresh  provocation  by  out- 
rage or  insult.  But  in  proportion  as  that  body  declined  or  was  discouraged, 
prejudices  and  hatred  revived,  especially  in  districts  remote  from  the  principal 
Presbyterian  towns,  where  the  growing  liberality  of  the  most  enlightened 
Dissenters  could  scarcely  operate.  These  prejudices  which,  chiefly  prevailing 
in  the  county  of  Armagh,  extended,  less  or  more,  into  the  adjoining  districts 
of  the  counties  of  Down  and  Tyrone,  began  to  break  out  into  something  like 
open  hostility,  in  the  year  1791.  About  that  period,  several  associations  among 
the  lower  orders  of  the  Protestants  were  founded  under  the  appellation  of 
Peep-o'-Day  Boys,  whose  object  was  to  scour  the  Catholic  districts  about  the 
break  of  day,  and  strip  the  inhabitants  of  fire-arms,  alleging  that  they  were 
warranted  in  so  doing  by  the  Popery  Laws,  which  had  indeed  for  a  long  period 
forbidden  to  the  members  of  that  communion  the  use  of  arms,  even  for  self- 
defence. 

The  Catholics,  thus  exposed  and  attacked,  entered  into  a  counter  associa- 
tion called  Defenders,  which  derived  its  name  from  the  necessity  of  their  situa- 
tion, and  its  excuse  from  the  difficulty,  or  as  they  stated,  the  impossibility  of 
obtaining  justice  against  the  aggressors.  This  association,  at  first  local  and 
confined,  as  much  as  mutual  hatred  would  allow,  to  actual  self-defence,  began 
in  1792  to  spread  through  the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  not  a  little  to 
connect  itself  with  more  general  politics.  To  this  it  is  said  to  have  been  im- 
pelled by  a  harsh,  unfounded  persecution,  which  some  leading  friends  of 
Government  did  not  think  it  consistent  with  their  characters  to  carry  on  in 
the  County  of  Louth,  and  which  seems  to  have  prepared  the  way  for  subse- 
quent disturbances  elsewhere. 


Xapper  Tandy 


101 


In  proportion  as  this  association  extended  itself  into  districts,  where  no 
Protestants  of  inferior  rank  in  life  were  to  be  found,  and  therefore  no  out- 
rages like  those  committed  by  the  Peep-o'-Day  Boys  to  be  apprehended,  it 
gradually  lost  its  characteristic  of  being  a  religious  feud,  and  became  in  fact 
an  association  of  the  lowest  order,  particularly  for  procuring  a  redress  of  the 
grievances  of  the  very  lowest  orders.  Even  in  the  counties  where  it  originated, 
it  ceased  to  be  actuated  by  religious  animosity  before  the  end  of  1792,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  exertions  of  the  early  United  Irishmen  (whose  chief  en- 
deavors were  always  directed  to  reconcile  the  Protestants  and  Catholics),  to- 
gether with  the  influence  of  some  liberal-minded  men  of  both  persuasions,  and 
still  more  from  the  publications  peculiarly  adapted  to  that  purpose,  which  were 
incessantly  circulated  through  the  medium  of  the  "Northern  Star" ;  for  by 
these  means  the  hatred  of  sects  was  lulled,  until  a  subsequent  period,  when 
it  will  appear  to  have  been  aroused  by  fresh  aggressions. 

The  Defenders,  after  their  association  had  changed  its  type,  were  bound 
together  by  oaths,  obviously  drawn  up  by  illiterate  men,  different  in  different 
places,  but  all  promising  secrecy,  and  specifying  whatever  grievance  was,  in 
each  place,  most  felt  and  best  understood.  Tithes  therefore  were,  in  all  of 
them,  very  prominent.  The  views  of  these  men  were  in  general  far  from  dis- 
tinct ;  although  they  had  a  national  notion  that  "something  ought  to  be  done 
for  Ireland";  but  they  were  all  perfectly  convinced  that  whatever  was  to  be 
done  for  themselves  or  their  country  could  only  be  accomplished  by  force  of 
arms.  They  therefore  formed  themselves,  as  far  as  their  knowledge  would 
permit,  upon  a  military  system,  and  in  order  to  procure  arms,  used  to  asssemble 
by  night,  to  take  them  from  the  houses  of  those  who  they  conceived  would  be 
eventually  their  enemies. 

They  seem  to  have  been  entirely  without  any  connection  in  the  upper,  or 
even  middling  ranks  of  life,  except  what  has  transpired  relative  to  Mr.  Xapper 
Tandy.  Observing  the  commotions  that  were  taking  place  in  the  County  of 
Louth  and  its  vicinity,  and  guessing  that  they  were  not  without  some  motive 
and  object,  he  was  desirous  of  penetrating  into  the  secret.  He  contrived  to 
communicate  this  wish  to  some  of  the  Defenders ;  and  as  his  character  was 
long  known  to  them,  they  agreed  to  inform  him  if  he  would  bind  himself  to 
secrecy.  To  this  he  consented,  and  met  a  party  of  them  at  Castlebellingham. 
where  the  oath  of  secrecy  was  administered.  This  fact  having  been  dis- 
covered by  an  informer,  bills  of  indictment  for  felony  were  found  against  him 
with  great  privacy  by  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  County  of  Louth,  where  it  was 
hoped  he  would  be  easily  entrapped,  as  he  was  on  his  way  from  Dublin,  to 
stand  his  trial  there  for  having  published  a  libel.  Information,  however,  of 
his  new  danger  was  given  him  before  he  reached  Dundalk ;  he  therefore  ab- 
sconded, and  shortly  after  left  the  kingdom. 

These  disturbances  also  attracted  the  attention  of  the  House  of  Lords  early 
in  1793,  and  a  secret  committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  their  causes,  to 
endeavor  to  discover  their  promoters,  and  to  prevent  their  extension.  This 
committee  consisted  very  much  of  peers  who  were  avowed  enemies  to  the 


102 


Imprisonment  of  Reynolds 


Catholic  Bill,  and  had  during  the  preceding  summer  committed  themselves 
against  the  meeting  of  what  they  emphatically  called  "the  Popish  congress". 

The  secret  committee  in  the  course  of  its  proceedings  proposed  questions, 
to  which  it  required  answers  on  oath,  that  might  eventually  have  criminated 
the  persons  under  examination.  As  a  knowledge  of  this  fact  had  been  ob- 
tained by  the  United  Irishmen  of  Dublin,  some  of  whom  had  been  thus  inter- 
rogated, they  alleged  that  the  researches  of  the  committee  were  not  confined 
to  the  professed  purpose  of  its  institutions,  but  directed  principally  to  the 
discovery  of  evidence,  in  support  of  persecutions,  previously  commenced,  and 
utterly  unconnected  with  the  cause  of  the  tumults  it  was  appointed  to  investi- 
gate. They  therefore  published  a  series  of  observations,  calculated  to  show 
that  the  committee  had  no  such  right.  They  distinguished  the  legislative  from 
the  judicial  capacity  of  the  House  of  Lords;  denied  its  right  to  administer  an 
oath  in  its  legislative  capacity ;  asserted  that  as  a  court  it  was  bound  by  those 
rules  of  justice  which  were  obligatory  on  all  other  courts,  both  as  to  the  limits 
of  jurisdiction,  and  the  mode  of  conducting  inquiry;  and  farther  insisted,  that 
these  rules  deprived  it  of  all  right  to  administer  an  oath,  or  exact  an  answer, 
in  similar  cases,  or  to  delegate  its  judicial  authority  to  a  committee. 

For  this  publication,  the  chairman  and  secretary  of  the  society,  the  Hon- 
orable Simon  Butler  and  Mr.  Oliver  Bond,  with  whose  names  it  was  signed, 
were  brought  before  the  House  itself  on  the  first  of  March.  They  both 
avowed  the  publication,  and  were  in  consequence  sentenced  by  that  assembly 
to  six  months'  imprisonment,  and  a  fine  of  £500  was  imposed  on  each.  The 
society  was  not,  however,  deterred  from  espousing  their  cause.  They  were 
sumptuously  entertained,  as  if  in  defiance  of  Parliament,  during  the  whole  of 
that  time,  and  their  fines  paid  by  the  voluntary  subscriptions  of  the  United 
Irishmen. 

Well  calculated  as  was  the  sentence  passed  on  these  gentlemen  to  prevent 
others  from  disputing  the  authority  of  the  committee,  yet  it  did  not  entirely 
succeed.  Doctor  Reynolds,  a  physician  from  the  North,  having  been  sum- 
moned before  their  lordships,  professed  his  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the 
observations  published  by  the  United  Irishmen,  and  refused  to  be  examined 
on  oath.  He  was,  therefore,  committed  and  detained  a  prisoner  for  near  five 
months,  till  the  expiration  of  the  session ;  during  all  which  time  he  experienced 
the  same  attentions  as  were  shown  to  Butler  and  Bond. 

While  the  report  of  the  secret  committee  was  preparing,  lively  alarms  were 
excited,  and  rumors  very  current  through  the  metropolis  that  it  would  impli- 
cate many  leading  members  of  the  Catholic  Convention,  even  to  capital 
punishment,  cover  the  whole  of  that  body  with  suspicion  and  odium  and  hazard, 
if  not  defeat,  their  Bill,  which  was  still  only  in  progress.  On  the  day  when 
the  report  was  expected  it  was  not  made ;  a  noble  lord,  however,  sent  a  con- 
fidential and  mutual  friend  to  Mr.  Sweetman,  the  secretary  of  the  sub- 
committee, to  inform  him,  that  should  it  appear,  his  life  would  be  exceedingly 
endangered,  and  the  Bill  itself  run  a  great  risk ;  but  that  if  he  would  sign  any 
kind  of  paper  in  the  form  and  wording  most  agreeable  to  his  own  feelings. 


Peep-o'-Day  Boys 


103 


acknowledging  his  indiscretion,  and  expressing  his  regret  at  having  connected 
himself  with  the  Defenders,  his  lordship  was  authorized  to  say  the  report 
should  never  see  the  light,  and  all  difficulties  respecting  the  pending  law 
should  be  removed.  This,  Mr.  Sweetman  peremptorily  refused,  but  offered, 
in  consequence  of  the  subsequent  conversation,  to  call  together  the  sub-com- 
mittee, that  it  might  receive  any  proposal  his  lordship  should  think  fit  to  make 
to  them.  Accordingly,  in  the  course  of  an  hour,  they  were  collected  in  one 
room,  while  his  lordship  occupied  that  adjoining.  He  then  offered  to  them, 
by  means  of  his  friend,  the  same  benefits  if  they  would  disavow  their  secre- 
tary.   This  they  also  refused.    The  report  appeared  the  next  day. 

Its  object  was  to  connect  the  Defenders  with  all  that  was  obnoxious  to  the 
administration,  and  principally  to  implicate  the  General  Committee,  or  at 
least  the  sub-committee  of  the  Catholics.  This  it  attempted  to  do,  by  inference, 
from  the  secrecy  and  regularity  of  the  Defender  system,  which  it  said  seemed 
as  if  directed  by  men  of  superior  rank;  from  the  collecting  of  money  to  a 
considerable  amount  by  the  voluntary  subscription  of  Catholics,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  circular  letter  from  the  sub-committee,  expressing  the  necessity 
of  raising  a  fund  for  defraying  the  heavy  and  growing  expenses  incurred  by 
the  General  Committee,  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  their  constituents;  and 
lastly,  from  some  letters  written  by  Mr.  Sweetman  to  a  gentleman  at  Dundalk, 
in  which,  the  report  states,  that  the  secretary,  in  the  name  of  the  sub-committee, 
directed  inquiries  to  be  made,  touching  the  offences  of  which  the  Defenders 
then  in  confinement  were  accused.  One  of  these  letters  is  given,  dated  ninth 
of  August,  1792,  which  mentions  that  the  brother  of  a  person  whom  the  secret 
committee  states  to  have  been  committed  as  a  Defender,  left  town  truly 
disconsolate  at  not  being  able  to  effect  something  towards  the  liberation  of  his 
kinsman.  This  chain  of  circumstantial  evidence  was  strengthened  by  the 
assertion,  that  Mr.  Sweetman's  correspondent  had  employed,  at  a  considerable 
expense,  an  agent  and  counsel  to  act  for  several  persons  accused  as  Defenders. 
The  report,  seeming  to  presume  that  the  money  used  for  that  purpose  was 
supplied  by  the  Catholic  Committee,  and  part  of  the  voluntary  subscription  it 
had  collected,  has  the  candor  to  state,  that  nothing  appeared  before  the  secret 
committee  which  could  lead  it  to  believe  that  the  body  of  the  Catholics  were 
concerned  in  promoting  these  disturbances,  or  privy  to  this  application  of  their 
money.  The  secret  committee  then  couples  (but  only  by  the  insinuation  which 
results  from  juxtaposition  in  their  report)  the  Defenders  with  the  Volunteers, 
the  reformers  and  republicans  in  the  North  and  in  Dublin. 

This  attack  on  the  organs  and  adherents  of  the  Catholics,  having  been 
generally  conceived  as  aimed  in  hostility  against  the  Bill  then  depending  for 
their  relief,  no  time  was  lost  in  counteracting  its  effects.  A  reply  td  it  ap- 
peared almost  directly  from  the  sub-committee,  and  another  from  the  secre- 
tary. The  defence  by  the  former  stated,  that  while  religious  quarrels  were 
going  on  between  the  Peep-o'-Day  Boys  and  the  Defenders,  in  consequence 
of  personal  application  from  several  Protestant  gentlemen,  three  of  the  com- 
mittee had  an  interview  in  July,  1792,  at  Rathfryland,  in  the  County  of  Down, 


104 


Catholic  Bill  Defended 


with  above  twenty  respectable  Protestant  gentlemen  of  that  neighborhood, 
who  admitted,  that  in  no  one  instance  had  the  Catholics  been  the  aggressors; 
but  on  the  contrary,  had  been  repeatedly  attacked,  even  in  the  solemn  offices 
of  their  religion  and  burial  of  their  dead.  At  this  interview  it  was  further 
stated  to  have  been  agreed  that  the  committee  should  use  all  its  influence  with 
the  lower  orders  of  Catholics,  to  induce  them  to  desist  from  their  meetings, 
and  that  the  Volunteers  should  adopt  resolutions  expressing  their  determina- 
tion to  protect  every  man  equally,  without  distinction  of  party  or  religion. 
In  order  to  effectuate  this  agreement,  the  General  Committee  framed  a  cir- 
cular address  to  that  district,  stating  the  agreement  and  the  determination  of 
the  Volunteers : 

Entreating  the  lower  orders  of  Catholics  to  abstain  from  parade  and  meetings, 
and  all  other  measures  that  might  tend  to  alarm  their  Protestant  brethren ;  pointing 
out  the  embarrassment  that  would  necessarily  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  great  Catholic 
objects,  by  anything  of  riot,  tumult  or  disorder;  promising  to  those  who  should  observe 
the  peaceable  demeanor  recommended  by  that  address,  all  possible  protection,  as  well 
as  by  applications  to  Government,  as  by  supporting  at  ithe  common  expense,  the  cause 
of  those  who,  if  attacked  in  their  houses,  property  or  persons,  should  dutifully  appeal 
to  the  law  of  the  land  for  redress,  where  circumstances  might  not  enable  them  to  seek 
that  protection  themselves;  but  that  the  General  Committee  would  in  no  case  under- 
take the  defence  of  any  man  who  should  assist  in  any  riotous  or  disorderly  meeting, 
or  should  not  behave  himself  soberly,  peaceably,  and  honestly. 

The  defence  further  stated  that  this  address  and  the  resolutions  of  the 
Volunteers  restored  peace  and  harmony  to  that  part  of  the  country,  which  had 
been  harassed  for  many  years  before.  It  likewise  mentioned  that  the  person 
alluded  to  in  Mr.  Sweetman's  letter  was  recommended  by  that  gentleman's 
commercial  correspondent  as  coming  within  the  description  of  those  whom 
the  committee  had  promised  to  support ;  which,  on  examining  his  brother, 
there  was  found  cause  to  doubt,  and  on  that  account  all  advice  and  assistance 
was  refused.  The  sub-committee  then  solemnly  asserted  that  this  was  the 
only  instance  of  their  ever  having  had  any  kind  of  communication  with  the 
Defenders.  As  to  the  levying  of  money,  it  specified  the  different  expenses 
which  had  been  incurred  in  pursuing  the  Catholic  claims,  and  the  necessity  of 
voluntary  contributions  for  their  discharge.  It  also  denied  that  any  part  of  them 
was  ever  applied  to  any  other  purpose.  Mr.  Sweetman's  refutation  dwelt  on 
the  same  topics,  and  entered  into  a  minute  detail  of  his  communications  with 
his  commercial  correspondent,  the  gentleman  alluded  to  in  the  report  of  the 
secret  committee.  Notwithstanding  the  alarms  that  had  been  excited  previous 
to  the  publication  of  the  report,  no  attempt  was  made  to  proceed  against  any 
of  the  sub-committee  or  its  secretary. 

But,  about  this  time  a  tumult  of  another  nature  occurred,  which  never 
became  an  object  of  parliamentary  cognizance ;  which  was  stated  but  imper- 
fectly, even  in  the  "Northern  Star",  from  motives  of  not  very  unreasonable 
apprehension ;  and  which  perhaps  from  a  similar  cause  was  scarcely  noticed  in 
the  Dublin  prints.  It  deserves,  however,  to  be  rescued  from  oblivion,  and 
assigned  to  its  proper  place  in  history.   For  some  days  previous  to  the  fifteenth 


Attack  on  Lisburn 


105 


of  March,  various  movements  of  the  military  were  made  towards  Belfast, 
which  were  supposed  to  indicate  some  extraordinary  measure.  A  train  of 
artillery,  consisting  of  two  mortars  and  two  field  pieces,  was  brought  to 
Lisburn,  within  seven  miles  of  that  town,  and  the  inhabitants  were  also  warned 
from  different  quarters  of  some  impending  mischief.  On  the  fifteenth,  at 
about  two  o'clock,  four  troops  of  the  17th  dragoons  having  arrived  in  the 
vicinity  by  different  routes,  galloped  into  the  centre  of  the  town  from  its  two 
opposite  extremities  with  their  sabres  drawn,  as  if  in  full  charge.  After  this 
singular  manner  of  entering  into  a  place  where  profound  tranquillity  pre- 
vailed, where  cavalry  had  never  been  quartered  before,  and  where  none  was 
at  that  time  expected,  they  were  billeted  on  the  principal  taverns. 

The  inhabitants  had  not  in  general  risen  from  their  dinners  when  a  most 
alarming  tumult  began  to  take  place.  The  dragoons  had  issued  out  from 
their  respective  quarters  with  their  sabres  drawn,  generally  in  parties  of  from 
ten  to  twenty,  under  the  orders  of  a  sergeant  or  corporal.  They  proceeded 
to  attack  every  person,  of  every  age  and  sex,  who  happened  to  be  in  the 
streets  and  wounded  many  very  severely.  They  had  provided  themselves  with 
two  or  three  ladders,  upon  which  they  mounted  to  demolish  obnoxious  signs, 
among  which  was  that  of  Dr.  Franklin.  This  having  been  made  of  copper 
cost  them  much  useless  labor  with  their  swords ;  and  the  delay  it  occasioned 
gave  some  little  opportunity  to  the  inhabitants  to  recover  from  their  astonish- 
ment, and  think  on  their  situation.  The  soldiers  proceeded  with  a  written 
list  to  attack  the  houses  of  several  individuals  who  had  been  long  known  for 
their  popular  principles.  They  also  broke  such  windows  of  milliners  or 
haberdashers  as  contained  in  them  anything  green. 

This  scene  lasted  until  quite  dark,  when  the  inhabitants  having  begun  to 
assemble  in  groups,  and  consult  together,  were  preparing  to  fly  to  arms.  The 
magistrates  and  the  officers  then  interfered,  and  shortly  put  an  end  to  the 
military  outrage.  It  is  worth  notice,  that  during  the  whole  of  this  transaction, 
the  55th  regiment,  at  that  time  in  garrison  in  Belfast,  was  drawn  up  under 
arms  within  the  barracks ;  but  did  not  interfere  until  the  dragoons  had  retired, 
when  they  were  ordered  out  to  line  the  streets,  and  prevent  any  assemblage 
of  the  townspeople.    So  ended  the  evening  of  the  fifteenth. 

The  night  was  spent  in  anxious  alarm,  few  of  the  inhabitants  went  to  bed, 
lest  the  attack  should  be  renewed.  From  what  occurred  next  day,  however, 
it  is  evident  that  the  Volunteers  were  not  remiss  during  that  time  in  making 
preparations  for  defence. 

On  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth  the  streets  were  almost  deserted.  The 
sovereign,  Mr.  Bristow  (who  appears,  in  this  awful  dilemma,  not  to  have 
forgotten  the  duty  he  owed  to  the  community),  called  a  meeting  of  the  in- 
habitants by  public  notice  at  the  different  places  of  worship.  This  meeting 
was  so  numerously  attended  that  it  was  held  in  the  open  air.  The  sovereign 
informed  the  inhabitants  of  his  having  waited  upon  General  White,  who  com- 
manded in  the  district,  but  who  had  been  out  of  town  the  night  before,  and 
that  the  general  expressed  some  regret  at  what  had  occurred,  and  was  willing 


106 


Claim  of  General  White 


to  concert  measures  for  the  future  peace  of  the  place.  The  meeting  appointed 
a  committee  of  twenty-one,  including  all  the  magistrates,  to  confer  with  him 
on  this  subject. 

Meanwhile  the  dragoons  were  manifesting  every  determination  to  re- 
commence their  proceedings  as  soon  as  it  should  be  dark;  they  were  even 
observed  marking  the  houses  of  the  most  obnoxious  persons,  that  had  escaped 
them  the  night  before  from  their  ignorance  of  the  town,  to  which  they  were 
all  utter  strangers.  It  was  evening  before  the  committee  could  meet  the  gen- 
eral :  even  his  sincerity  was  doubted,  for  one  of  the  warnings  of  danger 
to  the  town  which  had  been  given,  and  was  believed,  consisted  of  an 
assurance,  that  he  had  some  time  before  written  to  Government,  expressing 
his  apprehensions  that  when  he  should  be  committed  with  Belfast,  he  should 
not  be  able  to  prevent  his  soldiers  from  plundering  the  town,  as  the  inhabitants 
were  rich,  and  had  a  great  deal  of  plate  in  their  houses.  But  if  the  general 
was  sincere  the  discipline  of  the  troops  was  very  questionable;  no  time  was, 
therefore,  to  be  lost;  night  was  coming  on.  The  Volunteers,  to  the  number 
of  about  seven  hundred,  being  all  who  had  arms,  repaired  as  privately  as 
possible  to  two  places  of  parade,  both  near  the  centre  of  the  town.  They  had 
also  placed  a  guard  in  every  house  where  an  attack  was  expected.  Several 
of  the  neighboring  country  corps  had  sent  them  assurances  that  they  would 
march  to  the  support  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  first  intimation  of  its  being 
necessary.  Thus  prepared,  and  certain  of  reinforcements,  they  calmly  waited 
the  result  of  the  conference  between  the  committee  and  the  general. 

This  was  for  some  time  prevented  from  taking  place  by  a  demand  on  the 
part  of  General  White  to  be  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  committee,  he 
having  been  shortly  before  appointed  a  magistrate  of  the  county.  His  ap- 
pointment was  made  pursuant  to  the  system  which  administration  had  even 
then  adopted,  of  associating  into  the  commission  of  the  peace  many  military 
officers,  quartered  in  what  it  conceived  to  be  unfriendly  places.  It  did  so 
without  any  regard  to  habitual  residence,  to  local  connections,  or  fortune,  and 
without  any  view  to  their  interfering  in  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  office,  but 
merely  to  elude  the  ancient  provisions  of  the  law  requiring  that  the  army, 
whenever  called  out  to  act,  should  be  under  the  direction  and  control  of  a 
civil  officer.  The  general's  claim  was,  therefore,  peremptorily  refused  by  the 
committee,  who  insisted  that  by  magistrates  were  meant  such  as  had  some 
stability  and  property  in  the  county,  not  ephemeral  agents,  constituted  only 
because  they  were  military  men,  for  a  time  stationed  in  the  district.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  delay,  one  division  of  the  Volunteers,  apprehending  that 
matters  would  come  to  extremities,  moved  from  its  parade,  and  took  post  in 
the  exchange.  This  General  White  soon  perceived,  and  sent  his  aide-de-camp, 
Captain  Bourne,  to  the  sovereign,  then  presiding  at  the  committee,  to  demand 
the  keys  of  the  market-house  in  His  Majesty's  name,  as  the  Volunteers  had 
taken  the  strongest  position  in  the  town,  and  he  insisted  on  having  the  second. 
Some  of  the  committee,  not  apprized  of  the  movement  of  the  Volunteers,  said 
it  was  only  a  guard  which  was  placed  in  the  exchange.    "I  know  it  is  not  a 


Last  Effort  of  the  Volunteers 


107 


guard,"  replied  the  aide-de-camp,  "I  have  just  examined  it  by  order  of  General 
White,  and  the  area  is  a  grove  of  bayonets.  I  therefore  demand,  in  the  king's 
name,  the  keys  of  the  market-house".  The  sovereign  answered  that  the  market- 
house  did  not  belong  to  him ;  that  he  was  then  in  the  midst  of  the  magistrates 
and  principal  inhabitants  of  the  town,  and  would  be  guided  only  by  them ;  the 
keys  were  therefore  withheld. 

At  length,  at  about  seven  o'clock,  the  committee  and  the  general  met. 
The  general  demanded  that  the  Volunteers  should  disperse,  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  conference.  This  was  refused  by  the  committee,  on  the  ground  that 
these  corps  had  assembled  merely  as  a  precautionary  measure  of  defence,  and 
that  when  they  were  satisfied  as  to  the  safety  of  persons  and  property,  their 
members  would  immediately  repair  to  their  homes.  The  general  complained 
that  he  was  in  an  irksome  situation,  and  knew  not  well  what  to  do.  He  could 
not  enter  into  terms  which  would  appear  as  a  compromise,  or  rather  a  capitu- 
lation on  the  part  of  His  Majesty's  troops;  but  he  would  answer  for  the 
safety  of  the  town  and  the  discipline  of  the  dragoons.  To  this  it  was  replied, 
that  if  the  outrage  was  merely  a  mutinous  excess  of  the  men,  contrary  to  their 
orders,  it  was  impossible  for  the  general  to  answer  that  it  would  not  again 
occur ;  his  pressing  such  responsibility  would  rather  confirm  the  suspicion  that 
the  violence  had  been  sanctioned  by  authority,  and  that  his  absence  the  night 
before  was  not  merely  accidental:  in  short,  that  there  was  only  one  way  of 
allaying  all  apprehensions,  and  that  was  to  remove  the  dragoons.  To  this  at 
length  the  general  acceded,  and  a  written  agreement  was  entered  into,  wherein 
he  pledged  himself  publicly  and  personally,  for  the  safety  of  the  inhabitants 
during  the  night,  and  that  the  troops  should  be  removed  next  morning.  To 
this  agreement  the  sovereign  signed  his  name  as  a  witness,  and  upon  its  being 
communicated  to  the  Volunteers,  they  instantly  dispersed.  The  dragoons  were 
accordingly  removed,  and  not  afterwards  replaced  by  any  other  corps. 
Whether  that  agreement  was  considered,  what  General  White  apprehended  it 
would  be,  a  "capitulation  on  the  part  of  His  Majesty's  troops",  it  is  not  easy 
to  say ;  but  he  did  not  long  continue  in  the  command  of  that  district. 

That  was  the  last  effort  of  the  Volunteers ;  for  shortly  afterwards  Gov- 
ernment expressly  commanded  that  every  assemblage  of  that  body  should 
be  prevented  by  military  force :  and  a  review  of  some  country  corps  at  Doah, 
in  the  County  of  Antrim,  having  been  previously  fixed  upon  for  some  few 
days  after,  the  army  was  marched  out  of  Belfast,  on  the  very  morning  of  the 
review,  to  meet  and  disperse  them.  But  the  Volunteers,  having  been  fortunately 
apprized  of  these  steps,  were  able  to  guard  against  the  melancholy  conse- 
quences that  might  have  ensued,  and  entirely  avoided  assembling. 

The  Catholic  Bill  having  at  last  found  its  way  through  the  forms  of 
Parliament,  and  received  the  royal  assent,  the  general  committee  again  met 
on  the  twenty-fifth  of  April.  After  expressing  its  thankfulness  to  the  king 
for  his  interposition  on  behalf  of  its  constituents,  and  voting  some  substantial 
and  honorable  proofs  of  its  gratitude  to  individuals  who  had  labored  in  the 
Catholic  cause,  it  directed  its  attention  towards  one  of  the  most  degrading 


108 


Commercial  Distress 


and  deleterious  consequences  of  the  lately  repealed  Popery  Laws ;  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  consult,  communicate  and  correspond  upon  the  means 
of  procuring  an  improved  system  of  education  for  the  Catholic  youth  of 
Ireland.  The  general  committee  further  signalized  itself  by  marking,  in  its 
last  moments,  its  attachment  to  the  entirely  unaccomplished  object  for  which 
the  Protestant  reformers  were  so  anxious.  It  "most  earnestly  exhorted  the 
Catholics  of  Ireland  to  co-operate  with  their  Protestant  brethren,  in  all  legal 
and  constitutional  means,  to  carry  into  effect  that  great  measure,  recognized 
by  the  wisdom  of  Parliament,  and  so  essential  to  the  freedom,  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  Ireland,  a  reform  of  the  representation  of  the  people  in  the 
Commons  House".  Having  done  this,  it  dissolved  itself:  since,  by  the  restora- 
tion of  the  elective  franchise,  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  were  enabled  to  speak 
individually  the  language  of  freemen,  and  that  they  no  longer  wished  to  be 
considered  as  a  distinct  body  of  His  Majesty's  subjects.  Glad  as  the  govern- 
ment was  at  the  quiet  dissolution  of  this  committee,  it  was  deeply  offended  at 
their  valedictory  resolution. 

Public  attention,  however,  was  now  occupied  by  the  distresses  of  traders 
and  manufacturers,  particularly  in  the  cotton  line,  who  were  reduced  to  great 
embarrassments  by  the  first  consequences  of  the  war.  Their  warehouses  were 
overstocked  with  goods,  which  they  were  unable  to  send  to  any  market;  they, 
therefore,  became  incompetent  to  answer  the  demands  for  which  they  were 
responsible,  and  the  workmen  were  reduced  to  the  greatest  distress  for  want 
of  employment.  The  immediate  pressure  of  this  calamity  was  wisely  removed, 
and  credit  greatly  restored  by  advances  from  Government,  to  such  persons  as 
could  deposit  goods  to  a  sufficient  amount,  or  produce  equivalent  security. 
The  sum  of  £200,000  was  entrusted  to  the  management  of  commissioners,  who 
granted  out  of  it,  to  the  different  claimants,  such  sums  as  they  judged  necessary. 

The  country  was  also  distracted  by  risings  in  many  places  to  resist  the 
execution  of  the  militia  law.  The  people  in  almost  every  county  opposed  the 
ballotting,  and  sometimes  ventured  to  resist  the  regular  forces  that  were 
brought  against  them.  In  the  County  of  Wexford  particularly,  the  insurgents 
attempted  to  attack  the  chief  town,  in  order  to  liberate  some  prisoners  from 
the  gaol ;  and  in  the  conflict,  Major  Vallotin,  who  commanded  the  army,  was 
killed.  By  allowing,  however,  that  enlisted  men  should  be  taken,  and  substitutes 
found ;  by  making  some  provision  for  the  families  of  those  who  were  drawn 
by  lot ;  but  still  more  by  the  constant  and  vigilant  interposition  of  military 
force,  resistance  to  the  measure  was  gradually  subdued. 

Another  instance  of  opposition  to  Government  occurred  where  it  was 
scarcely  expected :  in  the  month  of  June,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Synod 
of  Ulster,  a  body  consisting  of  the  whole  Dissenting  clergy  of  the  North,  and 
the  presbytery  of  Dublin,  together  with  a  lay  delegate  from  each  parish. 
Notwithstanding  a  recent  addition  to  the  regium  donum,  supposed  to  be  given 
to  obtain  their  influence  against  the  union  of  sects,  this  body,  in  its  address 
to  the  king,  expressed  its  dislike  of  the  war,  and  its  satisfaction  at  the  ad- 
mission of  Catholics  to  the  privileges  of  the  constitution. 


Address  of  Catholic  Bishops 


109 


Far  from  the  same  ungrateful  nature  was  an  address  with  which  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  was  honored  by  the  bishops  of  the  long  oppressed  and  reluctantly 
enfranchised  religion.  Their  effusion  of  thankfulness  did  not  confine  itself  to 
mere  panegyric  on  his  adminstration :  it  virtually  contradicted  many  of  those 
charges  which  had  been  preferred  by  the  laity  of  the  same  persuasion.  It 
applauded  that  spirit  of  conciliation  by  which  it  is  said  His  Excellency's  gov- 
ernment was  eminently  characterized,  and  went,  by  implication,  to  sever  the 
union  of  the  sects.  Its  compliments  were  not  very  consistent  with  the  further 
pursuits  of  freedom,  and  its  candor  was  conspicuous  in  the  approval  of  the 
manner  by  which  Defenderism  had  been  suppressed,  and  in  deploring  that  the 
majority  concerned  in  that  unhappy  system  of  infatuation  were  of  their  re- 
ligion. The  indignation  and  astonishment  which  this  address  excited  among 
the  Catholic  laity  can  be  easily  conceived.  It  seemed  called  for  by  no  par- 
ticular occasion.  It  was  clandestinely  conducted,  and  even  remained  a  pro- 
found secret  until  after  it  had  been  some  days  delivered.  It  was  a  violation 
of  solemn  declarations  which  these  very  prelates  had  made  from  time  to  time, 
amounting  to  the  fullest  assurances  that  they  would  never  take  a  step  of  a 
political  nature,  but  in  conjunction  with  the  laity.  It  was  also  generally  con- 
sidered as  an  unprincipled  coalition  with  those  who  exhausted  every  effort  in 
resisting  the  claims  of  the  Catholics,  and  whose  intolerance  compelled  that 
body  to  look  upon  them  in  no  other  light  than  that  of  enemies.  But  it  was 
not  without  an  object.  The  persons  to  whom  the  general  committee  entrusted 
the  formation  of  a  plan  for  the  education  of  the  youth  of  their  religion  had 
made  considerable  progress.  After  several  meetings  in  the  early  part  of  the 
summer  they  had  agreed  to  these  general  principles :  that  the  plan,  while  it  em- 
braced the  Catholic  youth,  should  not  exclude  those  of  any  other  persuasion ; 
that  it  should  depend  on  the  people  for  its  support,  and  be  subject  to  the  joint 
control  of  the  clergy  and  laity.  They  had,  by  correspondence  with  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  assured  themselves  that  there  would  be  no  deficiency  of 
ample  resources  for  carrying  it  into  effect.  They  had  also  submitted  their 
general  principles  to  the  prelates  themselves,  the  majority  of  whom  expressed 
the  most  decided  approbation.  They  had  even  held  meetings  with  those 
reverend  persons  upon  the  best  mode  of  bringing  those  principles  into  action. 
At  one  of  those  meetings,  Dr.  Reily,  the  Catholic  primate,  Dr.  Troy,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin,  and  four  others  who  were  present,  made  very  considerable 
offers  of  pecuniary  aid,  more  than  might  have  been  expected  from  their 
limited  incomes.  Dr.  Reily  likewise  proposed  the  sketch  of  a  plan  nearly  as 
follows:  that  there  should  be  a  grammar  school  in  each  diocese,  where  the 
lower  branches  of  education  should  be  elementarily  taught;  that  there  should 
be  four  provincial  academies,  where  such  youths  as  were  designed  for  the 
Church,  for  other  professions  or  literary  pursuits,  should  be  received  from 
the  diocesan  schools,  instructed  in  the  languages  and  sciences ;  lastly,  that  there 
should  be  one  grand  seminary,  in  which  those  who  had  passed  through  any  of 
the  provincial  schools  should  be  entered  for  the  purpose  of  standing  public  ex- 
aminations ;  such  as  were  destined  for  the  Church,  to  receive  the  necessary  testi- 


110 


Plan  for  Catholic  Education 


monials  for  their  ordination,  and  such  as  were  otherwise  disposed  to  qualify 
themselves  for  degrees,  in  whatever  college  they  should  think  fit,  which  might 
be  authorized  by  law  to  confer  those  dignities. 

This  outline,  with  some  other  material,  had  been  referred  to  Dr.  Ryan, 
Dr.  M'Neven  and  Mr.  Lyons,  three  gentlemen  extremely  well  qualified  for 
digesting  a  more  detailed  plan,  and  they  were  actually  occupied  on  the  sub- 
ject. They  hoped  by  its  accomplishment  to  deserve,  and  probably  to  acquire 
to  themselves  and  their  fellow-laborers,  the  gratitude  of  their  countrymen  and 
of  posterity,  for  a  wise  and  comprehensive  system  of  education,  which  should 
not  only  benefit  the  Catholic  body,  but  also  embrace  the  general  civilization  of 
Ireland;  which,  independent  of  its  direct  advantages,  might  by  the  force  of 
emulation,  awake  the  established  institutions  from  their  present  torpor,  and 
perhaps  even  excite  the  silent  sister  of  the  English  universities  into  something 
like  literary  exertion.  But  while  they  were  indulging  their  enthusiastic  ex- 
pectations, there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  the  Catholic  hierarchy  had 
privately  stated  these  proceedings  to  Administration,  and  given  it  the  option 
either  to  permit  the  members  of  that  religion  to  establish  a  popular  system  of 
education,  which  might  not  be  conducted  entirely  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Court,  or  to  assist  the  prelates  with  its  influence  and  resources  to  establish 
another,  over  which  they,  having  entire  control,  could  so  manage  as  to  make  it 
subservient  to  every  purpose  which  Government  might  wish  to  derive  from 
such  an  institution.  On  these  latter  terms  a  bargain  appears  to  have  been 
concluded,  in  which  the  address  to  His  Excellency  was  to  be  part  of  the  price 
for  Court  protection.  Certain  it  is,  that  after  that  address  was  presented,  all 
co-operation  and  confidence  between  the  prelates  and  the  laity  were  destroyed, 
and  the  gentlemen  who  were  preparing  a  popular  plan  were  assured  they 
might  desist  from  their  labors,  as  an  arrangement  had  been  made  for  Catholic 
education,  which  should  be  solely  conducted  by  the  bishops,  under  the  auspices 
of  Government  and  the  sanction  of  Parliament. 

The  projected  system  of  strong  measures  was  now  to  be  completed  by  the 
legislature.  The  report  of  the  secret  committee  of  the  lords,  asserted,  with  a 
strange  confusion  of  expressions,  that  the  existence  of  a  self-created,  rep- 
resentative body  of  any  description  of  the  king's  subjects,  "taking  upon  itself 
the  government  of  them,  and  laying  taxes  or  subscriptions",  to  be  applied  at 
the  discretion  of  that  representative  body,  or  of  persons  deputed  by  them,  was 
incompatible  with  the  public  safety  and  tranquillity.  The  Convention  Bill 
was,  therefore,  brought  in  and  passed;  but  although  it  was  professed  to  be 
calculated  solely  against  such  bodies  as  were  described  in  the  report,  its  title 
was  to  prevent  the  election  or  appointment  of  unlawful  assemblies,  "under 
pretence  of  preparing  or  presenting  public  petitions,  or  other  addresses  to  His 
Majesty  or  the  Parliament."  The  Bill  enacted  that  all  such  assemblies  should 
be  unlawful ;  but  it  had  the  mercy  to  declare  that  His  Majesty's  subjects  might 
still  petition  the  king  or  Parliament.  A  traitorous  Correspondence  Bill  was 
likewise  enacted,  conformable  to  that  in  England.  To  preserve  the  same 
uniformity,  and  perhaps  also  as  an  equivalent  for  the  sacrifices  to  which 


The  Friends  of  Peace 


111 


Opposition  had  freely  consented,  a  Libel  Bill  and  Place  Bill  were  permitted 
to  pass. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July,  Mr.  George  Ponsonby,  in  the  name  of  his 
brother,  presented  a  bill  for  the  more  equal  representation  of  the  people  in 
Parliament.  The  former  gentleman,  with  his  connections,  had  ever  since  the 
regency  dispute  joined  the  Opposition;  and  by  their  influence,  as  well  as  by 
his  own  abilities,  he  had  acquired  as  much  consideration  and  importance  as 
could  be  conferred  by  a  party,  which  adhered  neither  to  Government  nor  the 
people.  The  outline  of  the  plan  proposed  by  this  bill  was,  that  three  repre- 
sentatives should  be  appointed  for  each  county,  and  for  the  cities  of  Dublin 
and  Cork.  With  regard  to  other  cities,  boroughs,  towns  or  manors,  that  per- 
sons residing  within  the  distance  of  four  miles  every  way  from  the  centre  of 
each  (within  such  variations  as  necessity  might  demand),  should  have  a  right 
to  vote  for  its  representatives,  if  possessed  of  a  ten-pound  freehold ;  that  no 
person  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  any  corporation  should  thereby  acquire  such 
a  right,  unless  he  were  also  seized  within  the  city  or  town  corporate,  of  a  five- 
pound  freehold,  upon  which  he  or  his  family  resided  for  a  year  before  the 
election  and  admission ;  that  this  regulation  should  not  extend  -to  persons  ac- 
quiring that  freedom  by  birth,  marriage,  or  service ;  and  lastly,  that  an  oath 
should  be  taken  by  every  person  returned  to  serve  in  Parliament,  that  he  had 
not  purchased  his  seat. 

This  plan  may  perhaps  not  unjustly  be  considered  as  flowing  from  the 
principle  of  property  qualification,  adopted  by  a  society  which  called  itself 
the  Friends  of  the  Constitution,  Liberty,  and  Peace.  When  the  union  of 
Catholics  and  Dissenters  in  pursuit  of  the  same  objects  had  succeeded  in  rais- 
ing the  question  of  reform  from  the  neglect  into  which  it  had  fallen  after  the 
Convention  of  1784,  and  the  force  of  public  opinion  was  bearing  powerfully 
upon  that  point,  a  number  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of  the  first  rank  and 
fortune,  with  the  Duke  of  Leinster  at  their  head,  collecting  around  them  as 
much  as  possible  the  friends  of  reform  in  Parliament,  in  the  Whig  Club,  and 
at  the  Bar,  formed  themselves  in  the  latter  end  of  1792,  into  a  society  under 
that  name.  It  was  expected  by  its  respectability  to  overawe,  and  by  its  modera- 
tion to  curb,  the  much  more  democratic  United  Irishmen.  When  it  had  thus 
superseded  what  its  partisans  termed  faction  and  sedition,  it  intended  to  put 
itself  at  the  head  of  the  people.  That  its  loyalty  might  be  unquestioned,  a 
disavowal  of  republican  principles  was  made  an  integral  part  of  its  admission 
test.  So  long  as  the  Irish  ministers  were  balancing  upon  their  line  of  conduct, 
they  patronized,  as  much  as  was  consistent  with  their  characters,  this  check 
upon  their  most  formidable  opponents,  by  means  of  which  silent  approbation, 
and  of  the  society's  own  landed  connections,  it  was  enabled  to  put  out  some 
offshoots  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  But  when  reform  was  to  be  seriously 
resisted,  the  Friends  of  Peace  were  not  found  forward  to  struggle  against  the 
storm,  and  the  society  expired  of  languor,  while  the  United  Irishmen  were 
maintaining  themselves  against  denunciations,  prosecutions  and  imprisonments. 
These  last  in  Dublin  had  also  submitted  to  public  consideration  a  plan  of 


112 


Session  of  1794 


parliamentary  reform,  on  the  broad  base  of  universal  suffrage,  for  which  they 
were  become  unequivocal  advocates. 

In  truth,  however,  by  this  time  all  prospect  of  accomplishing  anything  on 
that  subject  had  everywhere  disappeared.  The  hope  that  had  been  excited  by 
the  unanimous  consent  of  Parliament  to  go  into  a  committee  was  disappointed 
by  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Grattan's  resolutions,  and  the  adoption  of  Sir  John 
Parnell's  amendment;  it  was  completely  blasted  by  the  successive  adjourn- 
ments, which  defeated  every  attempt  to  render  the  committee's  proceedings  of 
any  avail ;  and  the  presenting  of  Mr.  Ponsonby's  bill  was  rather  considered  as 
the  formal  discharge  of  a  promise  long  since  made,  than  as  a  step  towards 
success. 

The  expression,  too,  of  that  spirit  which  called  for  reform,  was  greatly 
restrained  by  the  coercive  measures  of  Government  and  Parliament  at  home, 
and  by  the  gloomy  appearances  abroad.  France  was  agitated  by  the  defec- 
tions of  its  generals,  the  insurrections  in  the  West,  the  contest  between  the 
Mountain  and  the  Girondists,  and  the  successful  pressure  of  foreign  armies. 
Even  when  that  country  again  began  to  assume  an  offensive  aspect,  and  deter- 
mined on  the  motion  of  Barrere  to  rise  in  mass,  the  enthusiasm  by  which  it 
was  actuated  failed  of  exciting  correspondent  demonstrations  in  Ireland;  very 
much  indeed  from  the  effects  of  domestic  terror,  but  in  many  cases  unques- 
tionably from  a  contemplation  and  horror  of  that  beginning  system  in  the 
French  Republic.  The  professions  of  atheism  and  the  open  mockery  of  Chris- 
tianity shocked  a  people  that  always  cherished  and  respected  religion.  The 
carnage  committed  by  the  revolutionary  tribunals  and  the  tyranny  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety  deeply  afflicted  the  lovers  of  liberty  and  justice.  The 
assertions  boldly  made  by  the  anti-reformists  and  the  adherents  of  government 
that  those  outrages  were  essentially  connected  with  the  march  of  democracy, 
alarmed  the  timid,  revolted  those  whose  liberal  politics  were  more  the  result 
of  feeling  than  of  reflection,  and  even  co-operated  with  the  measures  of  Gov- 
ernment, in  compelling  many  of  the  philosophic  reformers  to  wait  in  silence 
a  more  favorable  opportunity,  when  what  had  been  lost  of  public  reason  and 
public  strength  should  be  again  restored. 

In  this  state  of  active  outcry  on  the  one  part  and  temporary  inaction 
1794  on  the  other,  Parliament  again  met  on  the  twenty-first  of  January, 
1794.  During  this  session  Opposition  in  almost  every  case  melted 
itself  down  into  the  common  mass  of  ministerial  advocates.  The  address  to 
His  Majesty  was  unanimously  voted  without  amendment,  Mr.  Grattan  having 
only  broken  silence  to  state  his  determination  to  preserve  the  connection  with 
Great  Britain,  and  to  assist  her  in  the  war,  even  if  it  were  more  unsuccessful. 
He  afterwards,  in  the  course  of  the  session,  introduced  a  motion  relative  to 
an  equalization  of  duties  between  the  two  countries,  but  Mr.  Secretary  Douglas, 
having  moved  the  question  of  adjournment,  he  declined  pressing  his  own 
motion,  lest  it  should  seem  to  imply  a  distraction  of  sentiment  in  the  House. 
The  Alien  and  Gunpowder  Bills  were  continued  likewise  without  resistance 
or  comment,  and  that  precedent  was  afterwards  constantly  followed. 


Volunteers  Dispersed 


113 


The  only  instance  where  Opposition  seemed  to  assume  anything  of  its 
former  tone  was  in  the  debate  upon  Mr.  Ponsonby's  reform  bill  on  the  fourth 
of  March ;  but  even  then  that  party  was  particularly  careful  to  mark  its  abhor- 
rence of  democracy,  of  French  principles  and  universal  suffrage.  Sir  Law- 
rence Parsons,  indeed,  very  strikingly  pointed  out  what  he  called  the  imposture 
and  mockery  of  the  existing  representation : 

When  the  Americans  were  deliberating,  said  he,  on  their  new  constitution,  if 
any  one  had  got  up  among  them,  and  had  proposed  such  an  institution  as  our  present 
borough  representation,  and  had  said,  there  is  a  certain  ruin  in  Virginia,  let  it  send 
two  representatives,  to  be  named  by  any  twelve  persons  Mr.  Washington  shall' appoint ; 
and  there  is  a  certain  tree  in  Pennsylvania;  let  it  send  two  representatives,  to  be  named 
by  any  twelve  persons  Mr.  Franklin  shall  appoint;  and  so  on — would  not  the  man 
have  been  deemed  mad  who  made  such  a  proposition.  An  institution,  then,  which 
any  rational  set  of  men  upon  earth  would  deem  a  man  mad  for  having  proposed,  can  it  be 
sound  sense  in  you  to  retain? 

Mr.  Grattan,  too,  among  other  arguments  in  support  of  the  plan  before 
the  House,  asserted  that  ninety,  or,  as  he  believed,  about  forty  individuals, 
returned  a  vast  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons : 

Of  property,  said  he,  it  will  be  found  that  those  who  return  that  majority  (it  is  I 
believe  two-thirds),  have  not  an  annual  income  of  three  hundred  thousand  pounds,  while 
they  give  and  grant  above  three  millions, — that  is,  the  taxes  they  give  are  ten  times, 
and  the  property  they  tax  is  infinitely  greater  than  the  property  they  represent. 

But  his  speech  was  most  particularly  remarkable  for  a  series  of  epigram- 
matic invectives  against  the  United  Irishmen  of  Dublin,  their  plan  of  reform, 
and  the  principle  of  universal  suffrage. 

To  this  display  of  what  they  styled  "the  highest  genius  with  the  lowest 
ribaldry",  they  replied  in  an  answer  full  of  argument,  and  which  cannot  be 
refused  at  least  the  merit  of  temper  and  moderation ;  but  in  doing  so  they 
made  their  last  public  effort.  Mr.  Hamilton  Rowan  had  been  found  guilty  on 
the  preceding  twenty-ninth  of  January  of  publishing  a  seditious  libel,  by  dis- 
tributing the  address  of  that  society  to  the  Volunteers  of  Ireland,  and  sen- 
tenced to  two  years'  imprisonment,  and  a  fine  of  five  hundred  pounds. 
Government  then  felt  itself  emboldened,  after  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Ponsonby's 
bill,  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  forty-two  to  forty-four,  to  disperse 
the  only  body  under  its  immediate  observation,  that  presumed  to  brave  its 
power,  and  persevered  in  pursuing  reform.  This  Mr.  Sheriff  Giffard  accom- 
plished by  its  order,  and  without  resistance,  in  consequence  of  the  general 
apparent  apathy,  and  of  a  conviction  on  the  minds  of  the  members  themselves, 
that  there  now  remained  no  hope  of  acquiring  the  object  for  which  they 
sought,  by  similar  meetings,  or  by  public  discussions. 

This  society  from  its  first  formation,  had  been  a  mark  for  the  abuse  of 
Government  and  its  adherents.  To  the  perseverance  and  exertions,  however, 
of  the  United  Irishmen  of  Dublin,  may  be  attributed  much  of  the  change  which 
took  place  in  the  public  mind  in  favor  of  the  Catholic  claims.  Just  before  the 
existence  of  their  society  the  followers  of  that  religion  would  not  be  permitted 


114 


Hints  at  French  Invasion 


in  an  address  of  loyalty  to  the  viceroy  to  express  a  hope  of  relief;  and  not  a 
member  of  Parliament  could  be  found  even  to  present  a  petition  to  the  legis- 
lature, praying  that  their  case  might  be  taken  into  consideration :  yet  the 
institution  had  not  been  eighteen  months  established  when,  in  spite  of  denun- 
ciations of  war  from  the  Protestant  Ascendancy,  and  with  only  the  ungracious 
and  constrained  assent  of  the  Irish  Government,  the  Popery  Laws,  the  dis- 
grace and  scourge  of  a  century,  were  reduced  to  a  few  comparatively  insig- 
nificant restraints. 

A  reform  in  Parliament  seemed  at  one  time,  too,  on  the  point  of  being 
conceded  to  that  spirit,  which  the  same  society  had  been  very  instrumental  in 
exciting,  and  was  always  among  the  foremost  to  evince.  Whether  that  spirit 
be  characterized  as  patriotism  and  firmness,  or  as  faction  or  sedition,  if  all 
the  friends  of  reform  had  concurred  in  displaying  as  much  of  it  as  was  shown 
by  the  United  Irishmen,  and  had  marched  pari  passu  with  them,  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  doubt  but  that  their  efforts  would  have  been  crowned  with  com- 
plete success.  Thus  might  Ireland,  under  the  vigilant  protection  and  ameliorat- 
ing cares  of  a  free,  regenerated  legislature,  have  emerged  from  her  debase- 
ment, poverty  and  wretchedness ;  have  rapidly  risen  to  importance  and  opul- 
ence, to  prosperity  and  happiness ;  have  escaped  her  subsequent  calamities,  her 
scenes  of  persecution,  desolation,  outrage  and  horror;  have  still  continued  a 
distinct  and  independent,  as  she  would  have  been  an  admired  and  respected 
nation. 

The  present  inaction  on  the  part  of  the  people,  does  not,  however,  seem  to 
have  deluded  Parliament  into  an  opinion  that  coercion  had  produced  conviction 
in  the  lower  orders,  or  that  the  Gunpowder  and  Convention  Bills,  with  all  their 
consequences,  had  removed  a  sense  of  grievance  from  the  Irish  mind.  Colonel 
Blaquiere  (as  if  he  had  the  wildness  to  suppose  that  such  a  motion  could  be 
entertained  in  the  assembly  he  addressed),  proposed  that  every  member  should 
send  for  each  of  his  tenants,  who  paid  him  under  forty  pounds  a  year,  and 
refund  him  three  shillings  in  the  pound  of  his  last  September's  rent.  There 
was  not  a  man  among  them,  he  said,  who  in  case  of  commotion  could  find 
fifty  followers  on  his  estate,  perfectly  attached  to  the  constitution.  He  went 
on,  and  said  the  French  were  meditating  something  wicked ;  he  inclined  to 
believe  it  was  Ireland  they  meant  to  visit — half  the  nation  was  attached  to 
them — he  would  be  right  if  he  said  more  than  half.  This  was  reprehended 
with  such  an  irritation  on  the  part  of  the  House,  as  sometimes  betrays  itself  in 
those  who  are  unexpectedly  offended  by  the  statement  of  an  undeniable  and 
unwelcome  truth.  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons  urged  Administration  to  take 
measures  for  putting  the  country  into  a  proper  state  of  defence,  by  raising  and 
officering  independent  companies.  His  importunity  on  this  subject  was  almost 
deemed  troublesome ;  but  in  pressing  it  on  ministers,  he  told  them  he  thought 
they  were  sleeping  on  a  volcano. 

And  deep  and  terrible,  indeed,  was  the  volcano,  which  secret  discontent  was 
forming,  and  gradually  extending  throughout  the  land.  The  press  had  been 
overawed  and  subdued ;  numberless  prosecutions  had  been  commenced  against 


Offer  of  French  Aid 


115 


almost  every  popular  publication,  but  particularly  against  the  "Northern  Star". 
The  expectations  of  the  reformers  had  been  blasted,  their  plans  had  been 
defeated,  and  decisive  means  had  been  taken  by  Government  to  prevent  their 
being  resumed.  It  became,  therefore,  necessary  to  wait  for  new  events,  from 
which  might  be  formed  new  plans.  Nor  did  such  events  seem  distant;  for 
now  the  French  armies  were  again  emblazoning  their  cause  with  success,  and 
hiding  in  the  splendor  of  their  victories,  the  atrocities  of  their  government. 
This  raised  a  returning  hope,  that  the  crimes  and  calamities  of  the  moment 
might  pass  away  from  that  republic,  and  the  permanent  consequences  of  its 
revolution  still  shed  a  happy  influence  on  Ireland.  The  utterance  of  opinions 
favorable  to  reform  and  democracy  was  prevented  in  the  upper  and  middling 
ranks,  by  the  coercion  they  experienced  and  by  the  outcries  that  were  raised 
against  France,  against  her  principles,  and  from  them  against  liberty  itself. 
But  those  restraints  and  reflections  scarcely  affected  the  lower  orders,  in 
themselves  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  population ;  whose  proceedings  were 
unobserved,  whose  reasonings  were  confined  to  their  own  misery,  and  whose 
views  were  entirely  directed  to  its  alleviation.  The  system  of  Defenderism, 
therefore,  continued  to  spread  from  Ulster  into  Connaught,  Leinster  and 
Munster,  privately  and  uninterruptedly,  although  its  progress  was  marked  in 
those  places  by  some  appearances  of  assembling  and  disturbance.  The  De- 
fenders, likewise,  began  to  entertain  an  idea,  that  possibly  the  French  might 
visit  Ireland,  and  that  from  thence  benefits  would  result  to  them  and  their 
country;  for  in  some  places  it  was  made  a  part  of  the  oath,  and  in  others 
well  understood,  that  they  should  join  the  French  in  case  of  an  invasion. 
There  is  not,  however,  any  reason  to  believe  that  this  expectation  arose  from 
any  communication  with  France ;  but  only  from  the  strength  and  ardency  of 
their  own  wishes.  They  were  also,  as  yet,  unconnected  with  any  persons  of 
information  or  an  higher  order.  But  even  these  last  were  not  induced  by  their 
defeats  and  disappointments  entirely  to  relinquish  their  political  pursuits:  on 
the  contrary,  some  of  them  began  to  resolve  on  more  important  measures. 

At  an  earlier  period,  when  the  Brissotins  had  declared  war  against  England, 
they  sent  a  confidential  agent  to  Ireland,  with  offers  of  succor,  if  it  would 
attempt  to  liberate  and  separate  itself  from  their  enemy.  This  gentleman 
arrived  in  Dublin  sometime  in  the  summer  of  1793,  with  an  introduction  to 
Lord  Edward  Fitz-Gerald.  His  offers  were  made  known  to  Messrs.  Butler 
and  Bond,  then  in  Newgate,  to  Mr.  Rowan,  Dr.  Reynolds  and  some  others; 
but  those  persons,  then  so  obnoxious  to  Government,  discountenanced  the 
proposal,  and  it  was  dropped.  Now,  however,  a  similar  application  was  dif- 
ferently received.  When  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  came  into  power  they 
employed  the  Reverend  William  Jackson,  who  had  been  for  some  years 
resident  in  France,  to  go  to  England  and  Ireland  for  the  purpose,  among 
other  things,  of  getting  accurate  information  of  the  state  of  each.  In  London 
he  contrived  to  obtain  a  paper  descriptive  of  the  state  of  England,  which 
asserted  that  all  parties  would  unite  to  repel  an  invasion.  He  then  determined 
to  proceed  to  Dublin ;  but  first  made  Mr.  Cockayne  ( an  attorney  who  had  been 


116 


Tone's  View  of  Ireland 


his  acquaintance  for  many  years),  privy  to  his  mission.  Mr.  Cockayne 
directly  communicated  the  intelligence  to  the  English  ministry,  and  was  or- 
dered to  contrive  that  he  might  be  Mr.  Jackson's  travelling-companion,  and 
a  vigilant  reporter  of  his  proceedings.  They  accordingly  set  out  together, 
about  April,  1794,  for  Dublin,  when  they  accidently  met  a  gentleman,  who  had 
known  Mr.  Cockayne  in  London,  and,  of  course,  invited  him  and  his  fellow- 
traveller  to  dinner.  The  company  consisted  of  men  whose  principles  were 
democratic,  and  the  conversation  was  consequently  of  that  cast.  By  means  of 
an  acquaintance  which  Mr.  Jackson  there  formed  with  Mr.  Lewines,  and  by 
some  intimation  of  his  not  being  an  unimportant  character,  he  contrived  to  be 
introduced  to  Mr.  Hamilton  Rowan,  then  in  Newgate,  and  by  him  to  Mr.  Tone 
and  Dr.  Reynolds.  To  them  he  communicated  the  motives  of  his  journey,  and 
showed  them  the  paper  he  had  procured  in  England.  This  caused  Mr.  Tone 
to  draw  up,  for  the  purpose  also  of  being  sent  to  France,  a  succinct  and 
forcible  statement  of  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  actual  situation  of  Ireland. 
He  divided  its  population  into  religious  and  political  classes,  of  each  of  which 
he  pointed  out  the  strength,  interests,  dispositions  and  grievances,  together 
with  the  effect  that  would  be  produced  on  each  by  an  invasion. 

In  a  word,  concluded  he,  from  reason,  reflection,  interest,  prejudice,  the  spirit 
of  change,  the  misery  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation,  and  above  all,  the  hatred  of  the 
English  name,  resulting  from  the  tyranny  of  near  seven  centuries,  there  seems  to  be 
little  doubt  but  an  invasion  in  sufficient  force  would  be  supported  by  the  people.  There 
is  scarcely  any  army  in  the  country,  and  the  militia,  the  bulk  of  whom  are  Catholics, 
would  to  a  moral  certainty  refuse  to  act,  if  they  saw  such  a  force  as  they  could  look  to, 
for  support. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  so  pleased  with  this  paper  and  its  author,  that  he  pressed 
him  very  strongly  to  go  to  France,  and  enforce  in  person  its  contents;  promis- 
ing him  the  utmost  success,  both  as  a  public  and  private  man.  At  first  Mr. 
Tone  agreed  to  this  proposal;  but  afterwards  declined  it,  on  account  of  his 
wife  and  children.  Mr.  Rowan  then  suggested  that  Dr.  Reynolds  should  go 
on  the  same  mission,  which  he  was  not  unwilling  to  do,  but  was  dis- 
countenanced by  Mr.  Jackson,  who  wished  it  to  be  undertaken  by  no  other 
person  but  Tone,  of  whose  consent  he  had  not  entirely  despaired.  While  this 
was  going  on,  Government  was  minutely  informed  of  every  particular  by  the 
intervention  of  Cockayne;  and  having  intercepted  some  of  Jackson's  letters, 
enough  to  form  a  body  of  evidence  against  him,  he  was  arrested  the  latter 
end  of  April.  Dr.  Reynolds  shortly  after  got  privately  to  America.  Mr. 
Rowan  escaped  from  Newgate  on  the  night  of  the  first  of  May,  and  was 
conveyed  on  board  a  small  vessel  in  Dublin  harbor,  that  had  been  secured  for 
him  by  a  friend.  A  proclamation  was  directly  issued  by  Government,  offering 
£1,000  reward  for  his  apprehension,  and  another  by  the  corporation  of  Dublin, 
from  whose  gaol  he  had  escaped,  offering  £500  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
sailors  of  the  ship  in  which  he  was  concealed,  knowing  whom  they  had  on 
board,  showed  him  the  two  proclamations,  to  which  he  answered :  "Lads,  my 
life  is  in  your  hands",  and  made  them  fully  acquainted  with  the  cause  of  his 


Tone's  Escape 


117 


danger  and  flight.  They  instantly  assured  him  they  never  would  betray,  but 
would  protect  him  to  the  last  extremity.  Accordingly,  on  the  first  change  of 
wind,  they  put  to  sea,  and  landed  him  safely  in  France.  Tone,  on  the  other 
hand,  made  no  attempt  at  concealment  or  escape.  It  was  not  at  first  ascer- 
tained that  Cockayne  was  an  informer,  and  even  after  he  had  reason  to  be 
otherwise  convinced,  he  persuaded  himself  that  no  more  could  be  proved 
against  him,  than  misprision  of  treason,  in  concealing  a  solicitation  to  go  to 
France,  which  he  had  rejected.  In  this  opinion  he  was  probably  mistaken, 
but  the  point  was  never  tried,  owing  to  the  interposition  of  private  friendship. 
Mr.  Marcus  Beresford  and  others,  whose  government  connections  were  of  the 
first  importance,  interested  themselves  zealously  and  successfully,  to  screen 
him  from  prosecution.  Attempts,  however,  were  made  to  induce  him,  by 
threats  and  offers,  to  appear  against  his  associates;  but  this  he  rejected  with 
indignation.  He  communicated  unequivocally  to  the  servants  of  the  Crown, 
everything  he  had  done  himself ;  but  refused  to  disclose  what  might  affect 
others;  and  added,  that  if  he  was  left  unmolested,  it  was  his  intention,  as  soon 
as  he  could  settle  his  affairs,  and  receive  payment  of  the  £1500  that  had  been 
voted  him  by  the  Catholic  Committee,  to  quit  Ireland;  that  if,  however,  Gov- 
ernment chose  to  prevent  his  doing  so,  it  might  arrest  him,  and  if  he  was 
put  upon  trial,  he  would  justify  his  political  conduct.  The  influence  of  his 
friends,  with  perhaps  his  own  firmness,  prevailed,  and  he  remained  undisturbed. 

The  arrest  of  Jackson,  and  the  publication  of  his  designs,  conveyed  no 
unwelcome  information  to  the  body  of  the  Irish  people.  From  thence  they 
derived  the  first  authentic  intelligence,  that  their  situation  was  an  object  of 
attention  to  France,  and  that  they  might  perhaps,  at  some  future  period,  receive 
assistance  from  that  quarter.  These  expectations  were  cherished  with  the 
more  ardor,  on  account  of  the  surprising  victories  of  the  Republican  armies  in 
the  summer  of  IT 94.  and  not  a  little  sweetened  by  the  fall  of  Robespierre,  and 
the  consequent  hope,  that  the  reign  of  terror  and  cruelty  was  about  to  cease. 

In  the  sullen  broodings  also  of  secret  discontent,  republicanism  and  the 
desire  of  separation  from  England,  found  powerful  auxiliaries.  Men,  whose 
moderate  principles  and  limited  views  had  been  bounded  by  reform  thought 
they  read  in  the  proscription  of  Parliament,  and  the  obstinacy  of  the  borough 
proprietors,  that  reform  was  equally  difficult  of  attainment  as  revolution ;  and 
that  the  connection  with  England  was  the  firmest  bulwark  of  the  abuses  they 
sought  to  overthrow.  From  hence  they  inferred  that  everything  must  be 
hazarded  before  anything  could  be  gained.  Some,  undoubtedly,  were  driven 
by  the  force  of  this  conclusion  to  rally  round  the  ministerial  standard;  but 
the  immense  majority,  even  of  simple  reformers,  were  rather  impelled  bv  it  to 
aim  at  more  important  objects.  Nothing,  not  even  a  reform,  they  imagined 
could  be  accomplished  without  foreign  succors,  incompetent  as  they  deemed 
themselves  to  cope  with  England  and  the  aristocracy  at  home.  No  nation, 
however,  could  be  expected  to  give  effectual  aid,  unless  the  end  proposed  to  it 
was,  in  point  of  interest,  equivalent  to  the  risk.  A  reform  in  the  Irish 
Parliament  was  not  that  equivalent  to  any  foreign  State ;  but  the  weakening 


118 


A  New  Oath 


of  England,  by  destroying  its  connection  with  Ireland,  was  of  supreme  im- 
portance, as  they  thought,  to  every  maritime  power.  This  train  of  reasoning 
was  further  strengthened  in  men  of  more  democratic  principles,  by  a  con- 
viction of  the  superior  excellence  of  a  republican  government.  Reform  and 
a  republic,  said  they,  are  surrounded  with  equal  difficulties,  if  only  the  internal 
strength  of  the  Irish  people  be  considered;  but  the  most  valuable  of  these 
objects  is  by  much  the  most  attainable,  if  reference  be  had  to  the  chance  of 
foreign  assistance. 

No  steps,  however,  were  at  this  time  taken  for  action,  or  even  for  prepara- 
tion ;  but  all  parties  were  speculating  upon  some  change,  in  consequence  of  the 
French  successes.  There  were  persons,  indeed,  who  began  to  think,  that  after 
the  experience  of  failure  from  the  abandonment  by  leaders  in  1784,  and  after, 
perhaps,  a  subsequent  experience  in  1793,  the  only  sure  plan  would  be,  to  make 
the  mass  of  the  people  act ;  they  never  would  betray  themselves ;  nor  be  satis- 
fied with  anything  short  of  what  their  own  wants  required.  Besides,  as  the 
remnants  of  religious  animosity  were  still  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  lower 
orders,  it  was  hoped  that  by  bringing  together  those  of  that  description,  though 
of  different  sects,  they  might  soon  learn  the  identity  of  their  views  and 
interests,  and  as  ardently  love,  as  for  centuries  past  they  and  their  ancestors 
had  feared,  each  other. 

These  ideas  seemed  to  influence  one  of  the  three  societies  of  United  Irish- 
men that  had  been  formed  in  Belfast ;  which  having  escaped  from  observation 
by  the  obscurity  of  its  members,  had  never  entirely  discontinued  its  sittings ; 
and  also  another  club  of  men,  principally  in  the  same  sphere  of  life,  some  of 
whom  had  indeed  been  United  Irishmen ;  but  others  never  were.  As  there  was 
scarcely  a  possibility  of  assembling  in  public,  or  of  openly  expressing  their 
political  sentiments,  they  wished  to  devise  other  means,  and  determined,  as 
far  as  in  their  power,  to  influence  the  Friends  of  Liberty  to  come  together 
again,  and  institute  a  system  of  secret  association ;  this  they  soon  in  part 
accomplished.  Instead  of  the  United  Irish  test  an  oath  mostly  copied  from 
it  was  adopted ;  but  the  substance  was  so  altered  as  to  correspond  with  the 
progress  of  opinions.  It  did  not,  like  the  test,  simply  bind  to  the  use  of 
abilities  and  influence  in  the  attainment  of  an  impartial  and  adequate  repre- 
sentation of  the  Irish  nation  in  Parliament;  but  every  member  was  sworn  to 
"persevere  in  his  endeavors  to  obtain  an  equal,  full  and  adequate  representa- 
tion of  all  the  people  of  Ireland",  thus  leaving  ample  room  for  the  efforts  of 
republicanism.  Secrecy  and  mutual  confidence  were  also  necessary,  and  the 
laws,  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  pursuits  and  objects  of  these  societies, 
were  to  be  disarmed  of  their  terrors.  For  this  purpose  it  was  made  part  of 
the  admission  oath,  that  neither  hopes  nor  fears,  rewards  nor  punishments, 
should  ever  induce  the  person  taking  it,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  inform  or 
give  evidence  against  any  member  of  those  societies,  for  any  act  or  expression 
pursuant  to  the  spirit  of  the  obligation ;  thus  stamping  as  a  perjurer  the  man 
who  should  become  an  informer ;  attaching  an  additional  sense  of  moral  guilt 
to  a  dereliction  of  their  cause,  and  destroying  all  regard  of  those  recently- 


Portland's  Policy 


119 


made  laws,  which  they  said  were  enacted  by  a  government  it  was  criminal 
to  support. 

This  plan  was  adopted,  and  the  new  test  was  taken  by  the  two  Belfast 
clubs ;  several  others  were  also  organized  in  that  town  and  its  vicinity,  during 
the  autumn  and  winter  of  1794.  As  the  name  of  United  Irishmen  was  dear 
to  the  people,  from  the  obloquies  which  had  been  cast  upon  them  by  the 
friends  of  Government;  and  as  it  so  well  expressed  their  own  intentions,  the 
title  of  that  body  was  adopted  for  the  new  associations;  and  this  identity 
of  name  has  generally  led  into  an  erroneous  belief,  that  the  new  system  was 
only  a  direct  continuation  of  the  old  one. 

It  has  been  already  hinted,  and  can  not  be  too  forcibly  impressed  on  the 
reflecting  reader,  that  this  institution,  which  from  its  very  outset,  looked 
towards  a  republican  government,  founded  on  the  broadest  principles  of 
religious  liberty  and  equal  rights ;  that  this  institution,  the  consequences  of 
which  are  yet  to  be  read  in  the  history  of  Ireland,  was  not  the  cabal  of 
ambitious  leaders,  of  artful  intriguers,  or  speculative  enthusiasts.  Its  first 
traces  are  to  be  found  among  mechanics,  petty  shop-keepers  and  farmers,  who 
wanted  a  practical  engine,  by  which  the  power  and  exertions  of  men  like 
themselves,  might  be  most  effectually  combined  and  employed ;  accordingly  the 
scheme  was  calculated  to  embrace  the  lower  orders,  and  in  fact  to  make  every 
man  a  politician.  From  the  base  of  society  it  gradually  ascended,  first  to  the 
middling  and  then  to  the  more  opulent  ranks.  Even  in  the  very  town  where 
it  had  its  origin,  its  existence  was  for  a  long  time  unknown  to  the  generality 
of  those  who  had  previously  been  the  most  prominent  democratic  characters; 
nor  did  they  enter  into  the  organization  until  they  saw  how  extensively  it 
included  those  below  them. 

While  this  system  was  making  its  advances  silently  but  rapidly  in  the 
North,  a  change  took  place  in  the  lieutenancy  of  Ireland.  When  Mr.  Pitt 
thought  it  advisable  to  dismember  the  English  Opposition,  by  detaching  from 
it  those  whose  opinions  on  the  subject  of  the  French  war  most  nearly  coincided 
with  his  own,  the  Duke  of  Portland  was  prevailed  upon  to  enter  the  Cabinet, 
by  such  offers  as  can  be  best  inferred  from  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  letters  to 
Lord  Carlisle,  which  have  been  published  by  the  authority  of  the  writer.  These 
offers  are  sufficiently  expressed  in  the  following  passages : 

When  the  Duke  of  Portland  and  his  friends  were  to  be  enticed  into  a  coalition 
with  Mr.  Pitt's  administration,  it  was  necessary  to  hold  out  such  lures,  as  would  make 
the  coalition  palatable.  If  the  general  management  and  superintendence  of  Ireland 
had  not  been  offered  to  His  Grace,  that  coalition  could  never  have  taken  place. 

The  superintendence  of  that  country  having  been  vested  in  the  duke,  he 
seems  to  have  been  seriously  intent  on  remedying  some  of  the  vices  in  its 
government.  The  system  of  that  government,  he  said,  was  execrable;  so 
execrable  as  to  threaten  not  only  Ireland  with  the  greatest  misfortune,  but 
ultimately  the  empire.  So  strong  was  this  opinion  on  his  mind,  that  he 
seemed  determined  on  going  himself  to  reform  those  manifold  abuses;  if  he 


120 


Fitzwilliam 


could  not  find  some  one  in  whom  he  might  have  the  most  unbounded  con- 
fidence, to  undertake  the  arduous  task.  Such  a  person  he  found  in  Lord  Fitz- 
william, his  second  self,  his  nearest  and  dearest  friend.  That  nobleman  was 
far  from  desirous  of  undertaking  the  herculean  office;  but  he  was  urgently 
pressed  and  persuaded  by  the  Duke  of  Portland.  They  both  had  connections 
and  political  friends  in  Ireland,  members  of  the  Opposition,  whom  they  wished 
to  consult  on  the  future  arrangements,  and  whose  support  Lord  Fitzwilliam 
conceived  of  indispensable  importance.  Mr.  Grattan,  Mr.  William  Ponsonby, 
Mr.  Denis  Bowes  Daly,  and  other  members  of  that  party,  were,  therefore, 
invited  to  London.  They  held  frequent  consultations  with  the  Duke  of  Port- 
land and  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  at  which  Mr.  Edmund  Burke  also  occasionally 
assisted.  \ 

As  they  had,  during  the  preceding  session  of  Parliament,  even  under  ."he 
unpopular  administration  of  Lord  Westmoreland,  expressed  their  approbation 
of  the  war,  and  assented  to  the  strong  measures  of  Government,  they  were 
very  ready  to  join  with  the  Duke  of  Portland  in  rallying  under  the  standard 
of  Mr.  Pitt,  provided  certain  domestic  stipulations  were  acceded  to,  from  which 
they  hoped  to  secure  some  share  of  public  confidence.  Among  these  were 
unqualified  Catholic  Emancipation,  the  dismissal  of  what  was  called  the 
Beresford  faction,  with  adequate  regulations  for  preventing  embezzlement, 
and  for  securing  order  and  economy  in  the  collection  and  administration  of 
the  treasury  and  revenue.  Mr.  Burke  also  suggested  a  further  measure  of 
liberality,  flowing  to  the  Catholics  from  Government  itself.  They,  he  asserted, 
were  far  from  being  conciliated  even  by  the  partial  repeal  of  the  Popery  Laws 
in  1793 ;  inasmuch  as  Administration,  while  it  acceded  to  the  law,  showed 
dislike  to  its  relief,  by  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  to  act  under  its  pro- 
visions ;  although  it  rendered  them  admissible  to  certain  offices,  no  appoint- 
ment had  been  made  which  realized  to  any  individual  the  benefits  it  promised. 
He,  therefore,  advised  that  those  places  should,  in  some  ascertained  proportion, 
be  conferred  on  Catholics,  so  as  to  bind  more  closely  the  members  of  that 
communion  to  the  State. 

These  consultations  lasted  for  some  months,  and  when  the  Opposition  leaders 
had  determined  upon  their  project,  it  was  communicated  to  the  British  Cabinet, 
as  containing  the  terms  upon  which  they  were  willing  to  take  a  share  in  the 
Irish  Government.  Mr.  Pitt  wished,  and  indeed  tried  to  obtain,  that  some  of 
those  measures  should  be  at  least  delayed  in  the  execution  for  a  season ;  but 
Mr.  Grattan  and  his  friends  insisted  that  they  should  be  brought  forward  the 
very  first  session,  in  order  to  give  eclat  to  the  commencement  of  their  adminis- 
tration. In  the  propriety  of  this  demand  the  Duke  of  Portland  uniformly 
concurred,  and  even  Mr.  Pitt  himself,  who  had  previously  kept  in  the  back- 
ground, and  avoided  personal  communication  with  Lord  Fitzwilliam' s  friends, 
was  present  at  some  of  the  latter  interviews,  and  certainly  did  not  prevent  its 
being  believed  that  he  acquiesced  in  those  demands,  with  which  it  was  impos- 
sible to  doubt  his  being  acquainted.  The  members  of  the  Opposition  had  no 
great  experience  of  cabinets ;  they  conceived  that  they  were  entering  into 


Fitzwilliam's  Powers 


121 


honorable  engagements,  in  which  everything  that  was  allowed  to  be  understood, 
was  equally  binding  on  whatever  was  absolutely  expressed.  They  rested  satis- 
fied that  their  stipulations  were  known  and  acceded  to;  they  neglected  to  get 
them  formally  signed  and  ratified,  or  reduced  to  the  shape  of  an  instrument 
from  the  British  Cabinet  to  the  viceroy ;  they  put  them  unsuspectingly  in  their 
pockets,  and  set  off  to  become  ministers  in  Ireland.  Dr.  Hussey,  too,  an  Irish- 
man and  a  Catholic  ecclesiastic,  who,  it  is  said,  had  more  than  once  been 
entrusted  with  important  missions  by  English  administrations,  was  sent  over 
by  the  Cabinet,  to  superintend  and  frame  a  plan  for  the  education  of  the  Irish 
clergy,  in  coincidence,  it  was  supposed,  with  the  other  benefits  intended  for  the 
members  of  that  religion. 

Mr.  Grattan  and  his  colleagues  were  scarcely  arrived  when,  finding  that 
public  expectation,  particularly  on  the  Catholic  question,  had  been  awakened 
by  the  negotiations  in  England,  and  by  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  appointment,  they 
determined  to  begin  without  delay  the  system  of  conciliation,  for  which,  as 
they  conceived,  they  had  received  sufficient  authority.  It  was  therefore  com- 
municated so  early  as  the  fifteenth  of  December  to  some  of  the  most  active 
members  of  the  late  Catholic  Committee,  that  Lord  Fitzwilliam  had  full  powers 
to  consent  to  the  removal  of  all  remaining  disabilities ;  but  that,  as  opposition 
to  that  measure  was  naturally  to  be  expected  from  the  Protestant  Ascendancy, 
it  behooved  the  Catholics  to  be  active  in  their  own  cause,  and  to  be  prepared 
with  petitions  from  all  quarters.  This  intimation  overcame  a  resolution 
formed  by  very  many  of  that  persuasion,  that  they  would  never  again  consent 
to  meet  as  a  distinct  body.  On  the  twenty-third,  the  former  sub-committee, 
therefore,  advised  the  Catholics  to  petition  in  their  different  counties  and 
districts,  for  the  entire  restoration  of  their  rights. 

Lord  Fitzwilliam  arrived  and  assumed  his  office  on  the  fifth  of 
1795  January,  1795.  As  experience  had  shown  how  much  reputation  might 
be  hazarded  by  ministerial  coalitions,  the  friends  of  His  Excellency 
deemed  it  advisable  to  counteract  the  suspicions  which  his  and  their  novel 
connections  might  inspire;  they  therefore  let  it  be  known  that  he  came  to 
reverse  the  system  of  internal  misrule,  under  which  Ireland  had  been  pre- 
viously oppressed.  To  this  assertion  instant  belief  was  given,  when  it  was 
understood  whom  he  had  called  to  his  councils,  and  whom  he  was  inclined  to 
repel  from  his  presence.  Mr.  Grattan,  Mr.  Curran  and  the  Ponsonby  family 
were,  of  late,  pledged  to  the  utmost  extent  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  and,  to  a 
certain  measure  at  least,  of  parliamentary  reform.  An  expectation  of  some- 
thing beneficial  was,  therefore,  entertained  from  an  administration  in  which 
they  were  to  be  conspicuous ;  but  as  the  instability  of  political  characters  had 
been  too  often  proved,  more  sanguine  confidence  was  excited  by  the  rumored 
intention  to  disgrace  and  dismiss  such  men  as  Lord  Clare,  Mr.  Beresford. 
Messrs.  Wolfe  and  Toler.  The  complete  repeal  of  all  the  remaining  Popery 
Laws  was  considered  as  essentially  connected  with  this  change,  and  some  even 
ventured  to  hope  for  more  important  public  benefits. 

The  appointment,  therefore,  of  His  Excellency  excited  a  lively  interest,  and 


122 


Catholic  Claims 


gave  universal  satisfaction  to  those  Catholics,  Dissenters  and  liberal  members 
of  the  Establishment,  who  as  yet  had  not  turned  their  eyes  towards  republi- 
canism and  separation  from  England;  or  having  done  so,  had  not  fixed  their 
views  so  steadily,  as  not  to  permit  them  to  be  diverted  by  minor  considerations. 
The  determined  republicans,  however,  and  members  of  the  new  organization, 
while  they  favored  the  demonstrations  of  pleasure,  because  some  internal, 
temporary  alleviations  might  be  gained,  regarded  the  appointment  as  a  mere 
change  of  ephemeral  politics,  which  would  serve  to  agitate  the  ambitious  and 
interest  the  unthinking,  but  the  importance  of  which  was  soon  to  vanish  before 
the  mightier  objects,  that  were  rising  to  occupy  the  Irish  mind.  These  men 
also  deemed  the  administration  itself  eminently  suspicious;  because  it  designed, 
as  they  alleged,  by  the  popularity  of  partial  measures,  to  turn  public  attention 
from  more  real  grievances,  and  to  excite  if  possible,  a  general  approbation  of 
the  war  with  France. 

Lord  Fitzwilliam  had  scarcely  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  when  he 
perceived  the  irresistible  propriety  of  conceding  all  the  rights  peculiarly  with- 
held from  the  Catholics.  He  was  waited  upon  by  a  very  numerous  and  re- 
spectable assemblage  of  that  body,  with  an  address  expressive  of  their  satis- 
faction at  His  Excellency's  appointment,  and  at  his  taking  to  his  councils  men 
who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  nation,  and  hoping  that,  under  his  adminis- 
tration, an  end  would  be  put  to  all  religious  distinctions.  An  interview  of 
congratulation  was  likewise  had  with  Lord  Milton,  the  Lord  Lieutenant's  sec- 
retary, in  which  he  recommended  the  most  peaceable  demeanor  and  good 
conduct  to  all  ranks ;  but  mentioned  that,  whatever  steps  the  Catholics  meant 
to  pursue,  he  trusted  they  were  such  as  would  meet  the  approbation  and  support 
of  the  whole  body.  On  the  very  third  day  after  His  Excellency's  arrival  he 
wrote  to  the  British  Secretary  of  State,  declaring  his  sentiments  on  the  subject 
of  their  claims;  and  his  expressions  are  remarkable,  because  they  clearly 
show,  not  only  his  own  urgency,  but  also  an  apprehension  that  he  might  be 
thwarted  in  one  of  his  favorite  schemes,  to  the  execution  of  which  he  seems 
conscious  he  had  not  gotten  an  unqualified  or  willing  consent.  He  trembled, 
he  said,  about  the  Catholic  question ;  he  stated  that  he  found  it  already  in 
agitation,  and  concluded  by  giving  his  own  opinion  of  the  absolute  necessity 
of  the  concession,  as  a  matter  not  only  wise,  but  essential  to  the  public  tran- 
quillity. That  letter  went  by  the  same  mail  as  one  of  the  preceding  day,  relative 
to  the  removal  of  Messrs.  Wolfe  and  Toler,  the  attorney-  and  solicitor-general. 
The  Duke  of  Portland,  however,  in  his  reply  of  the  thirteenth,  made  an  omi- 
nous selection  of  topics ;  he  omitted  saying  a  word  on  the  Catholic  question, 
but  informed  His  Excellency  that  His  Majesty  consented  to  Mr.  Wolfe's 
peerage.  This  letter  was  far  from  satisfactory.  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  therefore, 
on  the  fifteenth,  again  urged  the  matter  still  more  forcibly;  he  stated  that, 
from  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  and  added  that  if 
he  received  no  peremptory  instructions  to  the  contrary,  he  would  acquiesce. 
In  that  letter  he  also  mentioned  the  necessisty  of  dismissing  the  Beresfords. 

Before  those  peremptory  instructions  arrived,  Parliament  met  on  the 


Grattan's  Speech 


123 


twenty-second  of  January.  Mr.  Grattan  moved  the  address  to  His  Majesty, 
and  his  speech  on  that  occasion  developed  enough  of  the  new  system  of 
government  to  confirm  the  suspicions  of  the  republicans,  and  considerably  to 
impair  its  popularity  with  the  mass  of  the  people.  He  declaimed  against  the 
French,  with  the  utmost  force  of  invective,  and  hurried  by  his  zeal  to  hyper- 
bole, almost  to  blasphemy,  he  said  the  objects  at  stake  in  the  war  were  the 
creature  and  his  Creator,  man  and  the  Godhead;  as  if  the  Almighty  were  to 
be  hurled  from  heaven  and  deprived  of  His  omnipotence  by  the  success  of  the 
French  Republic. 

In  one  respect,  however,  his  speech  was  admirably  calculated  for  its  object. 
Supplies  to  an  unprecedented  amount  were  wanting;  and  they  are  voted 
by  Parliament,  not  by  the  people ;  it  therefore  dwelt  on  the  topics  that  were 
most  likely,  by  agitating  the  passions  and  exciting  the  fears  of  members  of 
Parliament,  to  open  the  purse-strings  of  the  nation. 

"You  know  enough",  said  he,  "of  levels  of  Europe  to  forsee  that  that  great  ocean, 
that  inundation  of  barbarity,  that  desolation  of  infidelity,  that  dissolution  of  government, 
and  that  sea  of  arms,  if  it  swells  over  the  continent,  must  visit  our  coast";  and  again 
speaking  of  Great  Britain,  "vulnerable  in  Flanders,  vulnerable  in  Holland,  she  is  mortal 
here  [in  Ireland] — Here  will  be  the  engines  of  war,  the  arsenal  of  the  French  artillery, 
the  station  of  the  French  navy,  and  through  this  wasted  and  disembowelled  land, 
will  be  poured  the  fiery  contents  of  their  artillery". 

Mr.  Duquery  proposed  an  amendment  to  the  address,  imploring  His 
Majesty  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  concluding  a  peace  with  France, 
and  not  let  the  form  of  government  in  that  country  be  an  impediment  to  that 
great  and  desirable  object.  This  was  negatived,  and  the  address  agreed  to 
with  only  three  dissenting  votes. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  January,  no  peremptory  instructions  having  yet 
arrived,  Mr.  Grattan  presented  a  petition  from  the  Catholics  of  Dublin,  pray- 
ing to  be  restored  to  a  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  the  constitution,  by 
a  repeal  of  all  the  penal  and  restrictive  laws  affecting  the  Catholics  of  Ireland. 
Petitions  couched  in  the  same  terms  now  poured  in  from  every  part  of  the 
kingdom;  no  serious  opposition  to  the  measure  was  expected.  Parliament 
seemed  at  length  ready  to  render  justice  with  an  unsparing  hand;  the  Prot- 
estants nowhere  raised  a  murmur  of  dissatisfaction,  and  a  petition  in  favor 
of  this  expected  liberality,  was  once  more  presented  by  the  indefatigable  town 
of  Belfast. 

Meanwhile,  constant  correspondences  were  going  on  between  the  govern- 
ments of  the  two  countries.  Though  Lord  Fitzwilliam  declared  on  the  fif- 
teenth of  January  that  he  would  acquiesce  in  complete  Catholic  Emancipation, 
unless  he  should  receive  peremptory  instructions  to  the  contrary,  the  subject 
was  not  even  touched  on  in  either  of  the  Duke  of  Portland's  letters  prior  to 
the  second  of  February;  on  that  day  he  received  another,  silent  like  those 
that  preceded  it  on  that  subject,  and  merely  relating  to'  the  intended  dismissal 
of  Mr.  Wolfe.  Lord  Milton,  His  Excellency's  secretary,  also  received  one  of 
the  same  date  from  Mr.  Wyndham,  mentioning  Mr.  Pitt's  reluctance  to  the 


124 


Catholic  Relief  Deferred 


removal  of  Mr.  Beresford,  but  nothing  more.  This  last  now  appears  to  have 
grown  into  a  subject  of  some  importance,  for  on  the  ninth  Mr.  Pitt  himself 
wrote  to  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  expostulating  on  the  intended  dismissal  of  Mr. 
Beresford,  but  still  silent  on  the  less  material  Catholic  question ;  Mr.  Pitt, 
however,  concluded  with  an  apology  "for  interrupting  His  Lordship's  attention 
from  the  many  important  considerations  of  a  different  nature,  to  which  all 
their  minds  ought  to  be  directed". 

The  Duke  of  Portland,  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  "nearest  and  dearest  friend", 
was  the  person  appointed  to  break  the  unwelcome  intelligence  that,  notwith- 
standing the  length  to  which  the  Irish  Government  was  plildged  to  the  Cath- 
olics, its  steps  must  be  retraced.  In  a  letter  of  an  earlier  cate  by  a  day  than 
Mr.  Pitt's,  he  brought  that  business  "for  the  first  time  into  pV>'»  as  a  question 
of  any  doubt  or  difficulty  with  the  British  cabinet". 

"Then",  says  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Carlisle,  "it  appears  to  have 
been  discovered  that  the  deferring  it  would  be  not  merely  an  expediency  or  thing  to 
be  desired  for  the  present,  but  the  means  of  doing  a  greater  good  to  the  British 
empire,  than  it  has  been  capable  of  receiving  since  the  revolution,  or  at  least  since  the 
union". 

His  Excellency,  in  his  reply  to  this  unexpected  communication,  set  forth 
the  danger  of  retracting,  and  refused  "to  be  the  person  to  raise  a  flame,  which 
nothing  but  the  force  of  arms  could  keep  down". 

The  business  of  Parliament,  however,  was  still  proceeding,  and  the  budget 
opened  on  the  ninth  of  February.  Before  entering  on  the  preparatory  state- 
ments, Sir  Lawrence  Parsons  rose,  and,  after  expressing  the  highest  confi- 
dence in  the  noble  lord  at  the  head  of  the  government  of  the  country,  and  in 
the  administration,  who  aided  his  councils,  wished,  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
to  be  explicitly  informed  whether  the  gentlemen  now  in  power  were  determined : 

To  carry  into  effect  those  measures  they  so  repeatedly  and  ably  proposed  when  in 
opposition — whether  the  repeal  of  the  Convention  Bill — whether  the  abolition  of  sinecure 
places,  which  they  had  inveighed  against — whether  the  disqualification  of  placemen  from 
sitting  in  Parliament,  which  they  had  branded  with  corruption — whether  a  reform  in 
Parliament,  which  they  had  deemed  indispensably  necessary,  or  an  equalization  of 
commercial  benefits  between  both  kingdoms,  which  they  had  insisted  to  be  just,  were 
now  meant  to  be  carried  into  effect. 

To  these  questions  Mr.  Grattan  replied  in  general  terms : 

The  honorable  member  has  asked  whether  the  same  principles  which  were  formerly 
professed  by  certain  gentlemen,  with  whom  I  have  the  honor  of  acting,  were  to  be 
the  ruling  principles  at  present  in  his  majesty's  councils?    To  that  I  answer,  they 

certainly  are. 

This  answer  not  appearing  sufficiently  specific,  Sir  Lawrence  again  asked : 

.  "Whether  it  was  their  determination  to  carry  a  repeal  of  the  Convention  Bill?  whether 
they  meant  to  carry  the  Reform  Bill?"  He  further  desired  to  know  "whether  the  places 
that  had  been  created  for  corrupt  purposes  during  the  close  of  Lord  Buckingham's 
government  were  to  cease?  whether  the  trade  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  was 
to  continue  on  its  old  footing,  or  to  be  reduced  to  a  system  of  justice  and  perfect 
equality  ?" 


Debate  in  Parliament 


125 


These  were  plain  questions,  he  said,  which  were  easily  answered.  He  pro- 
fessed himself  willing  to  co-operate  in  supporting  the  war  in  the  most  vigorous 
manner;  but  while  Parliament  called  upon  the  purse  of  the  nation,  he  thought  it 
their  duty  to  remunerate  the  people  by  constitutional  benefits.  He  did  not  press 
for  particular  information ;  his  questions  went  only  to  general  measures.  On  the 
subject  of  them,  the  gentleman  upon  whom  he  called  had  frequently  gone  so 
far  as  to  produce  bills,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  preparation  might  be  made 
to  bring  them  forward.  It  would  be  consolatory  to  the  people  to  know,  before 
the  supplies  were  granted,  that  a  redress  of  grievances  was  to  follow.  These 
gentlemen  he  had  heard  say  of  the  Convention  Bill,  "that  it  struck  at  the  root 
of  every  free  constitution  in  the  world".  If  that  were  true,  and  that  it  were 
such  an  enormity,  it  ought  not  to  be  continued  an  infection  in  ours.  He  con- 
cluded with  repeating  his  respect  for,  and  confidence  in  Administration.  Mr. 
Grattan,  after  a  considerable  debate  had  taken  place,  during  which  he  had 
ample  time  for  reflecting  within  himself,  and  consulting  his  colleagues,  an- 
swered those  specific  questions  in  these  words : 

To  mention  every  particular  bill  is  unusual — it  would  be  presumptuous.  Influence, 
however  it  may  be  possessed,  ought  never  to  be  avowed  by  a  minister  in  the  face  of 
Parliament.  What  has  fallen  from  the  honorable  baronet,  however,  induces  me  to 
say,  and  I  am  authorized  to  mention  for  the  gentlemen  with  whom  I  have  the  honor 
to  act,  that  the  same  principles  which  we  professed  while  in  Opposition,  continue  to 
govern  our  conduct  now,  and  that  we  shall  endeavor  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  to 
give  them  effect. 

In  a  subsequent  part  of  the  debate,  Mr.  W.  B.  Ponsonby  (who  had  intro- 
duced the  Reform  Bill  the  year  before)  said: 

He  held  it  right  to  notice  some  expressions  that  had  been  thrown  out  in  the 
course  of  the  night,  in  order  to  sound  whether  the  gentlemen  who  possessed  the  confi- 
dence of  Administration,  were  determined  to  persevere  in  the  same  line  of  conduct  which 
they  observed  while  out  of  office,  and  to  endeavor  for  a  redress  of  grievances.  For 
his  own  part  he  believed  and  trusted  they  would  go  as  far  as  possible  to  reform  abuses, 
to  obviate  popular  complaints,  and  he  should  only  say,  that  if  not  convinced  that  they 
were  of  the  same  sentiments  with  himself,  they  should  never  have  his  support. 

These  replies  to  specific  questions,  answering,  by  something  more  than 
implication,  in  the  affirmative,  had  perhaps  no  influence  on  the  conduct  of  a 
Parliament,  the  members  of  which  knew  each  other  so  intimately  and  thor- 
oughly; but  they  contributed  very  much  to  give  confidence  in  the  Fitzwilliam 
administration  out  of  that  assembly,  and  to  induce  a  patient  acquiescence  in 
the  unprecedented  grant  of  one  million  six  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand 
pounds,  additional  debt,  and  eighty  thousand  pounds,  as  estimated  by  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer,  but  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds,  as  esti- 
mated by  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons,  of  additional  taxes. 

When  the  Duke  of  Portland's  letter  of  the  eighth  was  not  yet  perhaps 
known  to  Mr.  Grattan,  he  proceeded  to  carry  into  effect  the  conciliatory  meas- 
ures for  which  he  conceived  that  he  and  his  friends  had  stipulated  with  the 
British  Cabinet.    Accordingly  on  the  twelfth  of  February,  he  obtained  leave 


126 


Fitzwilliam's  Recall 


to  bring  in  a  bill  for  repealing  the  police  laws,  which  were  extremely  obnoxious 
to  the  citizens  of  Dublin,  and  against  which  every  parish  in  that  city  had  re- 
cently petitioned.  He  then  likewise  obtained  leave  to  bring  in  the  Catholic 
Bill,  which  was  only  resisted  by  Colonel  Blaquiere,  Mr.  Ogle  and  Dr.  Duigenan. 
On  the  same  night,  in  pursuance  of  the  same  plan,  it  was  announced  by  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  that  a  new  arrangement  would  be  made  of  the 
duties  on  beer  and  spirits,  the  object  of  which  was  restraint  in  the  abuse  of 
spirituous  liquors  among  the  lower  orders,  and  the  substitute  of  a  wholesome 
and  nourishing  beverage  for  a  liquid  poison.  He  also  stated,  that  a  new 
arrangement  of  the  hearth  tax  would  form  part  of  the  financial  system.  The 
session  before,  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  eVse  poor  housekeepers  of  this 
burthensome  tax ;  but  such  perplexing  f ormalitiiSg  had  been  established,  that 
many  people  had  continued  to  pay  the  tax,  rathcr  than  take  the  necessary 
trouble  for  procuring  the  remission ;  this  year,  it  was  determined  to  exempt, 
absolutely  and  unconditionally,  all  houses  having  but  one  hearth.  The  tax, 
however,  upon  leather  was  continued  from  the  preceding  session,  although  it 
was  strongly  resisted,  as  oppressive  to  the  poor,  by  Mr.  Duquery,  who  sug- 
gested, in  lieu  of  it,  two  shillings  in  the  pound  on  all  pensions,  salaries,  fees, 
perquisites,  etc.  This  conduct  was  pointedly  reprobated  both  by  Mr.  George 
Ponsonby  and  Mr.  Grattan ;  by  the  latter,  with  an  irritation  such  as  he  has 
more  than  once  manifested,  during  his  short  connections  with  the  Government. 
Mr.  Duquery,  however,  continued  his  opposition,  and  on  a  subsequent  night 
proposed,  as  a  commutation,  a  tax  on  absentees,  which  was  supported  by  Sir 
Lawrence  Parsons,  but  rejected  by  the  House. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  February,  the  new  Administration  brought  forward 
their  proposed  regulations  of  the  treasury  board.  Lord  Milton  obtained  leave 
to  introduce  a  bill  on  that  subject,  founded  on  some  resolutions  proposed  by 
Mr.  Forbes,  the  scope  of  which  was,  to  give  to  the  Irish  board  an  equally 
efficient  control  with  that  possessed  by  the  Board  of  Treasury  in  England ; 
to  compel  the  payment  of  balances  by  public  officers,  to  exclude  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  treasury  from  sitting  in  Parliament ;  to  establish  in  correspondent 
officers  the  mutual  checks  and  control  with  which  the  auditor,  clerk  of  the 
rolls  and  teller  of  the  exchequer  in  England  are  vested ;  and  that  all  money 
arising  from  the  receipt  of  the  revenues  should  be  paid  into  the  bank  of  Ire- 
land. On  the  following  day,  Mr.  Grattan  suggested  the  propriety  of  revising 
the  revenue  laws,  and  bringing  the  whole  code  within  the  compass  of  one 
consistent  act. 

But  now  the  differences  which  had  arisen  between  the  English  and  Irish 
governments  were  made  public.  What  was  the  motive  for  the  change  in 
the  British  councils  has  given  rise  to  various  surmises.  The  ostensible  reason 
was  a  difference  of  opinion  respecting  Catholic  affairs.  Lord  Fitzwilliam, 
however,  has  uniformly  denied  that  they  were  the  real  motives  for  his  recall. 
Mr.  George  Ponsonby,  too,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  declared  upon  his 
honor  as  a  gentleman,  that  in  his  opinion,  the  Catholic  question  had  no  more 
to  do  with  the  recall  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  than  Lord  Macartney's  embassy  to 


Beresford  Goes  to  London 


127 


China.  "Lord  Fitzwilliam  was  to  be  recalled,"  said  he,  "and  this  was  con- 
sidered as  the  most  important  pretext  for  the  measure".  Those  who  do  not 
suspect  from  Mr.  Pitt's  cautious  reserve,  while  the  arrangements  were  under 
discussion,  a  preconcerted  design  to  be  executed  as  soon  as  the  supplies  were 
voted,  and  his  lordship  with  his  friends  disgraced  by  having  entered  into  the 
coalition,  attribute  the  change  to  the  successful  representations  of  Mr.  Beres- 
ford. 

That  gentleman,  perceiving  the  blow  that  was  aimed  against  himself  and 
his  connections,  did  not  foolishly  waste  his  time  in  the  antechamber  of  the 
Castle,  or  on  the  Opposition  benches  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  repaired 
to  London,  and  there,  it  is  presumed,  set  before  the  highest  authority  the 
ingratitude  of  ministry,  and  the  services  of  himself  and  family.  They  had 
been  faithful  servants  for  many  years,  during  which  time  they  could  never 
be  reproached  with  a  murmur  of  disapprobation,  or  an  expression  of  unwil- 
lingness, in  undertaking  anything  for  the  advantage  of  England.  They  had 
adhered  to  their  sovereign  in  the  trying  crisis  of  the  regency,  and  had  not 
turned,  like  some  of  his  newly-adopted  friends,  to  worship  the  rising 
sun.  The  situation  of  Ireland,  too,  and  the  temper  of  the  times,  Mr. 
Beresford  perhaps  alleged,  were  such  as  should  make  every  kind  of  re- 
form, and  of  course,  his  dismissal,  be  resisted.  The  debate  of  the 
ninth  of  February  may  likewise  have  afforded  ample  room  for  awaken- 
ing fears  and  exciting  indignation ;  Mr.  Grattan  and  Mr.  Ponsonby 
appeared  to  have  pledged  themselves,  at  least  by  implication,  to  a  reform 
in  Parliament,  which  it  was  the  firm  intention  of  the  English  ministers  to  with- 
stand, and  to  a  repeal  of  the  Convention  Bill,  which  had  enabled  Government 
to  stifle  all  expressions  of  discontent  in  Ireland.  The  Catholic  Bill  may,  under 
this  point  of  view,  have  had  its  influence:  it  may  have  been  represented  as 
creating  disaffection  in  the  Protestant  mind,  as  inconsistent  with  the  con- 
nection and  contrary  to  the  coronation  oath.  It  is  not  improbable,  too,  that 
in  this  interview,  some  suggestions  may  have  proceeded  from  that  gentleman, 
which  gave  rise  to  the  discovery  mentioned  in  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  letter,  that 
deferring  that  measure  would  be  the  means  of  doing  a  greater  service  to  the 
British  empire  than  it  had  been  capable  of  receiving  since  the  union  with 
Scotland.  Whether  these  surmises  are  just,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  ascertain; 
but  perhaps  the  disagreement  between  the  two  governments  ought  to  be 
ascribed  to  a  coincidence  of  Mr.  Beresford's  exertions  with  the  deliberate 
resolutions  of  some  of  the  British  Cabinet  and  the  weakness  of  others.  A 
favorable  pretext  for  carrying  the  consequences  of  that  coincidence  into  effect, 
was  afforded  by  the  equivocal  conduct  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  and  his  friends; 
for  while  the  former  appeared,  in  his  correspondence,  to  wish  it  had  been 
practicable  to  keep  back  the  Catholic  claims,  and  thus  abandoned  whatever 
there  was  of  positive  stipulation,  on  his  part,  for  their  being  settled  the  very 
first  session,  his  friends  were  giving  explicit  assurances  and  effectual  assistance 
to  the  Catholics  in  bringing  them  forward. 

When  the  disagreement  and  its  probable  consequences  were  known,  grief 


128 


Widespread  Discontent 


and  consternation  seized  upon  all  who  had  flattered  themselves,  that  the  meas- 
ures of  His  Excellency's  administration  were  to  redress  the  grievances,  remove 
the  discontents,  and  work  for  the  salvation  of  Ireland.  The  event  was  also 
a  subject  of  regret  to  those  who,  though  they  knew  and  did  not  disapprove 
of  the  irresistible  progress  with  which  men's  minds  were  advancing  to  ulterior 
objects,  yet  wished  to  pass  the  intermediate  period  of  expectation  under  an 
ameliorated  system.  The  active  republicans  and  new  United  Irishmen,  how- 
ever, were  not  sorry  that  the  fallacy  of  ill-founded  political  hopes  had  been 
so  speedily  exposed,  and  they  rejoiced  that  the  agitation  and  controversies 
which  were  springing  up  would  so  entiri\ry  engross  the  attention  of  their 
opulent,  interested  and  ambitious  adversaries,  as  that  they  and  their  proceed- 
ings would  pass  unnoticed.  They  well  knew  that,  in  the  midst  of  disputes  for 
power,  places  and  emoluments,  neither  the  great  nor  their  connections  would 
condescend  to  bestow  a  thought  upon  despised  malcontents,  or  the  advances 
of  an  obscure  system.  They,  therefore,  not  unwillingly  assisted  in  keeping  the 
attention  of  Government,  and  of  the  higher  ranks,  occupied  with  party  con- 
tests, and  even  themselves  yielded  to  that  indignation  which  disinterested  spec- 
tators naturally  feel  at  the  commission  of  a  perfidy  and  injustice. 

Thus  a  very  general  expression  of  popular  dissatisfaction  was  produced 
by  the  rumored  recall  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  February,  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons  and  Mr.  Duquery,  who 
had,  in  some  instances,  opposed  the  measures  of  his  administration,  were  the 
foremost  to  prove  their  sorrow  and  alarm,  by  moving  and  seconding  an  ad- 
dress to  His  Excellency,  imploring  his  continuance  in  the  country.  This  was 
withdrawn  at  the  earnest  request  of  Mr.  George  Ponsonby.  On  the  second 
of  March,  Sir  Lawrence  moved  to  limit  the  money  bills  to  two  months,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  conduct  of  the  British  Cabinet ;  but  Lord  Milton  and  Mr. 
George  Ponsonby  deprecated  the  measure,  and  after  a  long  debate  it  was 
rejected.  The  House  of  Commons,  however,  unanimously  resolved,  that  His 
Excellency  had,  by  his  conduct  since  his  arrival,  merited  the  thanks  of  the 
House  and  the  confidence  of  the  people. 

Out  of  Parliament  the  discontent  was  more  manifested.  The  Catholics 
from  every  part  of  Ireland,  had  petitioned  for  a  repeal  of  the  remaining  Popery 
Laws ;  not  because  they  felt  any  extensive  interest,  or  great  anxiety,  that  their 
rich  merchants  and  landed  gentlemen  should  have  an  opportunity  of  selling 
themselves,  in  a  corrupt  Parliament,  or  of  acquiring  high  offices  and  commis- 
sions, which  could  afford  no  benefit  to  the  poor  or  middling  classes ;  but  these 
laws  were  a  violation  of  rights,  a  remaining  badge  of  inferiority,  and  a  leaven 
for  fermenting  religious  differences.  The  Catholics,  therefore,  felt  affection 
and  gratitude  to  His  Excellency  for  his  intentions  in  their  favor,  and  a  strong 
sense  of  insult  offered  to  themselves  when  they  found  those  intentions  made 
the  pretext  for  his  recall. 

Those  of  that  religion  in  Dublin,  impelled  by  such  feelings,  assembled  on 
the  twenty-seventh,  the  second  day  after  the  disagreement  was  made  public, 
and  voted  a  petition  to  the  king,  on  the  subject  of  their  own  claims,  and  for 


Appointment  of  Camden 


129 


the  continuance  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  in  his  office.  This,  from  motives  of 
delicacy,  they  forwarded  by  delegates.  It  is,  however,  not  unworthy  of  re- 
mark, that  they  appointed  as  secretary  to  this  delegation,  Mr.  Tone,  whose 
talents  and  services  to  their  cause,  were  unquestionably  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, but  whose  connection  with  Mr.  Jackson  and  whose  intentions  with 
regard  to  France  were  matters  of  public  notoriety.  The  Catholics  in  most 
parts  of  the  kingdom  met  and  by  resolutions  or  addresses  expressed  the  same 
sentiments. 

The  Protestants,  too,  assembled  extensively,  and  as  warmly  spoke  their 
indignation  at  what  they  considered  ministerial  treachery  and  a  public  calamity. 
The  freemen  and  freeholders  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  like  the  Catholics,  agreed 
to  a  petition  to  the  king,  and  transmitted  it  by  delegates.  The  merchants  and 
traders  of  that  city,  with  Mr.  Abraham  Wilkinson,  the  then  governor  of  the 
Bank  of  Ireland,  at  their  head,  expressed  their  sorrow  at  the  rumored  recall 
of  His  Excellency,  and  their  entire  concurrence  in  the  removal  of  all  religious 
disabilities. 

The  corporation,  indeed,  faithful  to  its  principles,  raised  its  voice  against 
the  Catholic  claims ;  but  this  measure  of  monopoly  experienced  a  more  for- 
midable opposition  than  could  have  been  expected  in  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Protestant  Ascendancy.  Many  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  such  as  the  Coun- 
ties of  Kildare,  Wexford,  Antrim,  Londonderry,  etc.,  followed  the  example 
of  the  freemen  and  freeholders  in  the  capital ;  and  the  same  sentiments  seemed 
to  pervade  every  part  of  the  kingdom. 

But  whatever  were  the  motives  for  recalling  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  they  had 
more  weight  in  the  British  Cabinet  than  those  expressions  of  dissatisfaction 
on  the  part  of  the  Irish  people.  As  the  noble  viceroy  still  continued  to  main- 
tain the  measures  he  had  adopted  for  the  government  of  Ireland,  a  cabinet 
council  was  held  on  the  tenth  of  March,  in  which  the  Duke  of  Portland,  who 
had  been  himself  almost  determined  to  enter  in  person  upon  a  crusade,  against 
what  he  did  not  hesitate  to  call  the  execrable  system  by  which  that  country 
was  ruled,  concurred  in  the  vote,  and  submitted  to  be  the  official  instrument 
of  transmitting  the  letters,  recalling  his  second  self,  his  nearest  and  dearest 
friend — whom  he  had  persuaded  to  accept  the  Irish  government,  and  to  whom 
he  had  committed  the  important  office  of  reforming  the  manifold  abuses  in  that 
government.  Earl  Camden  was  appointed  his  successor,  and  sworn  in  the 
next  day.    He  arrived  in  Dublin  and  assumed  his  office  on  the  thirty-first. 

The  expression  of  dissatisfaction  was  not  repressed  in  Ireland,  even  by  its 
being  known  that  the  determination  of  the  Cabinet  was  fixed  and  irrevocable. 
Resolutions  of  sorrow  and  regret  were  now  as  general,  as  had  been  petitions 
and  addresses.  The  workings  of  discontent  appeared  also,  from  certain  minute 
traits,  to  be  leading  to  an  extensive  adoption,  or  at  least  to  a  covert  approba- 
tion, of  the  United  Irish  system.  The  words  "union  of  the  people",  "united 
with  our  brethren",  are  everywhere  studiously  introduced,  and  almost  always 
distinguished  by  capitals  or  italics. 

The  Catholics  of  Dublin  met  on  the  ninth  of  April,  to  receive  the  report 


130 


Catholic  Resolutions 


of  their  delegates;  and  their  resolutions  would  not  afford  an  unfair  inference 
of  the  sentiments  entertained  by  the  generality  of  their  persuasion.  They 
unanimously  thanked  Mr.  Tone  for  the  many  important  services  he  had  ren- 
dered to  the  Catholic  body :  "services",  which  they  truly  declared,  "no  gratitude 
could  overrate,  and  no  remuneration  could  overpay". 

We  derive  consolation,  said  they,  under  the  loss  which  we  all  sustain  by  the 
removal  of  the  late  popular  administration,  in  contemplating  the  rising  spirit  of  harmony 
and  co-operation  among  all  sects  and  descriptions  of  Irishmen,  so  rapidly  accelerated 
by  that  event;  and  we  do  most  earnestly  recommend  to  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  to 
cultivate,  by  all  possible  means,  the  friendship  and  affection  of  their  Protestant  brethren; 
satisfied  as  we  are,  that  national  union  is  national  strength,  happiness  and  prosperity. 

Referring  to  passages  in  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  letters,  which  appeared  to 
imply  an  intimation  from  the  Cabinet  that,  if  the  repeal  of  the  remaining 
Popery  Laws  was  then  withheld,  it  might,  at  a  future  opportunity,  be  used 
as  the  means  of  procuring  a  legislative  union  between  the  two  countries,  they 
unanimously  adopted  the  following  resolution : 

That  we  are  sincerely  and  unalterably  attached  to  the  rights,  liberties  and  independ- 
ence of  our  native  country;  and  we  pledge  ourselves,  collectively  and  individually  to  re- 
sist even  our  own  emancipation,  if  proposed  to  be  conceded  upon  the  ignominious  terms 
of  an  acquiescence  in  the  fatal  measure  of  an  union  with  the  sister  kingdom. 

If  these  resolutions  had  stood  in  need  of  interpretation,  they  would  have 
received  it,  from  the  eloquent  and  daring  speeches  that  were  made  at  that 
day's  meeting,  by  men,  some  of  whose  names  are  now  well  known  to  the 
public.  Among  the  most  conspicuous  speakers  were  Dr.  Ryan  (who  died 
shortly  afterwards,  deeply  deplored  as  a  national  loss,  by  those  who  knew  his 
talents  and  worth),  Dr.  MacNeven  and  Mr.  Keogh. 

Another  incident  also  signalized  that  day,  and  was  peculiarly  characteristic 
of  the  public  sentiment.  It  has  been  the  constant  custom  with  the  University 
of  Dublin,  to  present  addresses  of  congratulation  to  every  newly-arrived  chief 
governor:  that  day  was  appointed  for  presenting  their  offering  to  Lord  Cam- 
den. While  the  procession  was  on  its  way  the  students,  as  if  with  one  consent, 
broke  off,  and  left  the  provost  and  fellows  to  make  what  appearance  before 
His  Excellency  they  might  think  fit,  while  they  themselves  turned  into  a 
coffee-house  at  the  Castle  gate,  and  there  prepared  an  address  to  Mr.  Grattan, 
approving  of  his  public  character  and  conduct.  This  they  presented  directly ; 
and  having  done  so,  they  repaired  in  a  body  to  Francis  Street  chapel,  where 
the  Catholics  were  assembled.  They  entered  while  Mr.  Keogh  was  speaking; 
and  that  ready  as  well  as  able  orator  instantly  seized  the  incident,  and  hallowed 
the  omen.  They  were  received  with  the  most  marked  respect  and  affection; 
the  Catholics  taking  that  opportunity  of  showing  that  the  language  of  union 
and  brotherly  love,  which  they  were  uttering,  only  expressed  the  sentiments 
nearest  their  hearts.. 

If  the  discontent  that  was  raised  by  the  recall  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  proved 
conducive  to  the  views  of  the  republicans  and  United  Irishmen,  their  cause 


Jackson's  Trial  and  Death 


was  still  further  promoted  by  the  entire  development  of  what  were  to  have 
been  the  measures  of  his  administration.  These  were  enumerated  by  Mr. 
Grattan,  when  moving,  on  the  twenty-first  of  April,  for  a  committee  to  inquire 
into  the  state  of  the  nation.    Besides  the  Catholic  Bill,  he  stated: 

That  this  administration  had  paid  attention  to  the  poverty  of  the  people,  by  plans 
for  relieving  the  poor  from  hearth-money:  had  paid  attention  to  their  morals,  by  a 
plan  increasing  the  duty  on  spirits;  had  paid  attention  to  their  health,  by  proposing  a 
plan  to  take  off  all  duties  on  beer  and  ale;  that  a  plan  for  education  had  been  intended; 
that  a  more  equal  trade  between  the  two  countries  had  not  escaped  their  attention ; 
that  an  odious  and  expensive  institution,  that  obtained  under  color  of  protecting  the 
city  by  a  bad  police,  was  abandoned  by  that  government,  and  a  bill  prepared  for  correct- 
ing the  same;  that  a  Responsibility  Bill  had  been  introduced;  and  a  bill  to  account  for 
the  public  money  by  new  checks,  and  in  a  constitutional  manner  had  been  introduced 
by  persons  connected  with  that  government;  that  it  was  in  contemplation  to  submit  for 
consideration  some  further  regulations  for  the  better  accounting  of  the  public  money, 
and  for  the  better  collection  of  the  revenue. 

But  not  a  word  of  reform  in  Parliament,  of  a  repeal  of  the  Convention  Bill, 
or  of  a  mitigation  of  the  strong  measures  by  which  the  former  administration 
had  coerced  the  people.  Indeed  Colonel  Stewart  (since  Lord  Castlereagh), 
deprecating  such  measures,  explicitly  asked  whether  the  late  ministers,  had 
they  remained,  would  have  supported  a  parliamentary  reform,  or  a  repeal 
of  the  Convention  Bill ;  and  Mr.  Archdall  said  that  everybody  knew  it  was  Lord 
Fitzwilliam's  fixed  determination  to  oppose  every  tendency  to  what  was  called 
parliamentary  reform.  Such  queries  and  observations  being  suffered  to  pass 
without  reply,  it  was  clear  that  those  measures,  to  which  many  considered  that 
administration  as  bound,  were  never  in  its  contemplation.  The  objects  which 
it  proposed  to  accomplish,  were  urged  as  proofs,  that  it  was  the  best  govern- 
ment Ireland  could  possibly  hope  for,  in  the  present  order  of  things ;  and  those 
to  which  its  professed  principles  would  have  seemed  to  lead  it,  but  which,  not- 
withstanding apparent  pledges,  it  was  forced,  by  the  very  nature  of  its  sub- 
ordinate situation,  to  relinquish,  were  coupled  with  the  measure,  in  which  it 
was  thwarted  and  perhaps  duped,  to  show  to  persons  who  wished  to  advance 
no  further  than  reform  and  constitutional  redress,  that  those  things  were 
rendered  absolutely  unattainable  by  the  connection  with  Great  Britain. 

Mr.  Jackson's  trial  for  high  treason  came  on  upon  the  twenty-third  of 
April,  and  he  was  convicted  on  the  evidence  of  Cockayne :  he  did  not,  however, 
suffer  the  penalties  of  the  law,  for  a  few  days  after,  previous  to  his  being 
brought  up  to  receive  sentence,  he  contrived  to  swallow  a  large  dose  of  arsenic. 
The  firmness  with  which  he  bore  the  excruciating  pains  of  that  poison  was 
very  remarkable.  A  motion  in  arrest  of  judgment  was  to  be  made;  but  it  is 
manifest  he  entertained  no  hope  of  its  success,  and  only  wished  it  might  con- 
tinue, until  he  should  have  escaped  from  all  earthly  tribunals.  He  concealed 
the  pangs  he  was  suffering  so  well,  that,  when  he  was  called  upon  to  know 
what  he  had  to  say,  why  sentence  of  death  should  not  pass  upon  him,  though 
at  the  time  actually  unable  to  speak,  with  a  smiling  and  unembarrassed  air,  he 
bowed  and  pointed  to  his  counsel.   His  fortitude  did  not  fail  him  to  the  last ; 


132 


The  Covenanters 


for  it  was  scarcely  suspected  by  the  spectators  that  he  was  ill,  until  he  fell 
down  in  the  agonies  of  death,  in  the  midst  of  his  counsel's  argument. 

This  man  possessed  distinguished  talents  and  acquirements ;  and  the  fol- 
lowing anecdote  shows  that  he  entertained  a  high  sense  of  honor.  While  he 
was  preparing  for  his  trial,  and  was  fully  apprized  of  what  would  most  prob- 
ably be  its  ultimate  issue,  a  friend  was,  by  the  kindness  of  the  jailor,  permitted 
to  remain  with  him  until  a  very  late  hour  at  night,  on  business.  After  the 
consultation  had  ended,  Dr.  Jackson  accompanied  his  friend  to  the  outward 
door  of  his  prison,  which  was  locked,  the  key  remaining  in  the  door,  and  the 
keeper  in  a  very  profound  sleep,  probably  oppressed  with  wine.  There  could 
have  been  no  difficulty  in  his  effecting  an  escape,  even  subsequent  to  the  de- 
parture of  his  friend,  and  without  his  consent,  but  he  adopted  a  different  con- 
duct ;  he  locked  the  door  after  his  guest,  awoke  the  keeper,  gave  him  the  key, 
and  returned  to  his  apartment.  During  his  imprisonment  he  wrote  and  pub- 
lished a  learned  and  able  answer  to  Paine's  "Age  of  Reason" ;  and  after  his 
death  various  prayers  and  homilies  of  his  own  composition  were  found  in  his 
pocket.  His  funeral  was  attended  by  numbers,  even  of  a  respectable  rank  of 
life,  who,  though  they  had  been  unconnected  with  him  while  living,  dared  to 
give  this  presumptive  proof,  that  they  were  friendly  to  his  mission. 

The  publicity  which  this  trial  gave  to  the  schemes  of  the  French,  coincided 
aptly  with  the  extension  of  the  new  United  Irish  system.  From  the  very  out- 
set of  that  organization,  a  French  invasion  was  deemed  by  its  members,  if  not 
absolutely  necessary,  at  least  very  advisable  to  the  accomplishment  of  their 
objects.  That  trial  reminded  them  afresh  that  such  a  measure  had  been  con- 
templated, and  they  imagined  it  had  become  more  easy,  after  Jackson's  arrest, 
by  the  conquest  of  Holland  in  the  intermediate  winter,  and  by  the  possession 
of  the  Dutch  fleet. 

The  United  Irishmen  were  at  this  time  beginning  to  spread  very  rapidly  in 
the  Counties  of  Down  and  Antrim,  and  the  effects  of  their  system  might  easily 
be  traced  by  the  brotherhood  of  affection,  which,  pursuant  to  the  words  of  their 
test,  it  produced  among  Irishmen  of  every  religious  persuasion.  Men  who 
had  previously  been  separated  by  sectarial  abhorrence,  were  now  joined  to- 
gether in  cordial  and  almost  incredible  amity.  Of  this,  perhaps,  no  instance 
more  remarkable  can  be  conceived,  than  the  conduct  of  the  Covenanters,  a  sect 
still  numerous  in  those  two  counties.  By  all  the  prejudices  of  birth  and 
education,  they  appeared  removed  to  the  utmost  possible  extreme,  from  any 
kind  of  co-operation  or  intercourse  with  Catholics.  Their  adherence  to  the 
Solemn  League  and  Convenant,  bound  them  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
Reformation  in  England,  and  Ireland,  "according  to  the  word  of  God,  and  the 
example  of  the  best  Reformed  Churches" ;  while  the  traditional  notions,  which 
they  inherited  were,  that  the  Reformation  could  only  be  brought  about  by 
coercion  and  penal  laws.  They  were,  however,  lovers  of  liberty"  and  republi- 
cans by  religion  and  descent ;  their  concurrence  in  the  general  system  was, 
therefore,  not  unimportant.  To  this  effect,  it  was  laid  before  them  that  per- 
secution, in  itself  unjust,  had  been  also  found  insufficient  for  reclaiming  Cath- 


Their  Reception  of  Quigley 


133 


olics ;  that  the  desired  Reformation  could  only  be  accomplished  by  the  efforts 
of  reason,  which  would  be  best  promoted  by  mixing  with  the  misled,  and 
gradually  convincing  them  of  their  errors ;  that  affection  worked  more  strongly 
upon  ignorance  and  obstinacy  than  hatred ;  and  that  in  doing  justice  to  those 
men,  by  permitting  to  them  the  enjoyment  of  all  their  rights,  the  object  of  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant  would  not  be  in  the  least  counteracted,  and  the 
cause  of  liberty  (for  which  an  almost  equal  enthusiasm  was  felt),  would  be 
exceedingly  promoted.  Arguments  so  appropriate  and  just  were  too  strong 
for  prejudice.  Covenanters  in  numbers  became  United  Irishmen,  and  the  most 
active  promoters  of  the  system.  After  this  had  gone  on  for  some  time  among 
them,  Quigley,  a  Catholic  priest  (whose  name  is  since  well  known  from  his 
trial  and  conviction  at  Maidstone),  went  to  a  part  of  the  country  where  they 
were  settled,  and  was  introduced  as  a  fellow-laborer  in  the  common  cause. 
The  affection  which  these  poor  men  showed  to  one,  whom,  shortly  before,  they 
would  perhaps  have  regarded  as  a  demon,  was  truly  astonishing.  Intelligence 
was  dispatched  to  every  part,  of  his  arrival,  and  from  every  part  they  crowded 
to  receive  and  caress  him.  But  when  they  learned  that  this  Romish  priest  was 
so  sincere  a  lover  of  liberty,  as  to  have  been  actually  fighting  at  the  capture  of 
the  Bastile,  their  joy  was  almost  extravagant. 

Such  were  the  efforts  of  this  new  system,  as  far  as  it  had  extended,  while 
the  zeal  of  its  members  was  overcoming  every  other  obstacle,  and  establishing 
it  in  every  direction.  It  was  almost  entirely  destitute  of  funds  by  which  mer- 
cenary assistance  could  be  procured ;  but  numbers  were  found  ready  to  quit 
their  daily  occupations  and  go  on  missions  to  different  parts  of  the  North. 

As  secrecy  was  one  of  its  vital  principles,  care  was  taken,  from  the  very 
beginning,  to  guard  against  large  meetings,  by  an  arrangement  that  no  society 
should  consist  of  more  than  thirty-six,  and  that  when  it  amounted  to  that 
number,  it  should  split  into  two  societies  of  eighteen  each,  the  members  to  be 
drawn  by  lot,  unless  in  country  places,  where  they  might  divide  according  to 
local  situation ;  they  were  connected  together  and  kept  up  their  occasional  com- 
munication by  delegates.  As  they  were  now  become  very  numerous,  particu- 
larly in  the  County  of  Antrim,  it  was  found  necessary  to  form  a  general  system 
of  delegation,  on  a  scale  sufficiently  large  for  their  growing  importance,  and  even 
capable  of  comprehending  every  possible  increase.  Accordingly,  delegates  were 
expressly  appointed  from  almost  every  existing  society,  and  the  representatives 
of  seventy-two  met,  for  that  purpose,  at  Belfast,  on  the  tenth  of  May,  1795. 
In  addition  to  what  they  found  already  established,  respecting  individual  so- 
cieties, they  framed  a  system  of  committees,  and  thus  completed  the  original 
constitution  of  the  new  United  Irishmen,  a  brief  abstract  of  which  is  as 
follows : 

It  first  states  the  object  of  the  institution  to  be,  to  forward  a  brotherhood 
of  affection,  a  communion  of  rights,  and  an  union  of  power,  among  Irishmen 
of  every  religious  persuasion,  and  thereby  to  obtain  a  complete  reform  in 
the  legislature,  founded  on  the  principles  of  civil,  political  and  religious  liberty. 
It  then  proceeds  to  the  rules  of  individual  societies,  such  as  the  admission  of 


134 


Constitution  of  Irish  Union 


members  by  ballot;  the  raising  of  a  fund  by  monthly  subscriptions;  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  secretary  and  treasurer  by  ballot,  once  every  three  months; 
the  election  by  ballot  of  two  members  from  each  society,  who  with  the  secre- 
tary were  to  represent  it  in  a  baronial  committee,  the  regulation  of  some  minor 
internal  affairs ;  the  taking  of  the  test  by  every  newly-elected  member,  in  a 
separate  apartment,  in  the  presence  of  the  persons  who  proposed  and  seconded 
him,  and  of  a  member  appointed  by  the  chairman ;  after  which  he  was  to  be 
brought  into  the  body  of  the  society,  where  he  was  again  to  take  it  publicly ; 
the  splitting  of  every  society  amounting  in  numbers  to  thirty-six,  into  two 
equal  parts ;  the  eighteen  names  drawn  by  lot  were  to  be  the  senior  society, 
and  its  delegates  were  to  procure  from  the  baronial  committee  a  number  for 
the  junior,  according  to  which  it  was  to  be  classed  and  recognized,  and  its 
delegates  received  by  that  committee ;  no  society  was  to  be  recognized  by  any 
committee,  unless  approving  of  and  taking  the  test,  and  amounting  to  seven 
members ;  lastly  was  laid  down  the  order  of  business  at  each  meeting.  From 
these  societies  committees  took  their  origin,  in  an  ascending  series ;  the  baro- 
nials  consisted  of  their  immediate  delegates.  When  any  barony  or  other  district 
should  contain  three  or  more  societies,  it  was  determined  that  three  members 
from  each,  appointed  as  already  mentioned,  were  to  form  a  baronial  for  three 
months.  In  order  to  preserve  the  necessary  connection  between  all  the  parts, 
no  committee  in  any  new  barony  or  district  could  act  until  properly  constituted : 
for  that  purpose  the  secretary  of  the  senior  society  was  to  request  a  deputation 
from  the  nearest  baronial  to  constitute  a  committee  for  that  barony  or  district. 
When  the  number  of  societies  in  any  barony  amounted  to  eight,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  committee's  becoming  too  numerous  it  had  a  right  to  form 
another  baronial ;  but  each  was  to  represent  at  least  three  societies.  That  none 
might  be  unrepresented,  baronials  were  empowered  to  receive  delegates  from 
the  societies  of  a  contiguous  barony,  which  did  not  contain  three.  The 
baronials  were  also  to  correspond  with  societies  or  with  individuals,  who  had 
been  duly  qualified  as  United  Irishmen ;  and  any  business  originating  in  one 
society,  should,  at  the  instance  of  its  delegates,  be  laid  by  the  baronial  before 
the  others.  The  county  committees  were  to  be  formed  when  any  county  had 
three  or  more  baronials,  by  two  persons  from  each,  to  be  chosen  by  ballot  for 
three  months:  and  until  that  took  place,  the  existing  baronial  in  any  county 
had  liberty  to  send  delegates  to  the  adjacent  county  committee.  Provincials 
were  in  like  manner  to  take  place,  when  two  or  more  counties  in  a  province 
had  their  committees,  by  three  from  each,  also  chosen  for  three  months  by 
ballot ;  and  where  a  provincial  was  not  yet  constituted,  the  county  committees 
were  to  send  delegates  to  the  nearest  provincial.  The  national  committee  was 
to  consist  of  five  delegates  from  each  provincial.  The  names  of  committee 
men  were  not  to  be  known  by  any  person  but  those  who  elected  them. 

Whoever  reflects  on  this  constitution  for  a  moment,  will  perceive  that  it 
was  prepared  with  the  most  important  views.  It  formed  a  gradually  extending 
representative  system,  founded  on  universal  suffrage,  and  frequent  elections. 
It  was  fitted  to  a  barony,  county  or  province,  while  the  organization  was  con- 


Who  were  the  United  Irishmen? 


135 


fined  within  those  limits;  but  if  the  whole  nation  adopted  the  system,  it  fur- 
nished a  national  government. 

The  tenth  of  May,  1795,  therefore,  produced  the  most  important  conse- 
quences to  Ireland,  and  such  as  will  be  remembered  by  the  latest  posterity. 
Curiosity  will  naturally  be  solicitous  to  learn,  who  and  what  manner  of  men 
they  were,  that  dared  to  harbor  such  comprehensive  and  nearly  visionary  ideas. 
They  were  almost  universally  farmers,  manufacturers  and  shopkeepers,  the 
representatives  of  men  certainly  not  superior  to  themselves ;  but  they  and  their 
constituents  were  immovable  republicans.  After  the  business,  for  which  they 
had  been  deputed,  was  finished,  the  person  whom  they  had  appointed  their 
chairman,  stated  that  they  had  undertaken  no  light  matter ;  that  it  was  advisable 
to  be  ascertained  whether  their  pursuits  and  objects  were  the  same;  and  that 
he  would,  therefore,  with  the  permission  of  the  meeting,  ask  every  delegate 
what  were  his  views,  and  as  he  apprehended,  those  of  his  society.  This  being 
done,  every  individual  answered  in  his  turn,  a  republican  government,  with 
separation  from  England,  and  assigned  his  reasons  for  those  views. 

Statesmen  and  historians  have  been,  perhaps  at  all  times,  too  much  inclined 
to  characterize  the  people  as  a  blind,  unthinking  mass ;  and  to  attribute  its 
movements  to  the  skill  and  artifice  of  a  few  factious  demagogues,  whom  they 
suppose  able,  by  false  pretences,  to  excite  or  still  at  pleasure,  the  popular  storm. 
In  the  present  instance  it  is  unquestionably  a  mistake,  which  has  led  to  many 
erroneous  conclusions,  and  even  to  some  false  steps,  to  imagine  that  the  people 
were  deluded  into  the  United  Irish  system,  by  ambitious  leaders,  who  held  out 
as  a  pretence,  Catholic  Emancipation  and  parliamentary  reform.  These  were 
very  seriously  pursued,  until  the  first  was  to  a  great  degree  acquired,  and  the 
attainment  of  the  last  became  desperate.  From  this  despair,  and  the  measures 
that  produced  it,  arose  a  change  of  objects;  but  it  arose  with  the  people  them- 
selves. In  Ireland  the  Catholics  in  general,  particularly  the  poor,  had  long 
entertained  a  rooted  wish  for  separation,  which  they  considered  as  synonymous 
with  national  independence.  The  desire  for  this  and  the  more  modern  spirit 
of  republicanism,  having  been  equally  the  result  of  undoubted  grievances  and 
protracted  sufferings,  sprung  up  principally  where  those  grievances  were  most 
oppressive  and  longest  endured — with  the  lowest  orders,  whose  experience 
and  feeling  supplied  the  place  of  learning  and  reflection.  As  the  United  Irish 
system  ascended  into  the  upper  ranks,  it  engulfed  into  it,  numbers  who  after- 
wards indeed  appeared  as  leaders ;  but  while  these  men  were  ignorant  of  that 
system,  and  very  earnestly  aiming  at  reform,  multitudes  of  the  people,  whom 
they  are  supposed  to  have  deluded,  were  as  earnestly  intent  upon  a  republic : 
and  even  after  they  coincided  in  endeavoring  for  that  form  of  government, 
they  would,  perhaps,  have  been  more  ready  than  their  poorer  associates  to 
abandon  the  pursuit,  if  reform  had  been  granted. 

In  the  meantime,  Parliament  was  occupied  with  measures  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent nature  and  importance,  from  those  just  described:  its  attention  was 
engaged  in  discussing  the  motives  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  recall,  and  in  adopting 
or  rejecting  the  proposed  measures  of  his  administration.    The  bill  for  regu- 


136 


Arthur  O'Connor 


lating  the  treasury,  the  alteration  of  the  police  laws,  substituting  in  lieu  of  that 
institution  a  parochial  watch  for  Dublin,  as  well  as  the  regulations  restraining 
the  abuses  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  giving  encouragement  to  the  brewing 
trade,  were  allowed  to  take  effect;  the  project  of  equalizing  the  commercial 
duties  between  the  two  countries,  was  evaded  by  adjournment;  but  the  Catholic 
Bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Grattan  was  rejected  on  the  fourth  of  May.  That  ques- 
tion had  now  lost  much  of  its  public  interest,  not  only  because  its  absolute 
importance  was  little,  and  that  little  daily  vanishing,  but  also  because,  from 
the  change  of  administration,  the  urging  of  it  was  attended  with  no  prospect 
of  success.  It  served,  however,  to  produce  a  very  long  and  animated  debate 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  splendid  talents  and  argumentative  powers  of 
Mr.  Grattan  were  called  forth  again,  to  illustrate,  adorn  and  diversify  a  sub- 
ject on  which  he  had  more  than  once  bestowed  such  efforts  as  would  have 
exhausted  any  ordinary  mind. 

Opposite  in  opinions,  reasonings,  matter  and  manner  was  the  speech  of 
Dr.  Duigenan,  conceived  and  delivered  in  a  style  peculiar  to  himself. 

On  this  night  Mr.  Arthur  O'Connor  first  attracted  public  notice.  Quitting 
the  uninteresting  question  before  the  House,  and  profiting  by  a  well-known 
argument  against  the  Catholic  claims,  that  if  complied  with,  they  would  over- 
turn the  constitution  and  the  Church  Establishment,  he  took  a  bold  and  com- 
prehensive view  of  both ;  examined  what  he  alleged  to  be  the  principles  on 
which  they  were  founded,  the  corruptions  by  which  they  were  supported,  and 
the  vices  to  which  they  gave  birth :  from  thence  he  inferred,  that  if  the  pre- 
dicted subversion  were,  in  truth,  to  take  place,  great  good  to  the  whole  nation 
would  be  the  immediate  consequence.  Although  it  was  impossible  to  arrive 
at  this  conclusion,  except  by  arguments  familiar  to  all  reflecting  republicans, 
and  often,  but  covertly,  urged  in  the  "Northern  Star"  and  other  favorite  pub- 
lications, yet  this  speech  excited  the  utmost  astonishment :  partly  from  its 
ability,  partly  as  coming  from  an  unknown  man,  that  had  previously  supported 
the  measures  of  Government,  and  partly  because  it  was  spoken  within  the 
walls  of  Parliament.  It  also  procured  to  its  author  uncommon  popularity  with 
the  Irish  people,  who  are  always  ready  to  receive  with  open  arms,  a  repentant 
friend. 

The  bill  was  lost  by  155  to  84 ;  a  disparity  that  may  perhaps  excite  con- 
jecture as  to  what  the  numbers  would  have  been,  if  Lord  Fitzwilliam  had  con- 
tinued chief  governor. 

Another  question  also  relating  to  the  members  of  the  same  religion,  was 
still  in  agitation.  Dr.  Hussey  had  been  sent  over,  as  already  stated,  by  the 
British  Cabinet,  to  prepare  and  superintend  a  plan  for  educating  their  clergy, 
and  one  was  accordingly  submitted  to  Parliament.  Whatever  connection  it 
may  have  had  with  the  bargain,  said  to  have  been  entered  into  between  their 
prelates  and  Lord  Westmoreland's  administration,  it  was  highly  approved 
of  by  those  reverend  persons ;  but  a  strong  petition  was  presented  against  it 
by  a  number  of  Catholic  laymen.  Their  objections  were,  that  in  the  college, 
which  the  proposed  plan  went  to  establish,  trustees  different  from  the  prin- 


Mr.  Ottiwell  in  Contempt 


137 


cipal  and  professors  were  empowered  to  regulate  the  course  of  education,  and 
also  to  appoint  professors  and  scholars  on  the  foundation,  without  any  kind 
of  examination  into  their  merits  or  qualifications ;  and  also,  that  the  plan,  as 
far  as  it  operated,  obstructed  the  educating  together  of  Catholics  and  Prot- 
estants: the  petitioners,  therefore,  strongly  reprobated  it  as  tending  to  per- 
petuate a  line  of  separation,  which  the  interest  of  the  country  required  to  be 
obliterated,  and  as  preventing  early  habits  from  producing  a  liberal  and  friendly 
intercourse  through  life.  Such  objections  might  perhaps  have  deserved  the 
attention  of  philosophic  legislators ;  they  were,  however,  entirely  disregarded 
by  Parliament,  and  the  plan  was  adopted  without  alteration, — almost  without 
discussion  or  debate. 

The  conclusion  of  this  session  was  rendered  remarkable,  by  something 
like  impotency  or  unwillingness  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  defend  its  own 
dignity.  A  Mr.  Ottiwell,  a  subordinate  clerk  in  the  revenue,  had  proposed  to 
the  commissioners  of  wide  streets  in  Dublin,  for  a  large  quantity  of  ground, 
near  Carlisle-bridge :  his  proposal  was  accepted,  and  in  consequence  of  the 
bargain,  the  public  lost  sixty  thousand  pounds.  Some  circumstances  having 
raised  a  suspicion  that  it  was  the  result  of  fraud  and  collusion,  accomplished 
through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Beresford,  who  was  generally  believed  to  be  a 
partner  in  the  profits,  a  committee  to  enquire  into  the  transaction  was  appointed 
in  the  reforming  administration  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam.  When  that  nobleman 
was  displaced,  however,  the  Beresford  interest  having  been  restored,  Mr. 
Ottiwell  took  courage,  and  refused  to  answer  to  the  committee  certain  ques- 
tions not  tending  to  criminate  himself.  The  contempt  was  reported  to  the 
House,  and  he  was  summoned  to  the  bar.  Having  refused  there  likewise  to 
answer,  it  was  moved  to  take  him  into  custody.  This  motion  being  resisted, 
the  speaker  rose,  and  desired  that,  as  the  House  was  thin,  gentlemen  should 
not  go  away.  Instantly  above  a  dozen  members  withdrew,  as  if  they  had  con- 
ceived the  caution  to  be  a  hint ;  on  a  divison,  the  total  numbers  not  amounting 
to  forty,  the  House  was  of  course  adjourned,  and  Mr.  Ottiwell  returned  home 
unmolested.  In  two  days  after,  the  motion  was  renewed  and  carried;  but  Mr 
Ottiwell  stayed  within  doors,  and  his  servants  refused  to  let  the  sergeant-at- 
arms  see  him.  Thus  did  this  man,  who  appeared  to  be  concealing,  by  contu- 
macy, an  alleged  fraud  upon  the  public  to  the  amount  of  sixty  thousand  pounds, 
continue,  to  the  very  end  of  the  session,  to  insult  the  dignity  of  that  House, 
and  to  defy  those  privileges  which  had  so  often  stricken  terror  into  the  editors 
of  newspapers  and  others  accused  of  abusing  the  liberty  of  the  press. 

The  labors  of  Parliament  were  interrupted  by  prorogation  on  the  fifth  of 
June ;  but  the  business  of  the  United  Irishmen  had  been  carried  on,  and  still 
proceeded  without  interruption.  It  has  been  more  than  once  stated,  that  they 
were  anxious  to  procure  the  co-operation  of  France ;  and  the  circumstances 
about  to  be  detailed,  will  show  that  they  never  lost  sight  of  that  cardinal 
object.  Very  early  in  1795,  while  their  organization  extended  no  further 
than  individual  societies,  communicating  by  delegates,  they  ventured  to  appoint 
a  person  to  go  to  that  country  for  the  express  purpose  of  soliciting  an  in- 


138 


Tone  Goes  to  America 


vasion ;  his  departure,  however,  was  postponed  by  various  circumstances ;  and 
the  trial  of  Mr.  Jackson  took  place.  The  facts  that  were  disclosed  on  that 
occasion,  and  the  payment  of  the  vote  of  fifteen  hundred  pounds  by  the  Cath- 
olics, which  was  not  made  till  after  the  recall  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  determined 
Mr.  Tone  to  go  to  America.  His  talents  and  inclinations  were  indisputable; 
it  was,  therefore,  conceived  that  his  emigration  might  be  rendered  subservient 
to  the  views  of  the  United  Irishmen,  without  the  intervention  of  any  other 
agent.  At  this  time  their  system  had  reached  no  higher  than  a  committee  for 
the  County  of  Antrim.  Certain  members  of  that  committee,  having  then  cast 
their  eyes  upon  Tone,  consulted  with  confidential  friends,  not  actually  in  the 
organization,  but  with  whom  he  had  been  in  habits  of  unreserved  communica- 
tion. The  result  was,  that  after  his  arrival  at  Belfast,  on  his  way  to  America, 
perfectly  ignorant  of  the  business  and  of  the  new  system,  to  which  he  did  not 
belong,  he  was  empowered  by  those  persons,  some  of  whom  held  the  highest 
situations  at  that  time  in  the  system,  to  set  forth  to  the  French  Government, 
through  its  agent  in  America,  the  state  of  Ireland  and  its  dispositions.  For 
that  purpose,  they  were  completely  developed  to  him;  the  rising  strength  of 
the  organization  was  pointed  out;  and  also  the  great  probability  of  getting 
into  it  all  the  Defenders,  the  ground  of  which  was,  even  then,  actually  laid. 

Mr.  Tone  left  Ireland  on  the  sixteenth  of  June.  When  he  arrived  off  the 
coast  of  America,  he  was  near  having  all  his  prospects,  personal  and  political, 
blasted  by  an  outrage  which  British  ships  of  war  were  in  the  habit  of  com- 
mitting, with  impunity,  against  the  American  flag.  The  vessel  in  which  he 
took  passage  (the  "Cincinnatus"  of  Wilmington),  was  stopped  and  boarded 
by  three  English  frigates  (the  "Thetis",  the  "Hussar",,  and  the  "Esperance"), 
for  the  express  purpose  of  pressing  into  the  British  service,  such  sailors  and 
passengers  as  might  be  thought  fit.  The  party  entrusted  with  the  execution 
of  this  duty,  after  treating  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  American  ship  with 
characteristic  rudeness,  pressed  all  the  hands  but  one,  and  about  fifty  of  the 
passengers,  who  were  obviously  not  seafaring  men,  and,  were  sailing  under 
the  protection  of  a  neutral  flag.  Mr.  Tone,  on  one  occasion,  attempted  to 
interfere  in  favor  of  the  father  of  a  family  whose  wife  and  children  were  on 
board ;  but  the  only  consequence  of  his  interference  was,  that  he  himself  was 
dragged  into  the  boat,  to  be  made  a  common  sailor  in  the  British  navy. 

This  would  probably  have  been  his  fate,  but  that  the  heart  of  the  com- 
mander was  accessible  to  the  distraction  and  despair  of  a  sister,  a  wife  and 
children.  He  was  so  far  affected  by  the  screams  of  Mrs.  Tone,  by  the  agonies 
of  a  beautiful  and  interesting  female,  and  by  the  tears  and  cries  of  her  children, 
that  he  released  his  victim. 

Soon  after  Tone's  landing  in  America,  having  waited  on  Citizen  Adet, 
the  French  minister,  he  communicated  to  him  the  information  and  commis- 
sion with  which  he  was  charged,  but  had  the  mortification  to  be  very  coldly 
received. 

Those,  however,  who  deputed  him,  had  every  reason  to  be  convinced  that 
their  conduct  met  the  wishes  of  the  United  Irishmen.    Not  long  after  Tone 


Negotiations  with  France 


139 


had  left  Ireland,  a  provincial  committee  for  Ulster  was  organized,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  committees  for  the  Counties  of  Down  and  Antrim  having  been 
constituted.  As  this  provincial  was  to  meet  only  once  a  month,  and  its  mem- 
bers to  come  from  different  and  distant  parts  of  the  country,  it  determined, 
about  the  end  of  August,  to  form  a  body,  not  specified  in  the  constitution, 
which  was  called  the  executive,  because  its  duty  was  entirely  confined  within 
the  limits  denoted  by  that  term,  it  having  no  originating  power,  and  being 
totally  subservient  to  the  provincial.  During  the  intervals  of  that  committee's 
meetings,  the  executive  was  to  execute  what  had  been  ordered,  and  afterwards 
to  report  its  own  proceedings  at  the  next  opportunity.  It  was  to  be  a  watch 
upon  the  Government,  and  to  call  extra  meetings  of  the  provincial,  if  neces- 
sary. As  its  connection  was  only  with  that  committee,  its  members  were  un- 
known to  any  but  those  who  appointed  them. 

While  this  organization  was  .advancing,  the  wish  of  the  people  for  French 
alliance  developed  itself  more  and  more,  in  each  successive  stage.  At  a  county 
committee  held  in  Antrim,  during  that  summer,  a  member  from  an  obscure 
district,  proposed  it  should  be  recommended  to  the  provincial,  to  open  a  com- 
munication with  France.  This  was  unanimously  agreed  to,  and  the  recom- 
mendation transmitted  to  the  provincial,  by  whom  it  was  unanimously  adopted : 
it  was  then  given  in  charge  to  be  carried  into  effect  by  the  executive ;  which, 
thereupon,  was  informed  of  everything  that  had  been  done  respecting  Tone. 
It  therefore  did  not  think  fit  to  take  any  new  step,  further  than  causing 
fresh  advices  to  be  despatched  to  him,  setting  forth  the  state  of  Ireland  at  the 
time  of  writing;  the  risings,  prosecutions  and  convictions  at  the  assizes  in 
Leinster  and  Connaught;  the  transportation  without  trial  in  the  latter  province 
•  during  that  summer,  and  the  growing  discontents  that  were  becoming  more 
apparent  and  formidable.  He  was,  therefore,  urged  to  press,  both  on  the 
score  of  French  and  Irish  interests,  for  an  invasion.  In  consequence  of  this 
communication,  he  again  waited  on  Citizen  Adet,  whose  manner  of  reception 
was  now  entirely  changed.  That  minister  had  in  the  interval  written  home 
for  instructions,  and  the  answer  of  the  Directory  had  arrived,  ordering  him 
to  press  Tone  to  repair  to  France  without  delay.  This  was  accordingly  urged 
in  the  strongest  manner,  and  Tone  sailed  from  America  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  December.  After  a  very  quick  passage,  he  was  received  by  the  Government 
in  the  most  confidential  and  respectful  manner.  In  some  time,  and  on  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  of  him,  he  was  placed  in  the  army,  and  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  chef-de-brigade,  and  adjutant-general. 

The  statement  which  had  been  transmitted  to  him,  amply  justified  his  im- 
pressing on  the  Directory  the  magnitude  and  universality  of  popular  discontent 
in  Ireland ;  for  after  he  had  left  that  country,  insurrection  and  open  disturb- 
ances began  to  show  themselves  in  many  places,  but  particularly  in  the 
provinces  of  Leinster,  Connaught,  and  Ulster.  The  Defenders  in  the  two 
former  were  active  in  increasing  their  numbers,  and  seemed  at  length  to  imagine 
themselves  equal  to  some  great  exertion ;  they  assembled  very  frequently  in  the 
counties  near  Dublin,  especially  Meath,  and  stripped  many  houses  of  arms. 


140 


Defender  Trials 


They  appeared  in  still  greater  strength  in  the  Counties  of  Leinster,  Roscom- 
mon, and  Longford,  where  at  first  there  seemed  no  force  equal  to  resist  them. 
These  proceedings  made  the  summer  assizes  of  that  year  remarkable  for  the 
number  of  convictions  and  capital  executions.  Of  these,  the  trial  and  con- 
viction at  Naas,  in  the  County  of  Kildare,  of  Lawrence  O'Connor,  a  school- 
master, and  the  most  respectable  person,  in  point  of  rank,  that  had  been  yet 
discovered  in  the  Defender  system,  was  made  particularly  conspicuous  by  his 
firmness  and  devoted  attachment  to  his  principles.  When  sentence  was  going 
to  be  passed  upon  him,  he  boldly  defended  the  institution,  on  the  ground  of 
the  oppressed  state  of  the  poor;  and  when  the  judge  who  was  performing 
that  awful  office,  struck  with  his  appearance  and  conduct,  asked  him,  had  he 
any  wife  or  children,  "My  lord",  he  replied,  "God  will  take  care  of  them,  for 
I  die  in  a  good  cause".  He  suffered  on  the  seventeenth  of  September,  with- 
out derogating  from  his  previous  demeanor. 

In  the  Connaught  counties,  the  trials  were  not  as  numerous  in  proportion 
as  in  Leinster.  Lord  Carhampton  had  gone  down  to  quell  the  insurrection, 
and  after  he  had  succeeded,  thinking  perhaps  that  legal  proceedings  were 
tedious  and  sometimes  uncertain  in  their  issue,  he  delivered  the  gaols  of  most 
of  their  inhabitants,  by  taking  such  as  he  thought  fit,  and  sending  them,  with- 
out form  of  trial,  or  other  warrant  but  his  own  military  orders,  to  serve  on 
board  the  fleet.  In  this  manner,  nearly  1300  persons  were  transported,  not  by 
their  own  connivance,  nor  as  a  kind  of  voluntary  commutation  of  what  they 
might  suffer  if  rigorously  prosecuted.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  not  even  pre- 
tended, that  those  selected  were  accused  of  the  most  serious  crimes,  or  the 
most  likely  to  meet  conviction  before  a  jury;  nor  was  the  act  attributed  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  to  a  misjudging  lenity.  Indeed,  the  objects  of  this  . 
summary  measure  were  frequently  seen  tied  down  on  carts,  in  the  bitterest 
agonies,  crying  out  incessantly  for  trial,  but  crying  in  vain.  This  conduct 
marked  his  lordship's  attachment  to  Government  too  strongly  not  to  have  its 
imitators.  Magistrates,  therefore,  without  military  commissions,  but  within 
the  influence  of  his  example,  assumed  to  themselves  also  the  authority  of 
transporting  without  trial. 

In  the  province  of  Ulster,  the  County  of  Armagh  and  its  borders  ex- 
hibited a  scene  of  more  melancholy  disturbances,  and  more  abominable  op- 
pression than  afflicted  or  disgraced  the  rest  of  Ireland.  The  religious  ani- 
mosities that  had  raged  so  violently  in  1793,  appeared  to  have  been  subdued 
by  the  combined  efforts  of  liberal  Catholics  and  Dissenters,  by  the  unremitting 
exertions  of  the  United  Irishmen  of  that  day,  and  by  the  conciliatory  senti- 
ments which  flowed  from  the  press,  as  far  as  it  was  in  the  same  interests. 
The  press,  however,  was  subsequently  reduced  almost  to  silence;  and  the 
recent  coercive  statutes  had  nearly  annihilated  all  public  efforts  by  United, 
or  even  liberal  Irishmen,  on  any  subject  of  general  politics,  except  during  the 
transitory  administration  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam.  The  barriers  to  the  revival  of 
those  animosities  being  thus  broken  down,  they  again  desolated  the  country 
with  augmented  fury.    The  Peep-o'-Day  Boys,  who  originally  pretended  only 


The  Orangemen 


141 


to  enforce  the  Popery  Laws  by  depriving  Catholics  of  their  arms,  now  affected 
more  important  objects.  They  claimed  to  be  associated  for  the  support  of  a 
Protestant  government,  and  a  Protestant  succession,  which  they  said  were 
endangered  by  the  increased  power  of  the  Catholics  in  the  State,  and  they 
therefore  adopted  the  name  of  Orangemen,  to  express  their  attachment  to 
the  memory  of  that  prince  to  whom  they  owed  their  blessings.  With  this 
change  of  name,  they  asserted  they  had  also  gained  an  accession  of  strength ; 
for  the  Peep-o'-Day  Boys  only  imagined  they  were  supported  by  the  laws  of 
the  land,  in  their  depredations  on  their  Catholic  neighbors ;  but  the  Orangemen 
boasted  a  protection  greater  than  even  that  of  the  law,  the  connivance  and 
concealed  support  of  those  who  were  bound  to  see  it  fairly  administered. 
Thus  emboldened,  and  as  they  alleged,  reinforced,  they  renewed  their  ancient 
persecutions:  but  not  content  with  stripping  Catholics  of  arms,  they  now  went 
greater  lengths  than  they  had  ever  done  before,  in  adding  insult  to  injury, 
sometimes  by  mocking  the  solemnities  of  their  worship,  and  at  others,  even 
by  firing  into  the  coffins  of  the  dead,  on  their  way  to  sepulture. 

The  Catholics  were  by  no  means  inclined  to  submit  with  tameness  to  these 
outrages.  The  Defender  system  had  nearly  included  all  of  that  persuasion  in 
the  lower  ranks,  and  scarcely  any  others  were  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood. 
They  seized  some  opportunities  of  retaliating,  and  thus  restored  to  Defend- 
erism,  in  that  part  of  the  country,  its  original  character  of  a  religious  feud. 
These  mutual  irritations  still  increasing,  at  length  produced  open  hostilities. 
An  affray  near  Lough  Brickland,  on  the  borders  of  the  Counties  of  Down  and 
Armagh,  and  another  at  the  Fair  of  Loughgall,  preceded  and  led  to  a  more 
general  engagement  in  the  month  of  August,  at  a  place  called  the  Diamond, 
near  Portadown,  in  the  County  of  Armagh.  For  some  days  previous  to  this, 
both  parties  had  been  preparing  and  collecting  their  forces ;  they  seized  the 
different  passes  and  roads;  had  their  advanced  posts,  and  were  in  some 
measure  encamped  and  hutted.  No  steps,  however,  were  taken  by  the  magis- 
trates of  the  country;  nor,  as  far  as  can  be  inferred  from  any  visible  cir- 
cumstances, even  by  Government  itself,  to  prevent  this  religious  war,  publicly 
levied  and  carried  on  in  one  of  the  most  populous,  cultivated  and  highly  im- 
proved parts  of  the  kingdom ;  nay,  more,  the  party  which  provoked  the  hostili- 
ties, and  which  the  event  has  proved  to  have  been  the  strongest,  boasted  of 
being  connived  at,  for  its  well-known  loyalty  and  attachment  to  the  con- 
stitution. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  motives  for  this  inaction,  certain  it  is,  that 
both  parties  assembled  at  the  Diamond,  to  the  amount  of  several  thousands. 
The  Defenders  were  the  most  numerous,  but  the  Orangemen  had  an  immense 
advantage  in  point  of  preparation  and  skill,  many  of  them  having  been  mem- 
bers of  the  old  Volunteer  corps,  whose  arms  and  discipline  they  still  retained, 
and  perverted  to  very  different  purposes  from  those  that  have  immortalized 
that  body.  The  contest,  therefore,  was  not  long  or  doubtful;  the  Defenders 
were  speedily  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  some  few  killed  and  left  on  the  field 
of  battle,  besides  the  wounded,  whom  they  carried  away.    After  this,  in 


142 


Hell  or  Connaught 


consequence  of  the  interference  of  a  Catholic  priest  and  of  a  country  gentle- 
man, a  truce  between  both  parties  was  agreed  upon,  which  was  unfortunately 
violated  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours.  The  two  bodies  that  had  consented 
to  it,  for  the  most  part,  dispersed ;  the  district,  however,  in  which  the  battle 
was  fought,  being  entirely  filled  with  Orangemen,  some  of  them  still  remained 
embodied,  but  the  Catholics  returned  home.  In  the  course  of  next  day,  about 
seven  hundred  Defenders  from  Keady,  in  a  remote  part  of  the  county,  came 
to  the  succor  of  their  friends,  and,  ignorant  of  the  armistice,  attacked  the 
Orangemen,  who  were  still  assembled.  The  associates  of  the  latter  being  on 
the  spot,  quickly  collected  again,  and  the  Defenders  were  once  more  routed. 
Perhaps  this  mistake  might  have  been  cleared  up,  and  the  treaty  renewed,  if 
the  resentment  of  the  Orangemen  had  not  been  fomented  and  cherished  by 
persons  to  whom  reconciliation  of  any  kind  was  hateful.  The  Catholics,  after 
this  transaction,  never  attempted  to  make  a  stand,  but  the  Orangemen  com- 
menced a  persecution  of  the  blackest  die.  They  would  no  longer  permit  a 
Catholic  to  exist  in  the  county.  They  posted  up  on  the  cabins  of  those  un- 
fortunate victims  this  pithy  notice,  "to  hell  or  to  Connaught" ;  and  appointed 
a  limited  time  in  which  the  necessary  removal  of  persons  and  property  was  to 
be  made.  If,  after  the  expiration  of  that  period,  the  notice  had  not  been 
entirely  complied  with,  the  Orangemen  assembled,  destroyed  their  furniture, 
burnt  the  habitations,  and  forced  the  ruined  family  to  fly  elsewhere  for  shelter. 
So  punctual  were  they  in  executing  their  threats  that,  after  some  experiments, 
none  were  found  rash  enough  to  abide  the  event  of  non-compliance.  In  this 
way,  upwards  of  seven  hundred  Catholic  families  in  one  county,  were  forced 
to  abandon  their  farms,  their  dwellings,  and  their  properties,  without  any 
process  of  law,  and  even  without  any  alleged  crime,  except  their  religious 
belief  were  one. 

While  these  outrages  were  going  on,  the  resident  magistrates  were  not 
found  to  resist  them,  and  in  some  instances  were  even  more  than  inactive 
spectators.  The  arm  of  Government,  too,  seemed  palsied;  or  its  strength  ex- 
hausted by  its  efforts  in  Connaught  to  restrain  the  subdued  insurgents,  and  by 
the  vigilant  activity  of  the  commander  in  that  province,  to  transport  the  sus- 
pected without  trial.  The  County  of  Armagh,  however,  and  its  neighborhood 
were  not  destitute  of  military  force,  able  and  willing  to  repress  those  out- 
rages. The  Queen's  County  militia,  consisting  mostly  of  Catholics,  was  there, 
and  exceedingly  incensed  at  the  unresisted,  unrestrained,  and  even  unnoticed, 
persecution  against  that  religion,  which  it  was  forced  to  witness. 

But  though  the  protecting  hand  of  Government,  or  of  the  magistracy,  was 
not  held  forth  to  the  oppressed,  they  were  not  utterly  abandoned.  The  United 
Irishmen  endeavored  to  allay  the  animosities  by  conciliatory  efforts,  as  well 
as  to  bring  to  punishment  the  most  daring  violators  of  the  law,  and  the  magis- 
trates, from  whose  suspicious  inactivity  they  derived  most  succor.  This,  it 
was  hoped,  would  produce  many  advantages.  The  United  Irishmen  would 
convince  those  forlorn  people  of  their  sincerity  in  seeking  for  the  entire  aboli- 
tion of  all  religious  distinctions,  and  perhaps  induce  them,  by  gratitude  and 


Fresh  Outrages 


143 


interest,  to  enter  into  the  union.  If  redress  was  to  be  obtained  or  the  Prot- 
estant persecution  to  be  checked,  the  Catholics  would  owe  to  their  exertions 
at  least  a  temporary  relief  from  immediate  sufferings,  until  the  fulness  of  time 
should  arrive  for  decisive  remedies ;  but  if  the  alleged  connivance  and  support 
of  magistrates  and  higher  authorities  should  succeed  in  frustrating  legal  prose- 
cutions, at  least  the  horrible  atrocities  themselves  would  be  exposed  beyond 
the  possibility  of  concealment  or  denial ;  and  from  the  failure  of  the  experi- 
ment, it  was  expected  the  proscribed  would  at  last  conclude,  that  their  pro- 
tection was  not  to  be  found  in  perverted  laws,  or  delusive  tribunals. 

Prosecutions  were  therefore  commenced  and  carried  on  by  the  executive, 
at  the  desire  of  the  provincial  committee  of  the  United  Irishmen,  against  some 
of  the  most  notorious  offenders,  and  some  of  the  most  guilty  magistrates ;  but 
that  measure  appeared  only  to  redouble  the  outrages.  Many  of  those  who 
attempted  to  swear  examinations,  were  killed  or  forced  to  fly,  and  others  com- 
pelled by  the  fear  of  death,  to  retract  or  contradict  the  depositions  they  had 
given.  The  applications  were,  in  this  manner,  almost  entirely  defeated;  or, 
if  they  succeeded,  the  proceedings  were  studiously  protracted  by  every  legal 
artifice;  even  the  verdicts  of  juries,  summoned  by  sheriffs,  and  influenced  by 
magistrates,  themselves  laboring  under  heavy  suspicions,  were  sometimes 
interposed  between  the  prosecutors  and  justice.  Effectual  relief  was  thus  in- 
deed, for  the  most  part,  withheld  from  the  oppressed ;  but  they  learned  to  look 
upon  the  United  Irishmen  as  their  only  friends,  to  confide  in  the  sincerity  of 
those  Protestants  who  had  joined  in  the  union,  and  no  longer  to  look,  with  hope 
or  affection,  towards  the  existing  law  or  its  remedies. 

These  objects  were  likewise  accomplishing,  at  the  same  time,  by  other 
means.  The  steps  that  were  taken  against  the  Defenders  in  Leinster  and  Con- 
naught,  and  the  house-rackings  in  the  County  of  Armagh,  had  forced  many 
wretches  to  abandon  their  homes,  and  seek  for  shelter  where  they  might  be 
unknown  and  unsuspected.  Some  of  these  unhappy  fugitives  were  invited  to 
Belfast,  whence  they  were  received  by  the  Presbyterian  families  in  the 
Counties  of  Down  and  Antrim ;  they  were  secure  from  danger,  provided  with 
employment,  treated  with  affectionate  hospitality,  and  the  hereditary  prejudices 
they  had  imbibed  against  Northerns  and  Dissenters  were  lost  in  the  overflow- 
ings of  their  gratitude.  To  their  friends,  whom  necessity  had  not  compelled 
to  flight,  they  communicated  the  intelligence  of  their  safety  and  happiness  ; 
thus  spreading  the  fame  of  United  Irish  sincerity  and  attachment  to  remote 
districts,  where  the  system  was  then  unknown. 

But  the  most  important  accession  of  strength  gained  by  that  body,  at  this 
period,  arose  from  their  successful  interference  with  the  Defenders,  particu- 
larly in  the  Counties  of  Down  and  Antrim.  From  the  first  formation  of  the 
Union,  its  most  active  members  were  extremely  anxious  to  learn  the  views 
and  intentions  of  the  Defenders.  The  latter,  it  was  manifest,  wished  a  redress 
of  many  of  those  grievances,  against  which  the  efforts  of  the  former  were 
also  directed ;  but  their  wishes  were  not  sufficiently  seconded  by  intelligence, 
nor  did  their  institution  appear  calculated  for  co-operation  on  an  extensive 


144 


Defenders  and  United  Irish 


scale ;  it  seemed  almost  exclusively  Catholic,  and  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained, 
was  not  sufficiently  representative.  Besides,  as  most  counties  had  something 
peculiar  to  themselves,  either  in  their  test,  their  formalities,  or  their  signs,  a 
Defender  in  one  county  was  not,  therefore,  one  in  another;  and  the  associa- 
tion, or  rather  mass  of  associations,  wanted  an  uniformity  of  views  and 
actions.  As  it  owed  its  origin  to  religious  animosities,  and  was  almost  entirely 
composed  of  illiterate  persons,  there  was  reason  to  apprehend,  it  might  still 
be  vitiated  by  bigotry  and  ignorance,  and  that  instead  of  reserving  its  physical 
force  for  one  object  and  one  effort,  it  might  waste  itself,  as  was  actually  the 
case  in  Connaught,  in  partial  and  ill-directed  insurrections  against  local  griev- 
ances. The  United  system,  on  the  other  hand,  by  pursuing  only  one  thing, 
"an  equal,  full  and  adequate  representation  of  the  people",  secured  an  uni- 
formity of  views,  and  by  fixing  attention  on  the  state  of  the  representation, 
as  the  fruitful  parent  of  every  other  evil,  it  suggested,  wherever  it  gained 
admission,  a  remedy  for  the  oppressions  by  which  the  inhabitants  were  most 
afflicted.  Proceeding  as  it  did,  on  the  principle  of  abolishing  all  political  dis- 
tinctions on  account  of  religion,  and  establishing  a  brotherhood  of  affection 
among  Irishmen  of  every  religious  persuasion,  it  struck  at  the  root  of  bigotry, 
received  the  support,  and  secured  the  co-operation  of  every  sect  that  was  not 
rendered  hostile  by  an  immediate  interest  in  the  abuses  it  proposed  to  remedy. 
Organized  as  it  was  under  a  series  of  committees  which  were  connected  to- 
gether to  the  highest  rank,  it  was  capable  of  the  most  perfect  co-operation,  and 
had  in  itself,  all  the  advantages  of  a  provisional  representative  government, 
to  which  it  was  habituating  its  members,  before  they  could  be  called  upon  to 
establish  a  national  constitution. 

This  immense  superiority  of  advantages  in  favor  of  the  United  system, 
which  clearly  proved  that  it  was  the  result  of  settled  design  and  reflection, 
while  the  other  seemed  to  derive  its  birth  from  accident  and  ignorance,  was 
pointed  out  to  the  Defenders  in  the  counties  where  the  union  was  most  preva- 
lent. There  was  no  repugnancy  in  the  tests  of  the  two  bodies,  and  many  Cath- 
olics had,  from  the  commencement,  belonged  to  both.  They  persuaded  other 
Defenders  to  follow  their  example.  Protestant  United  Irishmen,  too,  resolved 
to  break  the  exclusively  Catholic  appearance  of  Defenderism ;  there  being 
nothing  in  the  test  or  regulations  to  prevent  them,  they  were  sworn  into  that 
body,  and  carried  along  with  them  their  information,  tolerance  and  republi- 
canism. They  pointed  out  to  their  new  associates,  all  that  has  been  already 
stated  in  the  comparison  between  the  two  systems ;  and  set  before  them,  that 
the  something  which  the  Defenders  vaguely  conceived,  ought  to  be  done  for 
Ireland,  was,  by  separating  it  from  England,  to  establish  its  real  as  well  as 
nominal  independence;  and  they  urged  the  necessity  of  combining  into  one 
body,  all  who  were  actuated  with  the  same  views.  At  last  their  exertions  were 
favored  with  entire  success.  The  Defenders,  by  specific  votes  in  their  own 
societies,  agreed  to  be  sworn  United  Irishmen,  and  incorporated  in  large 
bodies  into  the  union.  Thus  did  they  in  those  counties,  merge  into  the  broadest 
and  best-concerted  institution,  which  from  henceforth,  spread  through  their 


Spread  of  Irish  Union 


145 


Catholic  districts  with  surprising  rapidity;  the  inhabitants  having  abandoned 
whatever  were  the  peculiarities  of  their  own  association. 

The  Northern  United  Irishmen  likewise  pursued  their  scheme  still  further. 
The  executions  in  Meath,  Kildare,  and  latterly  in  the  capital  itself,  showed  to 
them  that  Defenderism  had  reached  so  far,  and  was  likely  to  extend  through 
all  the  Catholic  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Weldon,  Hart,  Kennedy,  and  others, 
were  found  guilty  in  Dublin,  in  the  latter  end  of  1795,  of  high  treason,  all 
being  Defenders,  and  met  their  fate  with  that  enthusiasm  and  fortitude,  which 
political  as  well  as  religious  sufferers  have,  in  almost  all  ages,  exhibited.  The 
evidence  on  those  trials  showed  that  the  views  of  the  Catholics  of  that  rank 
of  life,  in  and  near  the  metropolis,  though  they  had  never  yet  heard  of  the 
United  system,  were  perfectly  conformable  to  those  of  the  Northern  repub- 
licans. This  coincidence  determined  the  latter  to  open  a  communication  which 
should  pave  the  way  for  the  extension  of  their  own  organization.  They  accord- 
ingly despatched  persons  up  to  Dublin,  who  found  means  to  explain  themselves 
with  some  of  the  principal  Defenders  of  the  Counties  of  Meath,  Dublin  and 
elsewhere.  This  caused  deputies  from  them  to  be  sent  to  Belfast,  to  examine 
if  the  views  of  the  North  corresponded  with  theirs,  and  how  far  its  sincerity 
might  be  relied  on.  These  men,  on  their  arrival  there,  were  soon  convinced 
that  the  Northerns  were  more  enlightened,  and  as  ardent  as  themselves,  and 
that  their  sincerity  was  too  often  proved  and  too  explicitly  manifested  to  be 
doubted.  On  their  return  home,  they  communicated  a  detail  of  the  views  of 
the  union,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  adoption  of  that  system  by  the 
Catholics  who  deputed  them. 

The  impression  which  was  made  by  all  those  measures  on  the  Defenders, 
gave  the  United  Irishmen  a  ready  access  to  the  militia  regiments,  as  they 
arrived  in  the  North.  These  were  mostly  composed  of  Catholics,  having  come 
from  the  other  provinces ;  in  many  instances  they  were  already  Defenders, 
that  association  having  spread  into  the  counties  where  they  were  raised.  The 
progressive  steps  were  now  made  easy:  the  Catholic  soldier  had  no  reluctance 
to  become  a  Defender ;  the  Defender  was  quickly  induced  to  follow  the  example 
of  those  where  he  was  quartered,  and  to  become  an  United  Irishman.  The 
union  thus  spread  among  them  very  extensively,  and  the  militia  regiments  were 
often  vehicles  by  which  both  systems  were  carried  to  different  and  remote 
districts. 

The  author  would  state  that  no  leader  of  the  movement  in  1798,  with  the  exception 
of  Tone,  and  he  only  for  a  limited  period,  could  have  written  so  graphic  and  valuable  a 
contribution  to  Irish  history,  based  on  personal  knowledge  in  relation  to  every  detail. 

The  one  unique  and  remarkable  trait  in  Mr.  Emmet's  character  is  here  well  illustrated, 
where,  in  absence  of  all  vanity  he  as  usual  made  no  reference  to  himself.  No  one  on 
reading  the  essay  just  given  would  suppose  he  was  personally  connected  to  some  extent 
with  every  incident  and  was  frequently  an  active  leader. 

Under  all  circumstances  and  throughout  Mr.  Emmet's  life,  he  unconsciously  assumed 
the  position,  and  his  associates  recognized  his  leadership.  With  all  his  modesty  of  char- 
acter, he  was  unyielding  as  a  leader  and  always  carried  his  purpose  through  by  the  facility 


146 


Mr.  Emmet's  Services 


he  possessed  of  impressing  each  individual  with  their  own  importance.  There  was  no 
desire  to  mislead  on  Mr.  Emmet's  part,  but  to  educate  and  make  use  of  every  one  asso- 
ciated with  him  to  the  fullest  extent  of  his  intellectual  development.  While  Mr.  Emmet 
gave  credit  to  every  one  but  himself,  he  had  the  facility  of  gaining  the  fullest  degree  of 
confidence  as  a  leader  from  all  without  question,  as  each  felt  when  Mr.  Emmet  expressed 
an  opinion,  he  had  in  some  degree  based  the  conclusion  upon  their  conversation. 

This  faculty  was  as  of  value  in  a  leader,  but  it  caused  his  own  services  to  be  under- 
rated. 


The  last  of  the  men  of  "98"  sleep  peacefully  in  their  graves,  their  sons  are  grey-haired 
men;  but  the  nation  for  'whose  freedom  they  fought  still  wears  her  ancient  chains, 
— her  voice  has  been  unheard  amongst  the  nations,  save  'where  agony  wrung  from 
her  a  cry  that  reminded  the  'world  at  once  of  her  existence  and  of  her  misery. 

Rev.  Patrick  F.  Kavanagh. 


Your  interference  was  then,  sir,  made  the  pretext  of  detaining  us  for  four  years  in  custody, 
by  'which-  very  extensive  and  useful  plans  of  settlement  within  these  states  were 
broken  up.  The  misfortunes  'which  you  brought  upon  the  objects  of  your  persecution 
•were  incalculable.  Almost  all  of  us  'wasted  four  of  the  best  years  of  our  life  in 
prison.  As  to  me,  I  'would  have  brought  along  with  me  my  father  and  his  family, 
including  a  brother,  'whose  name  perhaps  even  you  'will  not  read  'without  emotions 
of  sympathy  and  respect.  Others  nearly  connected  'with  me  would  have  been  partners 
in  my  emigration.  But  all  of  them  have  been  torn  from  me.  I  have  been  prevented 
from  saving  a  brother,  from  receiving  the  dying  blessings  of  a  father,  mother,  and 
sister,  and  from  soothing  their  last  agonies  by  my  cares;  and  this,  Sir,  by  your  un- 
warrantable and  unfeeling  interference. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 
Letter  to  Rufus  King — 
April  9th,  1807. 


History  of  the  Emmet  Family 


There  is  not  now  in  Ireland  an  individual  that  bears  the  name  of  Emmet.  1  do  not  wish 
that  there  should  while  it  is  connected  with  England  and  yet  it  will  perhaps  be  re- 
membered in  its  history. 

T.  A.  Emmet 
to  Peter  Burrowes — 
Nov.  19th,  1806. 


To  what  extent  I  ought  to  yield  to  you  for  talents  and  information  is  not  for  me  to  decide. 
In  no  other  respect,  however,  do  I  feel  your  excessive  superiority.  My  private  char- 
acter and  conduct  are  I  hope  as  fair  as  yours;  and  even  in  those  matters  which  1 
consider  as  trivial,  but  upon  which  aristocratic  pride  is  accustomed  to  stamp  a  value, 
I  should  not  be  inclined  to  shrink  from  competition.  My  birth  certainty  wilt  not 
humble  me  by  the  comparison;  my  paternal  fortune  was  probably  much  greater  than 
yours;  the  consideration  in  which  the  name  I  bear  was  held  in  my  native  country 
was  as  great  as  yours  is  ever  likely  to  be,  before  I  had  an  opportunity  of  contributing 
to  its  celebrity.  As  to  the  amount  of  what  private  fortune  I  have  been  able  to  save 
from  the  wreck  of  calamity,  it  is  unknown  to  you  or  to  your  friends;  but  two 
things  I  will  tell  you;  I  never  was  indebted,  either  in  the  country  from  which  I  came, 
nor  in  any  other  in  which  1  have  lived,  to  any  man,  further  than  necessary  credit  for 
the  current  expenses  of  a  family;  and  am  not  so  circumstanced  that  I  should  tremble 
"for  my  subsistence" ,  at  the  threatened  displeasure  of  your  friends.  So  much  for  the 
past  and  the  present,  now  for  the  future.  Circumstances  which  cannot  be  controlled 
have  decided  that  my  name  must  be  embodied  in  history.  From  the  manner  in  which 
even  my  political  adversaries,  and  some  of  my  cotemporary  historians,  unequivocally 
hostile  to  my  principles,  already  speak  of  me,  I  have  the  consolation  of  reflecting,  that 
when  the  falsehoods  of  the  day  are  withered  and  rotten,  I  shall  be  respected  and 
esteemed.  You,  Sir,  will  probably  be  forgotten  when  I  shall  be  remembered  with 
honour;  or,  if,  per  adventure,  your  name  should  descend  to  posterity  perhaps  you  will 
be  known  only  as  the  recorded  instrument  of  part  of  my  persecutions,  sufferings,  and 
misfortunes. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 
Letter  to  Rufus  King,  1807. 


^ 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

Arms  of  the  Emott,  Emmott,  Emett, 
Emmett  and  Emmet  families 


From  Robert  Emmet's  death  and  the  emigration  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  with  his 
family  to  the  United  States  there  has  been  no  one  of  the  name  in  Ireland  or  elsewhere, 
except  the  daughter  of  their  brother,  Temple,  ivho  bore  a  legitimate  relationship  to 
the  family  nearer  than  210  years. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  M.D. 


Chapter  I 

Documentary  and  Traditional  History  of  the  Emmet  Family* 


mm 


N  the  3d  of  October  1619,  Thomas  Emmott,  of  Emmott 
Hall,  died  in  the  parish  of  Colne,  Co.  Pal.  Lancashire, 
England,  where  he  had  been  for  many  years  the  head  of 
a  family  whose  ancestors  had  lived  for  centuries  on  the 
same  lands.  The  eldest  son  generally  bore  the  name  of 
William,  while  Thomas,  Robert,  John  and  Christopher 
were  the  Christian  names  most  frequently  used.  This 
family  has  twice  been  reduced  to  a  single  female  member, 
whose  husband  adopted  the  name.  By  special  Act  of 
Parliament,  about  1745,  Richard  Wainhouse,  the  husband  of  Mary  Emmott, 
took  the  surname  of  Emmott,  and  within  a  few  years  a  similar  change  of  name 
took  place,  so  that  the  present  head  of  the  family  is  Richard  Greene-Emmott, 
Esq.  The  family  for  an  indefinite  period — certainly  previous  to  the  seven- 
teenth century,  as  shown  by  monumental  remains — has  borne  the  same  arms. 

In  the  Somerset  Herald  Office,  London,  is  to  be  found  the  record  of  an 
Emmet  family  living  in  London  at  the  time  of  the  Herald's  visitation  in  1687. 
The  right  of  this  family  to  bear  arms  was  then  both  recognized  and  recorded 
by  the  Herald.  These  arms  are  identical  with  those  granted  several  centuries 
before  to  the  Lancashire  family  of  Emmott,  and  they  are,  moreover,  the  same 
arms  that  were  used  in  Ireland  by  the  ancestors  of  the  American  branch  of 
Emmet.  But  "Edmondson's  Heraldry",  1780,  gives  the  arms  of  "Emmett, 
Emmott  [Westminster]  and  of  Emmot  in  Lancashire — Per  pale  az.  &  sa. :  a 
fesse  engrailed,  erm.,  between  three  bulls'  heads  cabossed,  or",  and  the  crest, 
"out  of  a  ducal  coronet,  or,  a  bull  salient,  ppr." 

The  arms  used  by  the  Emmet  family  in  Ireland  are  shown  on  a  silver 
salver  in  the  possession  of  the  writer.  This  was  given  in  1783  to  Dr.  Robert 
Emmet  by  the  Governors  of  St.  Patrick's  Hospital,  Dublin,  an  institution 
founded  for  the  insane  by  Dean  Swift  in  1745,  and  it  was  the  first  public 
asylum  for  the  insane  ever  established  in  Ireland.  After  a  service  of  many  years 
Dr.  Emmet  resigned  his  position,  and  was  then  made  the  recipient  of  this 
piece  of  plate,  which  is  thirty-one  inches  in  diameter,  and  on  which  is  en- 


*See  Appendix,  Note  I,  for  the  earlier  history. 

149 


150 


Coat  of  Arms 


graved  the  following  inscription : — "Presented  by  unanimous  consent  of  the 
Governors  of  St.  Patrick's  Hospital,  Dublin,  to  Robert  Emmet,  Esq.,  State 
Physician,  as  a  Memorial,  not  compensation,  of  the  many  services  rendered 
by  him  to  that  institution,  as  Governor,  Physician,  and  Treasurer  thereto. — 
Feb.  3,  1783".  The  Governors  of  this  Hospital  were,  ex-officio,  as  a  body, 
composed  of  the  chief  officials  of  the  city  of  Dublin. 

At  that  time  great  importance  was  attached  to  the  use  of  heraldic  arms, 
so  much  so  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  bear  them  in  Great  Britain,  or  Ireland, 
unless  entitled  to  do  so  and  after  paying  a  tax  for  the  privilege.  Therefore, 
under  the  circumstances,  the  presence  of  these  arms  engraved  on  this  salver,, 
and  the  fact  that  they  were  placed  there  by  direction  of  this  Board  of  Gov- 
ernors, proves  beyond  question  that  Dr.  Emmet  was  entitled  to  use  them. 
This  is  an  important  circumstance  in  its  bearing  on  the  history  of 
the  family,  and  in  the  inference  to  be  drawn  from  it,  that  this  branch  at  least 
came  from  the  Emots  of  Lancashire. 

It  has  also  a  more  general  bearing  from  the  fact  that  wherever  a  branch 
of  the  family  has  been  found  entitled  to  bear  arms,  and  without  reference  to 
the  different  modes  of  spelling  the  name,  the  arms  have  been  essentially  the 
same,  or  very  similar  to  those  which  were  used  by  the  Emot  family  of  Colne, 
Lancashire,  and  were  in  all  probability  the  same  as  those  granted  or  borne, 
by  Robert  de  Emot  in  the  fourteenth  century.  The  three  bulls'  heads  cabossed 
have  been  found  with  generally  a  fesse  engrailed,  erm. ;  but  in  one  instance 
as  borne  by  a  London  family  of  Emmet,  a  chevron  engrailed  was  used.  In 
the  first  grant  of  the  arms  it  is  supposed  the  color  on  the  shield  was  azure, 
from  the  fact  that  this  tincture  appears  on  the  earliest  rendering  found.  The 
same  is  still  used  by  the  Emmott  family,  and  generally  by  the  Emmet  branches, 
but  a  party  per  cross,  as  well  as  per  pale,  has  been  used  with  azure  and  sable. 

The  greatest  variation  has  been  found  in  the  crest  and  motto,  as  the  choice 
of  either  or  both  rested  with  the  individual.  In  the  original  grant  the  crest 
was — "Out  of  a  ducal  coronet,  or,  a  bull  rampant,  ppr,"  and  not  "salient",  as 
given  by  Edmondson.  The  oldest  motto,  and  the  one  still  borne  by  the  Em- 
motts  of  Lancashire,  is  "Tenez  le  Vraye",  while  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  used 
"Constans". 

The  only  exception  met  with  in  the  use  of  the  bulls'  heads  was  found  in 
the  granting  of  arms  to  a  Peregrine  Emmit,  of  Spilsby,  Co.  Lincoln,  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century.  In  this  instance  the  two  bulls'  heads  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  shield  were  placed  on  an  engrailed  chief  of  ermine,  with 
two  crossed  thighbones  and  four  ants*  on  the  basse  in  azure,  and  with  a 
different  crest. 

•This  introduction  into  the  Emmet  Arms  has  reference  to  the  old  English  and  the  root  in  the 
Anglo-Saxton,  of  Emmet,  an  Ant.  The  word  is  still  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  dictionaries.  In  "King 
James'  Version"  of  the  Bible,  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  the  rendering  is — "Go  to  the  emmet,  thou 
Sluggard".  Shakespeare  in  "King  Lear"  shows  the  significance  of  the  word,  as  typical  of  industry, 
"Or  we'll  set  thee  to  school  to  an  Ant".  The  writer  has  been  informed  that  there  exists 
in  the  Hebrew  a  similar  word  signifying  constancy  or  trustworthiness.  If  true,  this  would  ex- 
plain the  use  of  the  motto,  Constans,  derived  from  an  old  Gaelic  root,  a  supposedly  older  language 
than  the  Hebrew.  But  there  exists  no  trace  of  such  a  word  in  the  modern  Irish,  in  a  record  of  over 
three  hundred  years  of  the  Emmet  family  abroad,  it  is  remarkable  how  large  a  proportion  there  were 
among  them,  of  men  of  brains,  enterprise,  thrift,  and  steady  workers. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA   FRANCES  LEVINS 


Salver  presented  to  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  by  the  Governors  of  St.  Patrick's  Hospital. 

Dublin,  Ireland 


Tipperary  Emmets 


151 


From  the  circumstantial  evidence  collected  it  seems  probable  that  the  im- 
mediate ancestry  of  Christopher  Emett,  of  Tipperary,  may  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  following  branch  of  the  family,  which  had  connections  in 
Kent  and  Middlesex,  living  in  London,  bearing  the  same  arms,  and  claiming 
to  have  been  from  the  Lancashire  stock : 

Maurice  Emmet,  the  son  of  Emet,  married  Elizabeth  Pynes,  and 

at  the  time  of  the  visitation  of  the  Herald-at-Arms  in  1687  he  was  living 
in  Peter  Street,  London,  and  was  in  his  sixty-eighth  year  of  age.  They  had 
the  following  children  at  this  visitation,  and  their  ages  were  then  recorded : 

1.  William  Emmet,  of  St.  Bride's  Parish,  married  Elizabeth,  a  daughter 
of  John  Browne,  and  had  one  child,  Mary. 

2.  Maurice  Emmet,  "His  Majesty's  Bricklayer",  married  Elizabeth  Bur- 
rage,  of  the  parish  of  St.  Martin-in-the-Fields,  and  in  1687  he  was  thirty- 
five  years  of  age.  His  children  were  John,  aged  fifteen,  Maurice,  twelve,  and 
Elizabeth,  thirteen. 

3.  Richard.  He  had  several  children,  but  the  particulars  could  not  be 
obtained. 

4.  George  Emmet,  unmarried,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years. 

5.  "Henry  Emmet,  citizen",  "His  Majesty's  Glass  Painter  and  Stainer". 
He  was  at  the  time  thirty  years  of  age,  and  had  married  Mary,  the  daughter 
of  Edward  Hill,  also  of  London.  Their  children  were  John  Emmet,  then 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  Mary,  who  died  in  infancy. 

The  visitation  is  signed  by  "Henry  Emmett",  with  the  following  marginal 
note  made  at  the  time  by  the  London  Herald :  "The  arms,  from  a  silver 
seal,  and  Mr.  Emmet  alleged  the  colours  as  they  are  here  marked.  He  affirm- 
eth  that  he  is  descended  from  Emmet  of  Emmet  Hall  in  Lancashire,  but 
nothing  found  of  that  family  in  the  visitation  of  that  county". 

"Emmott  Hall",  as  we  have  shown,  existed  at  that  time,  and  the  family 
were  recorded  by  the  Visitation  Herald,  and  they  bore  these  same  arms.  It 
is,  therefore,  possible,  as  the  original  mode  of  spelling  the  name  was  Emot, 
that  in  a  previous  generation  the  name  of  this  branch  had  been  spelled  Emmott ; 
or,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  residence  of  another  branch  in  the  same  county 
had  been  called  "Emmet  Hall",  for  the  evidence  is  conclusive  that  the  an- 
cestors of  all  of  the  name,  whatever  the  mode  of  spelling,  came  originally 
from  this  neighborhood. 

It  will  now  be  well  to  consult  the  will  of  William  Emet,  of  Tipperary, 
who  expected  his  "kinsman",  Henry  Emet,  to  come  from  England  according 
to  his  order.  As  William  left  a  bequest  to  his  brother  George,  Henry  was 
probably  the  son  of  another  brother.  The  eldest  brother  of  Henry,  of  London, 
was  named  William,  and  be  also  had  a  brother  George. 

But  for  the  facts  that  William,  of  Tipperary,  died  in  1671,  and  William, 
of  London,  was  possibly  living  in  1687,  it  might  be  held  that  they  were 
one  and  the  same  person.  On  the  other  hand,  if  William,  of  London,  was  liv- 
ing at  the  time  of  the  visitation,  it  is  remarkable  that  his  age  was  not  recorded 
in  consequence  of  being  the  eldest  son.    In  the  same  connection  should  be 


152 


Emmets  in  Plymouth 


considered  the  notes  relating  to  "John  Emmet  of  London,  Esq.",  who  received 
a  pension  of  one  thousand  pounds  per  annum  in  1711,  and  left  his  property 
at  his  death  to  his  wife  and  his  son,  Henry  Emmet. 

Notwithstanding  that  Maurice  Emmet  is  styled  "His  Majesty's  Brick- 
layer", and  his  brother  Henry  "His  Majesty's  Glass-stainer",  it  is  not  believed 
that  either  of  them  followed  so  humble  a  calling.*  This  family  was  evidently 
well  off  at  the  time,  possibly  wealthy,  with  an  estate  in  Middlesex  County, 
and  had  doubtless  rendered  some  service  to  the  Government.  At  that  time 
no  greater  service  could  be  rendered  to  the  King  than  by  making  him  a  loan 
of  money,  which  he  was  never  expected  to  repay  in  any  other  manner  than 
by  a  grant  of  some  position  or  office,  which  afforded  his  creditors  an  oppor- 
tunity to  recoup  with  interest  from  the  public  purse  and  by  methods  not  to 
be  too  carefully  inquired  into.  "His  Majesty's  Brick-layer"  and  "His 
Majesty's  Glass-stainer"  doubtless  received  some  stipend  from  their  nominal 
offices  until  something  better  presented  itself;  and  it  might  be  readily  assumed 
that,  with  some  like  existing  obligation,  Henry  Emmet  was  given  the  contract 
for  furnishing  "clothing  and  accoutrements"  for  the  regiment  commanded  by 
Schomberg,  and  that  John  Loudon,  as  copartner,  was  in  all  probability  the 
man-of -straw  selected  to  do  the  work  in  the  most  profitable  manner.  The  cir- 
cumstance of  being  entitled  to  bear  arms  renders  the  supposition  impossible 
that  under  the  then  existing  social  code  either  Maurice  or  Henry  Emmet 
could  have  followed  a  trade. 

Henry  showed  by  his  seal  that  he  used  the  arms  in  1687,  and  at  that  time 
he  satisfied  the  London  Herald-at-Arms  that  he  was  entitled  to  bear  them, 
and,  as  has  been  stated,  the  right  was  officially  recognized  and  recorded  at 
the  time.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  had  not  fully  satisfied  the  Herald  as  to 
this  right,  the  seal  would  have  been  seized  and  destroyed. 

Henry  Emmet  and  his  son  John  were  for  some  reason  closely  connected 
with  the  town  of  Plymouth,  England,  in  their  business  relations  with  Ireland, 
and  at  the  same  time  with  a  Mr.  White,  a  merchant  of  that  place.  Unless  for 
some  special  reason  the  town  of  Plymouth  had  been  selected,  this  circumstance 
becomes  the  more  worthy  of  note,  as  many  other  ports  in  England  were  more 
favorably  situated  for  commercial  relations  with  Ireland.  Dr.  Christopher 
Emett,  of  Tipperary,  also  had  some  connection  with  the  same  town,  as  one 
of  his  sisters  married  a  Mr.  White,  of  Plymouth,  and  his  wife,  Rebecca  Temple, 
had  an  uncle,  Mr.  Nathaniel  White,  a  merchant,  who  was  living  in  1717.  This 
fact  is  shown  in  a  letter  written  at  the  time  by  Capt.  Robert  Temple,  her  brother. 
A  copy  of  this  letter  was  obtained  by  the  writer  from  Capt.  Temple's  great- 
grandson,  the  late  Mr.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Boston.  It  is  also  known  that 
Thomas  Temple,  the  father  of  Robert,  sailed  from  this  port  when  he  first  went 
out  to  settle  in  New  England,  during  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
It  has  been  shown  that  a  large  branch  of  the  Emmet  family  lived  in  Plymouth 
according  to  the  record  of  the  burial  of  Thos.  Emmet  in  1588,  and  the  burial  of 
Mary  Emmet  in  1707. 


*The  one  was  no  more  "His  Majesty's  Brick-layer"  than  the  late  Queen  Victoria's  equerry  was  her 
■tableman. 


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An  Old  Bible 


153 


A  family  bearing  the  surname  of  Emmetson  once  resided  there,  and  a  Dr. 
Remmetson  [R.  Emmet's  son]  was  a  very  distinguished  physician  in  the  town 
during  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  The  writer  possesses  a  large  folio  en- 
graving of  this  physician,  which  most  probably  was  published  by  a  dealer,  for 
under  ordinary  circumstances  it  would  have  proved  too  costly  for  a  private 
individual  to  have  had  it  engraved  for  a  limited  circulation. 

There  exists  no  clue,  but  quite  possibly  there  was  some  connection  between 
the  family  of  Dr.  Christopher  Emett  and  Thomas  Emet,  who  was  supposed 
to  have  died  without  children,  and  whose  estate  passed  to  Thomas  Moore 
through  his  grandmother,  Katherine  Emet.  The  social  relations  of  these  two 
families  were  with  the  most  prominent  in  the  county,  and  they  were  more  nearly 
the  same  than  of  any  of  the  other  branches  then  living  in  Ireland ;  they 
seem  to  have  been  associated  with  the  same  families  in  their  neighborhood 
which  were  known  to  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  and  his  children  a  generation  later. 

Many  years  ago  a  young  man  named  Moore,  from  the  south  of  Ireland, 
got  into  some  pecuniary  difficulty  while  in  this  country,'  and  was  aided  by 
Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  an  uncle  of  the  writer.  Moore  knew  nothing  of  the  early 
history  of  his  family,  but  came  to  Mr.  Emmet  for  assistance  on  the  strength  of 
a  tradition  that  in  some  manner  Robert  Emmet,  "the  patriot",  was  related  to  his 
family.  In  proof,  he  promised  to  send  to  Mr.  Emmet,  on  his  return,  a  Bible 
which  had  belonged  to  some  one  of  the  name  of  Emmet,  but  none  of  his 
family  knew  how  or  when  it  came  into  their  possession.  Moore  kept  his 
promise,  and  shortly  after  the  book  was  received  by  Mr.  Emmet  it  was  pre- 
sented by  him  to  the  writer.  This  Bible  is  an  octavo  volume,  printed  in  London, 
1638,  and  it  contains  a  record  of  the  birth  of  five  children,  placed,  as  usual, 
on  the  record  sheet  between  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  The  first  two 
entries  were  made  in  the  handwriting  of  an  educated  man  in  middle  life,  while 
the  last  three  were  written  by  a  female  who  wrote  with  some  difficulty;  but, 
from  the  propinquity  and  order  of  the  dates  it  is  evident  that  the  whole  record 
was  one  of  the  same  family  of  children.  At  the  back  of  this  book  there  had  been 
written  what  seemed  to  have  been  an  extensive  family  record,  but  apparently 
a  child  had  seized  these  leaves  and  in  an  attempt  to  get  them  into  its  pos- 
session they  were  pulled  out,  leaving  just  enough  along  the  binding  to  indicate 
the  nature  of  the  manuscript.  In  1734,  eighty-seven  years  after  this  record 
had  been  made,  some  one  wrote  in  the  tremulous  hand  of  old  age :  "I  desire 
this  leaf  may  not  be  taken  out." 

On  going  through  the  Bible,  on  page  after  page  was  found  written  in  a 
child's  hand,  "Mary  Moore's",  along  the  margin,  as  if  it  were  done  to  mark 
the  chapter  which  she  had  to  memorize.  The  whole  interest  in  the  book 
turns  on  this  name,  and  the  possibility  that  it  may  have  belonged  to  Mary 
Moore,  the  sister  of  Thomas,  who  inherited  the  property  of  Thomas  Emet. 
The  family  tradition  held  by  the  Moores,  that  they  were  connected  with  Robert 
Emmet's  family,  cannot  be  accepted  or  be  relied  upon  alone  as  evidence,  since 
the  origin  of  the  tradition  may  have  been  due  entirely  to  their  possession  of 
the  book. 


154 


Settlement  in  America 


The  following  is  the  Bible  record : 

1647.    My  daughter  Deborah  Emmet  was  borne  ye  7th  day  of  November  1647, — 

being  Sunday,  and  was  baptized  ye  Sunday  following,  being  the  14th  day  of 
November. 

1650.    My  daughter  Mary  Emmet  was  borne  and  Baptized  upon  Fryday,  being 

ye  22nd  day  of  November,  1650. 
My  sonn  Honri  [Henry]  Emott  was  borne  upon  Sonday,  being  the  25th  day  of 

November,  1653. 

My  daughter  Elossoboth  Emott  was  borne  the  21st  day  of  November,  1655. 
My  son  John  Emott  was  borne  the  21st  of  November,  1658. 
I  desire  this  leaf  may  not  be  taken  out. — 1734. 

As  early  as  1658  the  name  of  James  Emott  appears  among  the  first  settlers 
in  Amboy,  N.  J.,  and  in  1686  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  that  Province. 
There  have  been  several  distinguished  men  of  this  family,  the  most  prominent 
being  the  late  Judge  James  Emott,  of  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  who  died  in  1850. 
Some  years  ago  an  uncle  of  the  writer  inquired  into  the  early  history  of  this 
family.  Judge  Emott,  of  Poughkeepsie,  then  stated  that  little  was  known 
of  his  ancestor,  the  first  Emott  settler  in  Amboy,  and  that  he  was  ignorant 
of  the  date  of  his  arrival ;  nor  could  he  tell  whether  James  Emott  had  emigrated 
from  Holland  with  the  first  Dutch  settlers,  or  had  come  from  England  at  a 
subsequent  period. 

New  Perth,  on  Ambo  Point,  hence  in  time  Perth  Amboy,  was  named  after 
James,  Earl  of  Perth,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey,  and  it  was  settled 
by  Scotch  and  emigrants  from  the  north  of  England.  Under  the  circum- 
stances, that  James  Emott  came  originally  from  either  Lancashire  or  York- 
shire, in  the  north  of  England,  is  a  natural  inference,  connected  as  he  was  with 
the  early  settlement  of  Perth  Amboy.* 

Dr.  William  James  Macneven,  one  of  the  United  Irishmen  during  the 
troubles  of  1798,  was  confined  in  Fort  George,  Scotland,  with  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet.  He  married  a  Mrs.  Tom,  nee  Riker,  of  Bowery  Bay,  Long  Island,  who 
lived  to  an  advanced  age.  The  writer,  when  a  young  man,  learned  from  her  the 
history  of  a  member  of  the  Emmet  family,  who  came  with  his  brother  to  New 
York  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  century.  She  also  stated  that  towards 
the  close  of  the  Revolution  her  family  returned  to  their  country  place,  which 
had  been  abandoned  for  some  years,  as  the  English  held  New  York  and  the 
neighborhood.  It  was  then  found  that  the  British  soldiers  in  seeking  for 
plunder  had  violated  the  family  vault  and  had  left  the  coffins  broken  and 
open.  As  a  child  Miss  Riker  was  particularly  struck  by  the  dark  hue  of  the 
bones  in  one  of  the  coffins,  in  such  marked  contrast  to  the  blanched  appear- 
ance of  the  other  skeletons.  Her  father  told  her  they  were  the  remains  of  a 
young  Irishman,  named  Emmet,  a  great  favorite  with  everyone  who  knew 
him,  who  had  come  to  this  country  with  his  brother  some  years  before  the 
Revolution.  Mr.  Emmet  had  begun  as  a  teacher,  but  later  studied  law.  Dur- 
ing one  of  his  frequent  visits  to  Mr.  Riker's  house  he  was  struck  by  lightning 


•The  name  Emott  is  quite  a  common  one  at  the  present  time  in  Yorkshire,  England.    In  a  list 

of  wills  (Appendix,  Note  I)  is  one  of  James  Emott,  who  died  in  York,  1561. 


Emmittsburg 


155 


while  mending  a  pen  at  an  open  door.  The  history  of  this  young  man  inter- 
ested her  so  much  that  she  frequently  got  her  father  to  repeat  the  story,  and 
it  apparently  made  an  indelible  impression  on  her,  for  she  never  forgot  its 
details.  Shortly  after  Thos.  Addis  Emmet's  arrival  in  this  country  Mrs. 
Macneven  made  his  acquaintance  and  told  him  the  story  of  this  young  Irish- 
man. Mr.  Emmet  then  recalled  having  heard  his  father  mention  that,  when 
a  boy,  one  of  his  uncles,  a  brother  of  Christopher  Emett,  had  come  into  pos- 
session of  a  farm  near  New  York,  and  that  he  had  sent  two  of  his  sons  out 
to  look  after  it.  They  were  never  heard  of  after  their  arrival  in  America,  not 
an  infrequent  occurrence  in  the  early  settlement  of  this  country,  owing  to  the 
uncertainty  of  any  intercourse  by  letter,  which  could  only  be  transmitted  by 
one  individual  to  another.  The  coincidence  in  dates  would  lead  to  the  infer- 
ence that  this  young  Emmet  and  his  brother  were  these  two  nephews  of 
Christopher  Emett;  and,  moreover,  Mrs.  Macneven  had  the  impression  that 
Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet  believed  that  such  was  the  fact.  Nothing  is  known  of  the 
subsequent  history  of  the  brother. 

James  Emmet,  of  the  Hillsboro'  District,  was  appointed  Captain  in  the 
Third  North  Carolina  Regiment  on  April  16th,  1776,  and  served  throughout 
the  war.  The  writer  has  in  his  possession  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  Col. 
James  Emmet  on  April  27th,  1781,  to  General  Greene,  and  the  late  Mr.  James 
A.  Garland,  of  New  York,  had  in  his  possession  a  number  of  others,  showing 
that  Col.  Emmet  was  an  active  and  trusted  officer.  The  writer  also  recalls  see- 
ing among  the  list  of  officers  of  the  North  Carolina  Confederate  troops,  who 
surrendered  at  the  end  of  the  Civil  War,  a  Col.  Emmet,  who  was,  no  doubt,  a 
descendant  of  the  Revolutionary  officer.  So  far  it  has  been  impossible  to 
discover  the  existence  at  the  present  time  of  this  family  in  North  Carolina. 
But  the  query  here  presents  itself:  Was  Col.  James  Emmet  of  the  Revolu- 
tion the  other  nephew  of  Christopher  Emett,  of  Tipperary,  Ireland,  or  was  he 
a  descendant  of  James  Emott,  of  Perth  Amboy? 

•The  name  of  Emmet  seems  to  possess  some  special  attraction  for  the 
struggling  play-actor,  the  negro  minstrel,  and  the  clog-dancer.  The  writer  has 
known  of  three  instances  in  this  country,  and  of  one  in  England,  where  persons 
on  the  stage  have  assumed  the  name.  One  of  the  most  noted  instances  was 
the  late  clog-dancer,  "J.  K.  Emmet,"  whose  real  name,  it  is  said,  was  Kline, 
and  who  had  not  the  slightest  claim  whatever  to  the  name  of  Emmet;  how- 
ever, his  family  still  continues  to  use  it. 

Among  the  early  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  of  Frederick,  Md.,  was  a 
family  of  Emmitts,  and  their  place  was  the  site  of  the  present  Emmittsburg. 
The  writer  has  been  unable  to  obtain  any  information  concerning  the  early 
history  of  this  family. 

It  is  most  remarkable  that,  occupying  so  prominent  and  influential  a  posi- 
tion as  did  the  progenitors  of  the  American  branch  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  a  break  could  exist  in  the  family  record  which  obscures  entirely  all 
previous  history.  It  is  well  known  that  the  church  records,  as  well  as  those 
in  private  hands,  were  frequently  burned  or  otherwise  destroyed  in  Ireland 


156 


Lack  of  Family  Traditions 


by  the  British  troops ;  in  fact,  both  public  and  private  property  was  wantonly 
destroyed  whenever  the  pretext  of  a  possible  rebellion  could  be  made.  This 
is  one  reason  for  the  obscurity  which  surrounds  this  portion  of  the  family 
history,  but  the  lack  of  traditional  information  in  the  family  is  to  a  still 
greater  degree  responsible  for  it.  This  condition  must  to  some  extent  be  at- 
tributed to  Mr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  who  had  suffered  so  much  during  the 
troubles  of  "  '98,"  and  had  so  little  pleasure  associated  with  the  past  in  Ireland, 
that  after  his  arrival  in  this  country  neither  he  nor  his  wife  ever  referred  to 
Irish  affairs  or  to  the  family  history  if  it  were  possible  to  avoid  doing  so.  He 
felt  bitterly  about  the  tragedies  of  this  portion  of  his  life — so  much  so  that 
in  a  large  number  of  his  letters  which  have  come  to  the  notice  of  the  writer, 
and  which  cover  many  years  of  his  life  in  America,  in  but  three  instances 
did  Mr.  Emmet  make  any  allusion  to  his  family  or  past  history.  In  one  letter 
to  a  daughter  he  made  reference  to  the  fortitude  with  which  his  wife  had 
borne  the  privations  of  her  prison  life.  In  another  letter  he  expressed  the  hope 
that  "no  one  of  the  name  would  ever  put  foot  on  the  soil  of  Ireland  while  she 
remained  under  British  Rule".  And  the  other  instance  was  to  the  effect  that 
he  wished  the  past  forgotten,  and  the  history  of  the  family  to  begin  with  its 
settlement  in  this  country. 

In  a  letter  by  T.  A.  Emmet,  given  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  and  written  on 
November  10th,  1806,  to  Mr.  Peter  Burrowes,  an  old  associate  in  Ireland,  we 
find  expression  of  the  same  sentiment :  "There  is  not  now  in  Ireland  an 
individual  that  bears  the  name  of  Emmet.  I  do  not  wish  that  there  ever  should 
while  it  is  connected  with  England,  and  yet  it  will  perhaps  be  remembered  in  its 
history".* 

•The  following  letters  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader,  as  they  were  written  by  the  first  individual 
of  the  name  to  visit  Ireland  over  forty  years  after  her  father  had  been  banished  from  his  native  land. 
These  letters  were  written  by  Miss  Margaret  Emmet,  Mr.  Emmet's  eldest  daughter,  who  was  born  in 
Ireland,  and  was  with  him  during  his  imprisonment  at  Fort  George,  being  then  about  eleven  years  of 
age.    Mrs.  Graves,  her  youngest  sister,  born  in  New  York,  and  her  husband,  formed  the  party. 

The  first  of  these  letters  written  by  Miss  Emmet  is  to  her  niece,  Susan  L,e  Roy,  the  daughter  of 
her  sister  Elizabeth: 

Dublin,  August  1st,  1842. 

"My  Dear  Susan: 

As  you  have  redeemed  your  character,  as  a  correspondent,  by  a  pleasant  letter  which  I  received 
the  other  day,  I  must  avail  myself  of  a  very  few  spare  moments  to  write  to  you  a  short  answer, 
which  is  all  that  1  can  do  at  this  time  as  the  steamer  sails  so  soon.  You  will  wonder,  I  have  no  doubt, 
that  we  should  have  so  much  to  occupy  us  in  such  a  quiet  place  as  Ireland,  but  we  are  staying  at 
Uncle  John's,  and  although  they  have  seen  great  reverses  of  fortune,  from  loss  of  property,  still  the 
hospitality  of  the  land  will  break  out  in  them  and  we  are  feasted  either  at  home  or  abroad  every  day, 
and  after  bein?  here  almost  a  week  this  is  the  first  chince  I  have  had  of  writing.  Your  Uncle  Graves 
is  writing  to  Mount  Alto  [the  country  place  of  Bache  McEvers]  and  of  course  giving  a  glowing  account 
of  our  first  reception  in  Paddy  land,  which  was  rather  in  the  loafer  style,  as  we  spent  the  night  in  the 
street  begging  admittance  from  door  to  door  without  success.  I  longed  for  uncle  Bill  to  sing  Barney 
Brannigan  while  I  was  sitting  on  the  handle  of  the  wheel-barrow  that  held  our  luggage.  I  think  he 
would  have  made  the  windows  of  the  houses  around  fly  open  by  the  magic  of  his  voice,  and  our  dis- 
consolate situation  would  have  been  made  known  to  more  than  the  flinty  heart  who  answered  us  from 
behind  the  closed  door  that  there  "was  not  a  spare  bed  in  the  house."  But  long  life  to  the  moon,  for 
a  sweet  noble  creature,  as  she  shone  out  in  all  her  splendor  silver  bright;  and  when  we  had  no  other 
resource  we  returned  to  another  hotel  and  there  got  a  carriage  and  drove  into  Dublin  by  broad  day- 
light, for  the  steamer  landed  the  passengers  at  King's  town,  seven  or  eight  miles  from  Dublin,  and 
immediately  falls  back  into  the  stream, — otherwise  we  would  have  returned  to  sleep  in  it.  When  we 
reached  Dublin  we  went  to  bed  for  a  few  hours  and  breakfasted  before  we  drove  to  Uncle  John's,  who 
lives  about  two  miles  from  Dublin.  When  once  inside  of  a  house  the  warm  feeling  of  the  country 
began  to  show  itself,  for  the  waiter  who  attended  at  breakfast  shed  real  silent  tears  when  he  heard 
who  we  were  ard  I  have  ro  doubt  told  the  other  servants  in  the  Hotel,  for  there  were  men  and  women 
on  every  landing  as  we  went  down  stairs,  and  all  looked  kindlv  at  us. 

At  Sandy  Mount,  where  we  are  staying,  we  are  treated  like  spoiled  children,  and  nothing  can 
exceed  the  kindness  of  all.  Even  every  member  of  Uncle  John's  wife's  family,  who  although  in  con- 
stant attendance  on  a  brother  who  is  very  ill,  have  asked  us  to  their  houses.  We  went  out  today  and 
I  am  obliged  to  finish  my  letter  in  the  small  hours,  as  Mr.  Delprat  says.  On  that  account  we  went  out 
to  a  beautiful  country  seat  of  a  cousin  of  your  grand  mother,  who  asked  after  his  cousin  Jane  and 
called  me  Margaret  soon  after  he  knew  me.    At  that  place  I  am  sure  we  would  have  spent  some  pleasant 


An  Honorable  Name 


157 


In  a  letter  written  by  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  Rufus  King,  of  New  York, 
in  1807,  during  a  political  contest,  he  writes,  "and  even  in  those  matters 
which  I  consider  as  trivial,  but  upon  which  aristocratic  pride  is  accustomed 
to  stamp  a  value,  I  should  not  be  inclined  to  shrink  from  competition.  My 
birth  certainly  will  not  humble  me  by  the  comparison,  my  paternal  fortune  was 
probably  much  greater  than  yours ;  the  consideration  in  which  the  name  I  bear 
was  held  in  my  native  country  was  as  great  as  yours  is  ever  likely  to  be,  before 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  contributing  to  its  celebrity". 

Dr.  Madden  states  that  "Emmet's  vanity  was  of  a  peculiar  kind ;  he  was 
vain  of  nothing  but  his  name."  Robert  Emmet  when  answering,  at  his  trial, 
the  accusation  that  he  was  an  emissary  of  France  that  he  might  advance  his 
own  ends,  repudiates  the  charge  as  follows :  "Oh,  my  country,  was  it  per- 
sonal ambition  that  influenced  me !  had  it  been  the  soul  of  my  action,  could 


days,  but  one  of  the  family,  a  favorite  son,  is  lying  at  the  point  of  death  and  Mrs.  Colville,  his  mother, 
could  only  leave  him  for  a  few  moments  to  see  us  when  we  called  there.  But  they  are  constantly 
sending  fine  fruit  &c.  and  showing  what  they  would  do  but  for  circumstances. 

I  must  draw  this  to  a  close  per  force,  but  your  uncle  Graves  has  written  so  long  a  letter  to  your 
Aunt  Jane,  that  this  is  only  to  tell  you  that  I  have  not  forgotten  you  and  tell  Libby  (her  sister 
Elizabeth]  that  her  little  letter  was  very  nice  indeed.  Your  Uncle  will  not  allow  me  to  write  another 
word. 

Yours  ever, 

Margaret  Emmet." 

Miss  Susan  Le  Roy, 

New  York. 

The  next  letter  from  Miss  Emmet  is  to  her  sister,  Mrs.  Le  Roy: 

Dublin,  August  15th,  1842. 

"After  sipping  the  sweets  of  the  Devil's  Punch  Bowl  at  Killarney,  you  will  think,  My  dear  Eliza- 
beth, that  I  must  be  just  in  good  order  to  answer  your  folio  letter  of  six  pages,  which  I  received  on 
my  return  to  Dublin  and  read  with  the  greatest  pleasure;  not  excepting  the  two  scrub  epistles  at  the 
end,  and  were  I  not  again  pressed  for  time  while  writing  I  would  try  what  virtue  there  is  in  crossing, 
but  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  today.  Mary  Ann  also  received  one  from  you  a  week  later,  we  conjecture,  for 
Jane  began  it  and  put  no  date. 

I  am  grieved  to  learn  that  John  [her  brother]  is  still  so  much  a  sufferer  as  you  state.  I  had  hoped 
that  he  would  have  recruited  fast  when  among  you  all  and  with  summer  weather.  It  seems  too  hard 
that  he  should  be  obliged  to  go  before  our  return  when  we  are  so  near  it,  but  I  know  how  necessary  a 
warm  climate  is  to  him  and  the  end  of  September  may  be  too  late  for  him  to  travel. 

We  leave  this  for  Scotland  in  a  couple  of  days  taking  the  North  of  Ireland  first.  We  spent  four 
days  in  Killarney  and  would  willingly  have  remained  longer,  as  we  had  such  torrents  of  rain  some  part 
of  the  time  that  we  had  to  forego  several  excursions  on  that  account.  The  lakes  are  very  beautiful  and 
the  mountains  fine  and  water  falls,  all  with  some  legend  of  fairies  and  enchantment  about  them,  with 
O'Donoghues  and  O'SuIlivans  for  the  heroes.  Indeed  there  is  not  a  rock  or  island  that  has  not  its  tale 
of  romance. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  hear  as  much  genuine  Irish  wit  as  I  expected.  But  the  common 
people  we  have  come  in  contact  with,  have  been  spoiled  by  being  guides  &c. — and  training  their  wit. 
However,  the  old  man  who  took  us  in  for  the  night,  in  our  trouble  on  the  road,  told  me  that  I  "spoke 
a  deal  entirely  plain"  for  one  coming  from  America  and  a  day  or  two  in  the  bogs  would  have  brought 
the  real  stuff  out  I  am  sure.  The  same  ill  luck  about  houses  attended  us  on  our  return  from  Killarney, 
although  travelling  a  different  route  and  we  were  once  actually  floored  by  two  or  three  countrv  gentle- 
men "who  pay  the  rent,"  (pigs)  who  in  settling  some  private  quarrel  dashed  between  our  horses'  legs 
and  threw  them  both  down,  postilion  and  all.  It  had  been  raining  hard  and  we  had  to  dismount  from 
the  carriage  in  a  perfect  sea,  and  found  both  horses'  knees  shockingly  cut.  They  proved  to  be  but 
flesh  wounds,  but  had  we  had  any  other  resource  our  humanity  would  have  prompted  us  to  take  it 
instead  of  going  on  with  them,  which  we  were  obliged  to  do  after  a  time  on  a  slow  walk,  however, 
and  for  a  short  distance.  From  Limerick  we  had  no  trouble,  and  on  our  way  we  paid  a  visit  to  Mrs. 
Harper,  a  cousin  of  Mama  who  was  Miss  Colville,  and  Miss  Margaret  Colville.  They  had  written 
to  Dublin  hoping  we  would  spend  a  day  with  them  on  our  way  to  Killarney,  but  we  went  a  different 
direction  and  the  family  are  in  much  trouble  about  a  son  of  Mr.  Colville  at  Clontarf  who  died  the  day 
after  our  visit.  As  we  passed  through  the  town,  where  they  were  living,  coming  back,  we  thought  we 
would  call  even  if  they  were  not  at  home,  and  I  am  glad  we  did,  for  it  is  delightful  to  see  how  affec- 
tionately Mamma  is  remembered  and  to  feel  so  warmly  welcomed  for  her  sake.  Had  Mr.  Colville's 
family  not  been  in  distress  I  am  sure  we  would  have  spent  part  of  our  time  with  them,  and  they 
seemed  to  live  very  pleasantly  in  the  country.  As  it  is  they  have  been  constantly  sending  fine  fruit 
and  the  delicacies  of  the  season  to  Uncle  John  for  us.  Uncle  John  is  a  perfect  contrast  to  Mamma, 
slow  in  speaking  and  very  absent,  but  he  has  a  great  deal  of  fun  and  such  perfect  good  humor  that 
everybody  loves  him  and  he  has  a  mind  stored  with  information.  In  traveling  whenever  we  were  in  a 
difficulty,  he  always  had  some  improvement  or  invention  which  was  just  making  that  would  have  suited 
our  case  exactly,  had  it  been  in  general  use.  Once  when  our  boat  was  aground,  he  said  there  was  one 
just  invented  with  wheels  at  the  bottom,  for  such  an  emergency;  again  when  we  could  not  stem  the 
rapids  and  were  wishing  our  boat  could  be  carried,  there  was  an  India  rubber  one  making  by  some 
one,  and  so  on   in  his  quiet  way. 

We  have  seen  Mr.  Holmes  twice;  he  was  absent  when  we  first  arrived  and  did  not  return  until 
a  day  or  two  before  we  went  South.  He  is  a  fine  looking  old  man,  but  not  one  my  heart  warms  to, 
for  altho'  he  is  not  what  you  would  call  a  reserved  man,  there  is  no  glow  about  him  which  would  draw 
you  near  to  him  as  a  relation." 


158 


Social  Status 


I  not  by  my  education  and  fortune,  by  the  rank  and  consideration  of  my  family, 
have  placed  myself  among  the  proudest  of  your  oppressors." 

In  the  history  of  the  family  a  series  of  letters  will  be  given  which  were 
written  to  T.  A.  Emmet  while  in  prison.  Frequent  reference  is  made  in  these 
letters  to  prominent  persons  in  Ireland,  and  in  a  manner  to  show  clearly  what 
had  been  the  social  position  of  the  family  before  the  political  troubles  of  the 
day  overwhelmed  its  members. 

The  writer  recalls  seeing  his  grandmother,  Mrs.  T.  A.  Emmet,  burn  a  large 
mass  of  letters,  or  other  papers,  during  the  winter  of  1841,  while  on  a  visit 
to  one  of  his  uncles,  then  living  in  Broome  Street;  in  fact,  as  a  thoughtless 
boy,  he  aided  her  in  doing  so  by  gathering  up  what  had  fallen  from  the  grate. 
But  one  single  record  seems  to  have  been  preserved,  and  that  is  a  Bible  con- 
taining the  family  record  of  the  grandfather  and  father  of  T.  A.  Emmet;  but 
for  this  nothing  would  be  known  beyond  the  name  of  his  father. 

It  has,  unfortunately,  been  only  within  the  past  fifty  years  that  any  attempt 
has  been  made,  and  only  by  the  writer,  to  ascertain  anything  of  the  family 
history.  While  this  search  has  been  essentially  an  exhaustive  one  in  both 
England  and  Ireland,  it  was  productive  of  little  beyond  the  accumulation  of 
a  mass  of  material  bearing  only  on  a  part  of  the  general  history  of  the  family, 
and  chiefly  relating  to  the  political  courses  of  Thomas  Addis  and  Robert  Emmet. 

A  portion  of  these  papers  showed  that  there  were  certain  striking  pecu- 
liarities or  facts  strangely  associated  almost  everywhere  with  the  name  of 
Emmet.  We  may  recall  the  circumstance  stated  in  relation  to  the  close  re- 
semblance of  the  arms  borne  by  the  different  branches  of  the  family  for 
centuries  past,  and  without  relation  to  the  different  modes  of  spelling  the  name. 
It  has  also  been  found  in  nearly  every  generation,  and  in  every  branch,  that 
the  Christian  names  of  Christopher,  Robert,  William,  Thomas  and  John  have 
been  those  most  commonly  used.  Again,  the  records  of  England  and  Ireland 
show,  during  the  past  three  hundred  years,  that  an  unusually  large  proportion 
of  the  Emmets,  with  the  various  modes  of  spelling,  have  been  professional 
men,  generally  "married  well",  and  evidently  to  superior  women,  as  a  rule, 
who  were  able  to  train  their  children  to  the  best  advantage. 

So  far  as  could  be  judged,  from  a  large  number  of  wills  examined,  there 
is  no  evidence  that  the  Emmets  at  any  time  possessed  great  wealth,  but  all 
seemed  to  have  been  in  comfortable  circumstances,  as,  with  a  single  exception, 
no  one  of  the  name  was  found  on  the  records  of  the  Bankruptcy  Courts.  This 
would  indicate  a  prudent,  thrifty  race,  with  little  taste  for  show,  and  one  in- 
clined to  live  within  its  means.  But  the  most  remarkable  circumstance  noted 
was  the  fact  that  the  family  has  occupied  essentially  the  same  social  position 
from  our  earliest  records  to  the  present  day — a  fact  doubtless  to  be  attributed 
to  the  training  of  professional  life  and  to  the  consequent  development  and 
maintenance  of  the  intellectual  faculties.  Medicine  seems  to  have  been  a 
favorite  profession,  and  many  have  been  successful  at  the  Bar,  but  not  a  clergy- 
man bearing  the  name  has  been  found  in  Ireland.  In  the  north  of  England 
there  have  been  several  of  the  Established  Church  of  the  name  of  Emmott, 


Family  Connections 


159 


and  at  a  more  recent  period  the  Rev.  M.  Emmet  became  prominent  in  England 
as  a  Methodist  minister. 

Spooner,  in  his  "History  of  the  Fine  Arts",  etc.  (New  York,  1865),  men- 
tions Wm.  Emmett,  "an  English  engraver,  who  flourished  about  1710.  He 
engraved  a  number  of  prints  for  the  booksellers,  among  which  is  a  large  view 
of  the  interior  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  executed  with  the  graver  in  a  neat,  clear 
style." 

In  O'Hart's  "Irish  Pedigrees"  it  is  stated  from  Agnew's  "French  Pro- 
testants" that  an  individual  bearing  the  name  of  Emet  was  naturalized  in  Ire- 
land between  1689  and  1701.  It  would  seem  that  he  was  of  Huguenot  descent 
from  Holland,  and  came  over  to  Ireland  among  the  followers  of  William, 
Prince  of  Orange. 

Within  the  personal  experience  of  the  writer  there  have  been  seven  different 
families  of  Emmet  (with  the  name  variously  spelt)  unknown  to  each  other, 
and  from  different  parts  of  the  world,  who  have  claimed  to  be  in  direct  descent 
from  Thomas  Addis  and  Robert  Emmet,  or  more  remotely  connected  with  the 
same  family.  So  fixed  has  the  tradition  become  that  it  is  impossible  to  prove 
how  the  question  of  relationship  originated,  it  becoming  finally  accepted  as 
true,  on  the  alleged  claim  of  some  progenitor  who  knew  the  facts,  but  has  since 
died. 

I  recall  two  noted  instances ;  that  of  Mrs.  General  Botha  and  the  Reverend 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  S.  J.,  whose  father  was  an  Irishman.  A  member  of 
the  Tucker  family  who  was  of  position  in  the  East  India  Company,  when  the 
British  Government  annexed  India,  was  a  first  cousin  of  the  writer's  grand- 
father, on  his  mother's  side. 

After  a  visit  to  Bermuda  some  sixty  years  ago  the  writer  became  pos- 
sessed of  some  papers  connected  with  this  official,  where  frequent  mention 
was  made  of  a  General  Emmott,  who  had  spent  his  life  in  the  East  India 
service.  He  was  a  native  of  Yorkshire  in  England,  and  when  the  East  India 
Company  ceased  to  exist  the  General  was  pensioned  and  given  some  office  con- 
nected with  the  government  at  Cape  Town,  where  he  finally  died.  Mrs.  Botha's 
father  was  undoubtedly  descended  from  this  General  Emmott,  but  her  name 
had  been  changed  to  Emmet  and  she  had  two  brothers,  Thomas  Addis  and 
Robert  Emmet  who  served  through  the  Boer  War  with  great  credit.  Through 
the  aid  of  the  late  Michael  Davitt,  the  writer  was  able  to  correspond  with  Mrs. 
Botha,  but  she  had  no  proof  of  relationship  nor  extended  knowledge  of  her 
own  family's  settlement  at  the  Cape  nor  of  any  connection  with  Ireland,  and 
yet  the  family  continues  to  hold  the  claim. 

The  family  of  the  Catholic  clergyman  was  from  Ireland,  but  he  possessed 
no  knowledge  of  his  history  and  held  nothing  more  than  the  tradition  that  a 
relationship  did  exist. 

From  the  birth  of  Christopher,  the  grandfather  of  Thomas  Addis  and 
Robert  Emmet,  every  connection  of  the  family  is  perfectly  well  known.  Chris- 
topher, who  was  born  in  1700,  may  have  had  a  brother  or  sister  of  whom  the 
present  members  of  the  family  have  no  record. 


160 


Question  of  Descent 


But  Christopher,  as  will  be  shown,  had  only  two  children.  The  eldest 
son,  and  his  child,  died  young.  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  the  remaining  child  and  the 
youngest,  had  three  sons  and  a  daughter  who  passed  the  period  of  adolescence. 
Temple,  the  eldest,  died  as  a  young  man,  and  had  but  one  daughter  who  also 
died  at  an  early  age. 

The  children  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  all  settled  in  New  York,  except 
the  writer's  father,  and  an  uncle,  who  died  early  in  life  as  a  midshipman  in 
the  United  States  navy.  The  history  of  all  these  was  known  to  the  writer 
in  as  close  detail  as  ever  the  life  of  one  individual  could  be  to  another.  There- 
fore, the  claim  of  relationship  with  the  family  of  Robert  Emmet  at  any  time 
within  at  least  210  years  can  only  rest  on  an  illegitimate  connection. 

But  from  the  writer's  intimate  knowledge  of  the  lives  of  the  male  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  it  seems  an  absurdity  to  suppose  they  ever  had  any  illegiti- 
mate children.  There  can  not  exist  the  slightest  basis  for  the  claim  of  those 
who  hold  they  have  descended  directly  from  Robert  Emmet.  He  never  mar- 
ried and  both  friend  and  foe  who  knew  him  from  childhood,  agree  that  his 
moral  character,  in  every  relation,  was  in  accord  with  the  highest  standard 
of  purity. 


The  Irish  question  has  never  passed  into  history  because  it  has  never  passed  out  of 
politics. 

Lord  Rosebery. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

Christopher  Emett  and  Rebecca 
Temple,  his  \x  ife 


In  the  sad  picture  of  her  destruction  Ireland  exhibits  not  the  majestic  ruins  of  a  nation. 
Before  Ireland  could  be  a  nation  she  became  a  province;  before  Ireland  could  be  a  peo- 
ple her  inhabitants  were  made  slaves,  attached  not  to  their  country,  but  to  their  soil. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  II 

Irish  relations  and  ancestors  of  the  present  generation  of  the  Emmet  family  in  the 
United  States  of  America — Christopher  Emett,  M.D.,  marriages  and  connections — Dr. 
Robert  Emmet  of  Dublin — Author — Medical  work  and  a  number  of  poems. 


M 


llii 


T  has  been  shown  that  different  branches  of  the  Emmet 
family  were  in  Ireland  during  three  hundred  years,  and 
in  England  for  centuries  before.  Yet  between  them  and 
the  ancestors  of  the  family  now  in  the  United  States  no 
direct  communication  could  be  traced,  nor  is  there  any 
record  of  this  branch  earlier  than  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

The  American  family  came  from  Thomas  Emett,  the 
father  of  Christopher  Emett,  of  whom  nothing  more  is 
known.  Christopher  was  born  in  1700,  as  was  ascertained  from  the 
headstone  over  his  grave  in  the  yard  of  the  Tipperary  parish  church. 
He  was  a  physician  or  surgeon,  and,  according  to  Dr.  Madden's  state- 
ment, had  a  large  practice  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  probably 
practised  surgery  chiefly  and  'did  not  take  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine, which  would  explain  why  he  had  never  styled  himself  "Doctor",  and  in 
fact  nothing  more  than  "Christopher  Emett,  Gent","  as  his  signature  appears 
upon  several  documents.  He  married,  February  9th,  1727,  Rebecca,  only 
daughter  of  Thomas  Temple,  Esq.,  of  Ten  Hills — near  Boston — and  grand- 
daughter of  Sir  Purbeck  Temple,  Bart.*  Her  father  resided  for  the  greater 
portion  of  his  life  in  America,  as  did  his  son  Robert,  and  his  grandsons  Robert 
and  John  Temple.  They  married  in  New  England,  and  their  descendants,  as 
will  be  shown,  became  afterwards  more  closely  related  to  the  Emmet  family. 
Christopher  and  Rebecca  Emett  had  but  two  children : 
1.  Thomas  Emett,  who  was  born  in  1728,  married  Grace  Russell,  and  had 
one  child.  The  father  died  of  smallpox  June  27th,  1758.  His  child  expired 
on  the  following  day  from  the  same  disease,  and  both  were  buried  in  the  same 
grave  in  the  town  of  Tipperary.  Mrs.  Emett  died  in  Dublin,  about  1788,  at 
the  house  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  and  in  her  will  she  directed  that  she  should  be 
buried  in  the  same  grave  with  her  husband  and  child. 


*See  Appendix,  Note  II,  for  history  of  the  Temple  Family. 

161 


162 


Will  of  Christopher  Emett 


2.  Robert  Emett  was  born  in  Tipperary,  November  29th,  1729,  and  the  de- 
tails of  his  life  will  be  given  hereafter. 

Christopher  Emett  died  in  Tipperary,  leaving  the  following  will : 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I,  Christopher  Emett,  of  Tippperary,  in  the  County  of 
Tipperary,  being  at  present  in  a  bad  state  of  health,  but  of  sound  mind  and  memory, 
thanks  be  to  God,  do  make  and  declare  this  to  be  my  last  Will  and  Testament,  revoking 
all  former  wills  by  me  made  and  declaring  this  and  no  other  to  be  my  last  Will  and 
Testament,  in  the  manner  following: 

First,  I  give  to  my  dearly  beloved  wife  Rebecca  Emett  the  sum  of  fifty  pounds, 
and  my  plate  and  household  linen,  which  fifty  pounds  I  desire  she  may  be  paid  first, 
the  debts  justly  due  of  me  having  been  discharged.  I  farther  bequest  unto  my  wife, 
during  her  widowhood,  the  use  of  her  choice  Room,  and  the  furniture  thereof,  in  the 
House  we  now  dwell  in,  together  with  the  Interest  I  now  have  in  the  Fairs  and  Mar- 
kets of  this  Town,  she  discharging,  paying,  and  f ullfilling  the  several  Articles  which  I 
am  subject  to  in  the  Lease  which  I  have  of  the  same,  and  if  my  said  wife  should 
think  proper  to  marry  after  my  decease,  my  will  is  that  both  my  sons  pay  her  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling  over  and  above  the  fifty  pounds  first  given  and  be- 
queathed to  her,  or  if  my  said  wife  and  all,  or  any,  of  my  Executors,  jointly  with  her 
hereafter  named,  shall  think  proper  to  lett  or  sell  all  or  any  of  my  Freehold  Leases, 
real  or  personal  Estate,  which  I  hereby  empower  them  to  do,  my  Will  is  that  She  re- 
ceives the  said  fifty  pounds  as  in  case  of  such  marriage. 

The  remainder  of  my  worldly  substance  to  go  and  be  equally  divided  between  my 
two  sons  Thos.  Emett  and  Robert  Emett,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  both  before 
arriving  at  the  lawful  age,  then  my  Will  is  that  if  my  wife  be  living  that  she  may  be 
paid  two  hundred  pounds  more  than  heretofore  given  her,  but  if  she  should  not  be 
living  my  Will  is  that  one  hundred  pounds  of  the  above  two  hundred  pounds  intended 
for  her  be  paid  to  my  sister  in  law  Elizabeth  Temple,  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  if  she  be 
then  living,  and  fifty  pounds  to  my  sister  in  law  Agnes  Cuthbert,  of  Castlebarr,  if  she 
should  be  then  living,  and  not  otherwise,  and  if  not,  that  and  the  remainder  of  my  Sub- 
stance to  be  equally  divided  between  my  brothers  and  sisters,  or  as  many  as  shall  be 
living  of  them,  except  fifty  pounds  which  I  leave  to  my  nephew  Christopher  Emett,  son 
of  William  Emett,  and  forty  pounds  to  my  nephew  John  Mahony,  in  case  of  such  con- 
tingencies as  hereinbefore  expressed;  and  it  is  further  my  will  and  desire  that  neither 
of  my  sons  should  marry  before  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  without 
the  consent  of  my  wife  first  had,  and  the  consent  of  Joseph  White,  Esq.,  or  of  Ambrose 
Harding  with  hers,  and  in  case  either  of  them  should,  then  he  to  receive  twenty-five  pounds 
and  no  more,  and  the  Legacy  herein  intended  for  him  to  go  to  his  brother.  But  in 
case  they  should  both  marry  before  they  arrive  to  such  age,  then  their  legacies  to  be 
disposed  of  between  them,  as  my  wife,  Ambrose  Harding,  Esq.,  and  Joseph  White, 
Esq.,  see  proper,  and  it  is  my  will  that  if  any  dispute  arise  between  my  sons  on  account 
of  the  legacy  herein  intended  for  them,  that  the  same  may  be  determined  by  Ambrose 
Harding,  Esq.,  Joseph  White,  and  my  wife,  or  any  two  of  them,  and  in  case  of  them 
refusing,  then  to  any  other  three  honest  gentlemen,  of  which  James  Reardon,  of  the 
town  of  Tipperary  if  living  be  one,  which  determination  shall  be  final  to  such  dispute, 
and  in  case  either  of  them  shall  not  abide  by  such  determination,  then  to  receive  twenty 
pounds  and  no  more. 

I  nominate,  constitute  and  appoint  the  aforesaid  Ambrose  Harding,  Joseph  White, 
Rebecca  Emett,  my  wife,  and  Samuel  Taylor,  of  Waterford,  Gent",  executor  of  this  my 
last  Will  and  Testament;  I  appoint  my  said  wife  Rebecca  and  said  Samuel  Taylor 
guardians  of  my  said  sons  Thomas  and  Robert  during  each  of  their  minorities. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  put  my  hand  and  seal  this  twentyeth  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  God  one  thousand  and  seven  hundred  and  forty-three. 

Christopher  Emett  [seal]. 


Kindred  of  Christopher  Emett 


Signed,  sealed,  published  and  declared  by  the  said  Testator  to  be  his  last  Will  and 
Testament  in  presence  of  us  who  have  signed  our  names  as  Witness  in  his  Presence, 
the  words  "and  I  appoint  my  said  wife  Rebecca  and  Samuel  Taylor,  guardians  of  my 
said  sons  Thomas  and  Robert  during  each  of  their  minorities",  being  first  above  inter- 
lined between  the  thirty-third  and  thirty-fourth  lines. 

Witness : 

John  Armstrong,  Saml.  Corbett,  Rudolph  Hobb. 

The  last  Will  and  Testament  of  Christopher  Emett,  late  of  Tipperary,  in  the  county  of 
Tipperary,  Gent.,  deed.,  leaving  and  so  forth,  was  proved  and  approved  in  common  form 
of  law  and  registered  in  his  Majesty's  Court  of  Prerogative  and  the  Burden  of  the 
Executive  of  the  said  Will  and  administration  of  the  goods  of  the  said  deed,  were 
granted  by  the  Most  Rev.  Father  John  and  soforth,  also  Judge  and  soforth,  to  Rebecca 
Emett,  widow  and  relict  of  the  said  deed.,  and  Samuel  Taylor,  of  the  city  of  Dublin, 
Gentn.,  two  of  ye  Execrs.  named  in  ye  said  Will,  they  being  first  sworn.  Saving  the  right 
of  Ambrose  Harding  and  Joseph  White,  Esqs.,  the  other  Execrs.  and  soforth.  Dated  the 
fourteenth  day  of  November  in  ye  year  of  our  Lord  1743 — and  they  have  to  exhibit  an 
Inventory  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  May  next  ensuing. 

Christopher  Emett  evidently  had  a  number  of  brothers  and  sisters,  as  is 
shown  by  the  provision  made  in  his  will  that  under  a  certain  contingency  the 
property  should  "be  equally  divided  between  my  brothers  and  sisters,  or  as 
many  as  shall  be  living  of  them".  He  mentions  by  name  only  his  brother 
William,  and  so  far  no  clue  has  been  obtained  to  indicate  the  names  of  his  other 
brothers  or  their  place  of  residence,  consequently  it  is  impossible  to  trace  the 
relationship  between  those  of  the  name  known  to  have  been  living  at  that  time 
in  Ireland.  Possibly  Christopher's  other  brothers  were  without  male  children, 
or  if  this  was  not  so  their  male  descendants,  as  well  as  those  of  their  nephew 
Christopher,  died  out  in  the  next  generation. 

The  proof  of  this  rests  on  the  letter  given  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  and 
written  to  Peter  Burrowes  by  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  shortly  after  settling  in  this 
country,  and  already  referred  to,  in  which  he  states — "there  is  not  now  in 
Ireland  an  individual  that  bears  the  name  of  Emmet."  This  positive  assertion 
must  be  accepted  without  question,  as  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Emmet 
could  have  been  either  ignorant  of  the  facts  or  indifferent  to  the  truth  of  such 
an  important  statement. 

It  seems  not  unlikely,  from  evidence  to  be  presented,  that  one  of  Christo- 
pher's sisters  married  a  Joseph  White,  who  was  probably  of  the  same  family 
as  Nathl.  White,  the  Plymouth  merchant,  and  that  the  Joseph  White  who  was 
executor  to  Christopher  Emett's  will  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel.  It  is  also 
likely  that  one  of  the  sisters  of  Christopher  married  a  Mr.  Taylor,  and  that 
he  was  the  father  of  Samuel  Taylor  selected  by  Christopher  Emett  as  one  of 
his  executors  and  to  be  the  guardian  of  his  children.  It  is  also  likely  that  still 
another  sister  of  Christopher  married  Thomas  Addis,  a  merchant  of  Cork.  It 
is  thought  that  Mr.  Addis  married  twice,  Joana  Emett  being  his  first  wife  and 
Jane  his  widow.  His  will  was  dated  May  19th,  1719,  and  it  was  proved  June 
6th,  1724.  It  may  be  inferred  from  the  date  of  proving  the  will  that  Mr.  Addis 
died  in  the  spring  of  1724.* 


•The  Addis  family  was  one  of  importance  in  Cork,  Ireland,  throughout  the  17th  century.  Mem- 
bers of  this  family  frequently  served  as  mayor  or  sheriff  of  Cork.    The  cutlery,  and  particularly  the 


164 


The  Addis  Family 


He  left  one  son,  Fenton  Addis,  who  was  an  only  child  and  by  his  first  wife. 
Fenton  Addis  was  a  lawyer  by  profession  and  practised  in  Cork  for  many 
years.  While  we  have  no  positive  proof  of  the  exact  degree  of  relationship, 
it  is  known  that  one  did  exist.  Mr.  Addis  lived  well  past  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  his  connection  with  Dr.  Emmet's  family  could  only 
have  been  based  on  some  relationship.  Fenton  Addis's  wife  died  in  1744;  he 
had  no  children,  and  evidently  on  his  death  his  effects  passed  to  Dr.  Robert 
Emmet.  In  proof  of  this  surmise  the  writer  has  a  number  of  books  which  he 
inherited  from  his  father  and  which  doubtless  originally  formed  part  of  the 
library  of  his  grandfather,  T.  A.  Emmet.  These  books  contain  the  bookplate 
or  signature  of  Fenton  Addis,  and  from  the  date  of  publication  of  some  of 
them  it  is  evident  that  he  was  alive  as  late  as  the  birth  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet.  In  precisely  the  same  manner  the  family  inherited  a  silver  snuffbox 
with  a  large  bloodstone  on  the  top  set  around  with  Irish  garnets.  On  the  in- 
side of  the  cover  is  inserted  what  is  supposed  to  be  a  rare  form  of  bloodstone, 
perfectly  white,  with  a  blot  in  the  center  resembling  a  fresh  drop  of  blood. 
Around  this  stone  is  the  inscription :  "This  Box  to  be  kept  in  ye  family  of 
Thomas  Addis  for  ye  last  of  his  male  line,  A.D.  1708.— Value  10  pds."  At 
the  time  of  Fenton  Addis's  death  his  immediate  family  had  apparently  died 
out,  and  this  snuffbox  naturally  went  to  Dr.  Emmet  for  his  son  bearing  the 
name  of  Addis. 

One  of  the  bequests  made  in  Christopher's  will  was  to  Elizabeth  Temple, 
his  wife's  sister,  and  also  "fifty  pounds  to  my  sister-in-law  Agnes  Cuthbert,  of 
Castlebarr,  if  she  should  be  then  living,  and  not  Otherwise."*  There  is  nothing 
to  show  who  this  "sister-in-law"  could  have  been.  The  only  possible  explana- 
tion seems  to  be  that  she  was  his  sister  and  not  a  sister-in-law,  as  stated  in  the 
will.  This  view  is  suggested  from  the  reading  of  the  will  of  Dr.  Wm.  Cuthbert, 
as  follows : 

In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  I  William  Cuthbert,  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  gent.,  being 
of  sound  and  disposing  mind,  memory  and  understanding,  do  make  my  last  Will  and 
Testament  in  manner  following, — that  is  to  say  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  unto  my 
beloved  wife  Mary  Cuthbert,  otherwise  Phibbs,  in  addition  to  her  marriage  articles  with 
me,  which  I  hereby  confirm,  all  my  real  and  personal  estate  of  what  kind  and  nature 
so  ever  towards  her  better  support  and  maintinance,  except  my  books  in  physick  and 
chirurgery,  which  I  hereby  devise  to  my  former  wife's  nephew  Dr.  Robert  Emmitt, 
and  do  nominate,  constitute  and  appoint  my  said  wife  Mary  sole  executive  of  this  my 
will,  hereby  revoking  all  former  wills  by  me  made  and  declaring  this  to  be  my  last  Will 
and  Testament.  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  put  my  hand  and  seal,  this 
twenty-fifth  day  of  April  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-three.  Willm.  Cuthbert  [seal]! 

carving  tools,  made  by  the  Addis  family,  were  noted  features  of  Irish  industry  for  generations.  The 
family  seemed  to  have  died  out  during  the  following  century  in  Cork  or  emigrated  to  New  England. 
The  following  newspaper  cutting  was  sent  to  me  while  writing  this  work  and  it  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  some  of  the  family  had  settled  in  Connecticut: 

(3651.)  1.  Addis,  Ancestry  wanted  of  the  following-named:  James  Addis  of  Durham,  Conn., 
a  soldier  in  Revolution.  Samuel  Addis  who  married  Submit  Bartlett.  Thomas  Addis  of  Durham,  Conn., 
born  1739,  died  April  14,  1827.  Thomas  Addis  of  Westbrook,  Conn.,  1764.  Thomas  Addis  of  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  who  married  Abby  De  Wolf.    Thomas  Addis,  who  married  Susanna  Larrabee  in  Boston,  1748. 

*The  author  recently  looking  over  a  file  of  papers  printed  in  Dublin  during  the  later  portion  of 
1797,  saw  the  advertisement  of  a  house  to  be  let  in  Dublin,  and  "possession  given  immediately  or  sooner 
if  desired".  ..  -tt-jt-v 

tAmong  the  State  Prisoners  at  Fort  George  and  a  leader  in  the  organization  of  United  Irishmen 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


DR.  ROBERT  EMMET 
of  Dublin,  from  a  miniature,  about  1760 


Dr.  Robert  Emmet 


165 


Signed,  sealed,  published  and  declared  by  the  Testator  as  his  last  Will  and  testa- 
ment in  presence  of  us  who  in  his  presence  at  his  request,  and  in  presence  of  each 
other,  have  subscribed  our  names  as  witnesses: 

Thomas  Taylor,  Wm.  Bill,  Alex".  Sparow. 

It  is  evident  from  this  document  that  Agnes  Cuthbert  was  a  sister  of  Chris- 
topher Emett  and  the  first  wife  of  Dr.  Cuthbert. 

Christopher  Emett  also  mentions  his  nephew,  John  Mahony,  whose  mother 
was  Diana  Emett,  another  sister.  John  Mahony's  sister  married  a  Dr. 
Macoubry,  of  Anacloy,  Downpatrick,  Ireland.  A  letter  from  T.  A.  Emmet 
to  his  kinswoman,  Mrs.  Macoubry,  relating  to  the  birth  of  a  son,  and  one 
from  Dr.  Emmet,  referring  to  the  arrest  of  his  son,  will  be  given  hereafter,  and 
reference  to  these  letters  is  made,  as  through  them  the  relationship  to  Diana 
Emett  was  traced.  Mrs.  Macaubry's  daughter,  Diana,  married  Mr.  John  Gerd- 
wood,  originally  of  Edinburgh,  but  who  settled  afterwards  in  the  north  of 
Ireland.  The  widow  of  her  son,  Mrs.  Sarah  Gerdwood,  presented  the  writer 
with  these  letters  to  Mrs.  Macoubry,  with  an  account  of  the  family  connection. 

Another  point  of  interest  is  presented  in  this  last  will.  The  testator  desig- 
nates himself  as  "Wm.  Cuthbert,  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  Gent.,"  without  making 
any  reference  to  his  profession,  which  he  most  likely  would  have  done  if  en- 
titled to  the  degree  of  "Doctor  of  Medicine."  This  explanation  applies  equally 
to  Dr.  Christopher  Emett,  who  was  termed  by  others  a  physician,  though  he 
never  used  the  title  himself,  notwithstanding  that  he  no  doubt  practised  both 
medicine  and  surgery.  The.  only  explanation  is  the  one  already  given,  that  he 
obtained  the  degree  of  surgeon,  and  consequently  would  have  been  ad- 
dressed, according  to  the  English  custom,  as  Mr.  Emett,  while  his  social  posi- 
tion entitled  him  to  the  designation  "Gent"." 

Robert  Emmet,  the  youngest  son,  became  a  noted  physician.  He  received 
his  degree  of  medicine  from  the  University  of  Montpellier,  France,  about  1750, 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Cork,  Ireland.  In  1753  Dr.  Emmet 
wrote  a  medical  work*  on  some  of  the  diseases  of  women,  which  was  originally 
published  in  Latin  and  was  afterwards  translated  into  French  and  English, 
with  two  editions  printed  in  Paris,  and  one  in  England. f 

Dr.  Robert  Emmet  wrote  quite  a  large  volume  of  poemsj  while  a  medical 
student,  and  for  several  years  after,  between  1750  and  1765.  The  writer  felt 
a  delicacy  in  making  any  attempt  to  pass  judgment  on  the  merit  of  these  poems 

was  a  Joseph  Cuthbert,  but  no  mention  is  known  to  have  ever  been  made  of  him  by  Mr.  Emmet,  as 
would  have  been  the  case  had  he  been  a  relative  of  Dr.  Wm.  Cuthbert. 

•Tentamina  Medica.  de  Mensium  Fluxu  et  de  Curatione  Morborum  Cephalicorum.  Auctore, 
Roberto  Emett,  Med.  Bacc.  e  Societate  Regia  Scientiarum,  Monspeliense,  MDCCLIII. 

tThe  writer  has  possessed  the  four  editions.  " 

JThe  volume  in  which  these  poems  were  written  is  bound  in  vellum,  made  of  thick  Dutch  paper, 
and  despite  its  having  been  subjected  to  rough  usage,  the  skill  of  the  book-binder  has  preserved  its 
condition. 

Previous  to  being  put  to  its  present  use,  25  or  30  pages  were  cut  out,  so  close  that  the  nature  of 
the  manuscript  which  has  been  removed  cannot  be  determined.  The  first  poem  written  in  the  book 
bears  the  title  "A  Poem  on  a  Harvest  Day,  in  three  parts,  (Morning,  Noon  and  Night),  Cork,  Sept. 
1758".  The  poems  bear  various  dates  between  the  first  written  and  the  last  in  1763  while  near  the  end, 
1754  and  1755  are  given,  showing  the=e  had  been  composed  at  a  previous  time  and  were  copied  in  after 
"The  Harvest  Day"  was  written.  These  poems  were  written  while  Dr.  Emmet  lived  in  Cork,  a 
number,  before  his  marriage,  and  several  while  a  student.  Many  years  after,  it  would  seem,  Robert 
Emmet,  Jr.  had  as  a  child  been  reading  his  father's  poems,  many  of  which  he  had  seen  were  signed 
by  the  elder.  A  particular  one  he  noticed  had  not  been  signed  so  he  supplied  the  deficiency  with 
the  signature  "Robbert  Emmet",  in  a  large  copy-book  form,  an  accomplishment  he  had  evidently  but 
recently  acquired. 


166 


Dr.  Emmet's  Poems 


of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  and  hesitated  to  choose  what  parts  were  worthy  of  pub- 
lication. He,  therefore,  submitted  the  matter  to  an  old  friend,  Mr.  J.  I.  C. 
Clarke,  the  journalist  and  poet.  Had  Mr.  Clarke  never  written  more  than 
"Kelly  and  Burke  and  Shea",  in  prose  or  poetry,  he  would  be  entitled  to  a  most 
prominent  position  in  the  literary  world.   Mr.  Clarke's  reply  was  as  follows: 

I  have  found  Dr.  Emmet's  verses  extremely  interesting.  He  was,  I  presume,  at 
the  time  a  young  man,  probably  under  thirty,  educated  to  the  full  and  in  touch  with 
all  the  literature  and  art  of  his  day.  He  had  the  true  poetic  bent,  and  an  admirable 
technique.  As  you  know,  it  is  impossible  for  anyone  to  write  outside  his  cycle,  that  is  he 
must  express  himself  in  the  line  of  the  greater  writers  around  him.  Hence  the  influence 
of  Pope,  the  dominant  note  of  his  time,  is  most  felt,  but  in  a  particular  way  he  was 
influenced  also  by  Gray.  The  "Harvest  Day"  is  very  largely  so,  several  phrases  from 
the  "Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard"  finding  their  way  into  his  lines.  However,  I 
have  chosen  the  third  or  "Evening"  part  for  copying,  because  it  gives  a  picture  of 
country  life  in  Ireland  of  1758  that  is  fairly  illuminative.  The  affectation  that  colors 
most  of  the  poetry  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  naturally  present.  These  were  described 
in  a  pompous  way.  The  classics  were  plentifully  drawn  on  for  illustration. 
The  names  of  gods  and  goddesses  are  sprinkled  over  it.  You  get  the  idea  when  you 
read  the  eighteenth  century  poets  of  England  that  they  wrote  with  ruffles  on  their 
shirts,  with  periwigs  and  wore  red  heels.  I  am  having  a  number  of  the  poems  copied, 
making  them  as  varied  as  possible.   He  is  most  natural  in  "A  Letter  to  a  Friend". 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  as  to  the  advisability  of  placing  the  remaining  por- 
tion of  The  "Harvest  Day"  in  the  Appendix,  Mr.  Clarke  wrote — 

The  whole  poem  is  good  mid-eighteenth  century  verse.  The  thing  that  is  most 
valuable  in  it  to  me  is  the  light  that  it  throws  on  the  agricultural  and  rustic  customs 
of  the  times  in  Ireland.  "Evening"  has  most  of  these.  The  other  parts  "Morning"  and 
"Noon"  are  poetically  all  right,  to  go  in  the  Appendix.  As  I  wrote  before,  the  "Letter 
to  a  Friend"  is  the  best  and  most  human  thing  in  the  book,  and  the  Lyrics  are  good  also. 
(See  Appendix,  Note  III.) 

Evening* 

No  more  the  cooling  streams  delight 

The  coverts  please  no  more, 
The  Sun  descends  his  mid-day  height 

And  coasts  Ierne's  shore. 
The  lab'rer  eyes  his  steep  career, 

And  marks  well  pleas'd  the  ray 
Which  speaks  the  well  watch'd  hour  near 

And  ends  the  hir'd  day. 

2. 

The  goaded  oxen  now  set  free 

Tend  loweing  in  the  vale 
And  slowly  winding  o'er  the  lee 

Their  fellow  oxen  hail. 
And  now  wide  stretching  o'er  the  lawn 

The  lengthen'd  shades  appear 
Of  peasants  who  at  russet  dawn 

The  silent  valleys  cheer. 


*See  Appendix,  Note  III,  for  remainder  of  the  poem. 


Evening 


3. 

In  sportive  groups  they  quit  the  field 

Nor  toils  their  vigour  marr 
For  there  behold  one  active  wield 

And  toss  the  massive  barr. 
Here  with  a  rock's  enormous  weight 

High  on  his  arm  upbore 
Each  arduous  strives  to  emulate 

The  Swains  who  cast  before. 

4. 

Still  more  laborious,  there  one  joyns 

A  seeming  frantick  train 
Which  tightly  girt  around  their  loins 

Drive  furious  o'er  the  plane. 
The  youth  of  neighb'ring  villas,  they 

Met  eager  to  decide 
Superior  strength  and  skill  in  play, 

For  villagers  have  pride. 

5. 

And  active  now  they  hurl  the  ball 

And  eagerly  pursue, 
They  cross,  they  jostle,  tripp  and  fall 

Each  other  to  outdo, 
And  stung  with  love  of  rustick  fame 

Each  anxious  plays  his  part 
Runs,  pants  and  toils  to  win  the  game 

And  prove  superior  art. 

6. 

But  hark!  the  Groves  harmonious  ring, 

And  crowding  to  the  fray 
The  fledg'd  musicians  fondly  sing 

The  vespers  of  the  day. 
In  concert  wild  their  notes  arise 

As  fades  the  setting  light 
An  instinct  hommage  to  the  skies 
And  bid  the  Day  good  night. 

7. 

For  now  disrob'd  of  all  his  blaze 

The  West'rn  Sun  behold 
His  glory  cropt  and  dimm'd  his  rays 

A  lucid  sphere  of  gold ; 
Now  scarce  above  the  upland  height 

Appears  the  fading  ray 
And  sudden  now  withdrawn  from  sight 

It  dips  into  the  Sea. 

8. 

Now  home  the  peace  full  sheperd  tends 

His  fleecy  charge  secure 
Th'  endearing  glance  fond  Mopsa  sends 
And  greets  him  at  the  door. 


Evening ' ' 


And  there  light  tripping  o'er  the  vale 

The  merry  milk-maids  come 
Or  burthen'd  with  the  foaming  pail 

Return  jocund  home. 

9. 

The  attentive  ploughman  there  behold 

Gaze  on  the  ruddy  sky 
And  from  just  observation  bold 

Pronounce  the  morrow  dry. 
Or  now  tho'  settl'd  and  serene 

The  gilded  clouds  appear, 
He  dooms  it  lost  in  constant  rain 

Without  one  ray  to  cheer. 

10. 

His  knowledge  not  from  books  he  draws 

Or  schoolmen's  learn'd  pride 
Hydraulick  rules  or  nature's  laws, 

Experience  is  his  guide. 
Instructed  hence  the  field  he  leaves 

Eve  low'rs  the'  impending  tide 
And  counts  the  future  harvest's  sheaves 

Stretch'd  by  his  fire's  side. 

u. 

Instructed  hence,  t'  elude  the  flight 

And  save  the  embryo  grain 
He  waits  the  moon's  returning  Light 

Nor  trusts  th'  abortive  wane. 
But  hark !  in  close  of  Ceres  rites 

The  hagart's  toil  complete 
The  frolick  bagpipes'  sound  invites 

The  Lab'rers  to  a  treat. 

12. 

And  there  behold  the  sportive  band 

Pleas'd  with  th'  Eolian  sound 
Give  each  to  each  the  willing  hand 

And  dance  the  merry  round. 
No  artfull  modes  of  dance  they  know 

The  Louvres  measur'd  pace 
The  Rigadoon,  the  Pasby  slow 

Or  minuet's  easy  grace. 

13. 

By  nature's  laws  alert  they  move 

And  vigour  wings  their  heels, 
And  there  observe  intent  on  Love 

How  gracefull  Sic'ly  wheels. 
With  looks  intent  wher'ere  she  turns 

Young  Roger's  eyes  pursue, 
And  Sic'ly  too  for  Roger  burns 

Could  Roger  but  be  true. 


Evening 


169 


But  see  pale  Cynthia  lights  her  lamp 

And  spreading  o'er  the  sky 
Thick  charg'd  with  chilling  aguish  damp 

The  dusky  vapours  fly. 
Now  home  the  rustick  Swains  retire 

That  peacefull  happy  home 
Where  dread  cabals  and  vengefull  ire 

Are  seldom  known  to  come. 

15. 

Nor  sooner  on  the  peacefull  bed 

Their  cumbrous  limbs  are  thrown 
Than  Somnus  waves  the  scepter'd  lead 

And  marks  them  for  his  own. 
Sleep  on,  ye  Sons  of  healthfull  toil, 

Enjoy  the  soft  repose, 
No  tortur'd  dreams  your  slumbers  spoil 

With  scenes  of  fancy 'd  woes. 

16. 

The  sultry  heat  is  now  forgot 

The  day's  fatigue  is  o'er 
Joy,  Health  and  Peace  await  your  Lot, 

What  has  a  monarch  more? 
Not  oft  so  much,  since  anxious  cares 

Their  secret  hours  employ 
And  thousand  doubts,  distrusts  and  fears 

The  regal  peace  destroy. 

17. 

Learn  hence  this  truth,  ye  grave  and  gay 

Wherewith  intent  to  please 
The  rustick  muse  would  close  her  lay 

And  set  each  heart  at  Ease. 
In  want  or  wealth,  in  hinds  or  kings 

Proportion'd  bliss  you'll  find, 
Content  from  no  condition  springs, 

Its  source  is  in  the  mind. 


e  education  of  a  people  must  be  its  o'wn  'work,  the  spontaneous  effect  of  its  otun 
genius. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


It  has  been  the  curse  of  Ireland  to  derive  no  advantage  from  the  wisdom  and  virtue  of 
the  English  sovereigns,  yet  to  be  the  peculiar  victim  of  their  crimes. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  III 

Poems  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  continued — Marriage — The  Mason  family — Families 
in  Co.  Kerry  connected  with  the  Emmet  family  by  this  marriage — Their  mode  of  living — 
Never  very  loyal  to  Great  Britain — Dr.  Emmet's  residence  in  Dublin — Birthplace  of 
Robert  Emmet,  Jr. — Names  of  some  of  the  visitors  to  Dr.  Emmet's  house — Buckingham, 
appoints  Dr.  Emmet  State  physician,  and  to  other  positions — Different  modes  of  spelling 
the  name  of  Emmet — Madden's  opinion  of  Dr.  Emmet  and  his  wife — His  sons — The 
writer's  meeting  with  Dr.  Madden — The  Temple  family  in  New  England — As  loyalists 
returned  to  Ireland  and  lived  with  Dr.  Emmet — How  Dr.  Emmet  became  a  republican — 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  a  republican — How  the  sons  were  influenced — The  family's  distrust 
of  Napoleon — Ireland  would  probably  have  been  a  French  province  had  the  brothers 
Emmet  acted  otherwise — Patten's  account  of  Dr.  Emmet's  course  in  training  his  sons — Dr. 
Emmet  the  father  of  seventeen  children — All  but  four  dead  in  early  childhood — The  sup- 
posed cause — Injustice  of  Grattan  and  Curran  in  their  account  of  Dr.  Emmet — Training 
of  his  sons — The  loss  of  the  Emmet  effects  after  the  imprisonment  of  T.  A.  Emmet — 
Grattan's  portrait  in  possession  of  Dr.  Emmet — Emmet  residence  at  "Casino". 

S  it  was  felt  that  "Harvest  Day,"  the  poem  from  which 
the  selection  given  in  the  last  chapter  was  made,  was 
too  lengthy  to  incorporate  in  the  text,  the  "Morning" 
and  "Noon"  portions  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix 
(Note  III).  The  following  selections  consist  of  shorter 
complete  poems. 

From  a  Poem — On  the  Death  of  a  Friend 


IN  IMITATION  OF  MR.  YOUNG 


Almighty  God,  thou  great  eternal  cause, 
Primceval  source  of  all  things  which  exist, 
Who  by  the  mere  volition  of  thy  will 
Didst  call  forth  matter  from  the  shapeless  Void, 
And  on  the  warring  Elements  impress 
That  beauteous  harmony  which  all  pervades. 
Thou  God  to  whom  this  perdurance  of  time 
Which  seems  so  wondrous  to  the  human  thought 
Appears  as  bounded  as  immense  to  man. 
Oh !  how  can  we,  the  helpless  sons  of  earth, 
Of  whom  such  millions  perish  in  the  birth 
Without  one  bit  of  judgement  or  of  thought 
And  loose  Existence  'ere  they  well  exist. 

170 


'  'On  the  Death  of  a  Friend 


171 


2. 

Or  if  existing  for  so  short  a  space 
Its  longest  period  seems  but  a  day, 
Much  less !  a  moment,  with  respect  of  thee 
How  can  (I  say),  this  helpless  human  race, 
The  short  liv'd  tenants  of  a  pigmy  sphere, 
Which  when  in  ballance  with  creation's  scale 
Seems  like  an  atom  ballanced  with  a  world, 
How  can  such  beings  impotent  to  stretch 
And  Life  protract  one  moment  to  their  wish 
Expect  to  rise  immortal  from  the  Grave 
Exist  eternal  and  coequal  Thee? 
Here  Reason  staggers  and  Reflection  fails 
'Tis  Faith  alone,  enlivening  faith  can  cheer 
And  give  the  glad  assurance  of  hereafter. 


A  Letter  to  a  Friend 


1. 

Whence,  prithee,  Bob,  proceeds  this  sullen  mood 

This  sulky  silence  which  you  have  pursu'd 

For  three  whole  weeks?   What,  not  one  word  of  news 

But  what  the  Journal  can  supply  or  Pues? 

In  vain  you'll  plead  attention  to  the  Laws 

For  that,  my  friend,  could  never  be  the  cause 

Silent  and  guiltless  now  the  Four  Courts  stand 

And  Justice  still  may  loiter  in  the  Land. 

But  if  to  silence  me  your  scheme  was  meant 

'Tis  all  in  vain,  I'll  baffle  your  intent 

And  write  to  you  as  free  as  I'd  converse, 

Nay  more  to  plague  you  too,  perhaps  in  verse. 

'Tis  true  this  method  may  take  up  some  time 

To  sort  the  words  and  hitch  them  into  Rhime 

But  that  I  may  comply  with ;  for  to  you 

My  friend,  I  own  I've  little  else  to  do. 

2. 

Physicians  now  in  vain  would  boast  their  knowledge 
Improv'd  by  books,  and  ripen'd  at  a  colledge 
It  stands  them,  faith,  in  very  little  stead 
As  Boerhaave  great,  as  elegant  as  Mead 
'Tis  all  a  jest  in  vain  they'd  hope  to  rise 
In  twenty  thousand  men  how  many  wise? 
Perhaps  one  dozen ;  good,  the  odds  are  great ; 
And  could  this  dozen  wise  afford  them  meat? 
I  fancy  not ;  then  take  the  saveing  Rule 
A  wise  man's  interest  is  to  play  the  fool ; 
Judgement  and  sense  are  trimmings  to  his  coat 
But  'tis  address  that  makes  a  man  of  note ; 
And  hence  it  is  the  art  of  every  trade 
Is  that  by  which  a  fortune  must  be  made, 
Hence  fawning  Quacks  defraud  us  of  our  bread 
And  safe  since  silence  rules  the  toung-ty'd  dead. 


172 


"A  Letter  to  a  Friend  " 


3. 

Still  on  they  venture  with  assassin  hand 
Heavens  great  vice-gerents,  to  destroy  the  Land 
As  bold  as  Ignorant,  they  wickedly  advise 
Nor  think  by  them  the  victim  patient  dies, 
But  talk  familiar  on  all  points  inform'd 
And  boast  of  cures  miraculous  perform'd. 
Miraculous  indeed !  if  potent  nature 
Or  Providence  in  pity  to  its  creature 
Eludes  their  Ignorance  with  doubtfull  strife* 
And  bids  the  poison'd  wretch  escape  with  Life. 

4. 

Lamprey  sells  sword  blades  yet  has  too  much  sense 

Because  he  sells  them,  to  inferr  from  thence 

That  he  might  venture  to  instruct  by  rule 

And  from  a  cutler  keep  a  pushing  school. 

Read  makes  good  Lancets,  Bistories,  Trephines 

Gripes,  Scalpels,  Crochets,  Gorgerets,  Grephines, 

Yet  (farr  as  I  could  ever  learn)  the  man 

Has  never  yet  attempted  to  trepan, 

Nor  do  I  think  it  could  be  fairly  shewn 

He  ever  cut  one  patient  for  the  stone 

Much  less  the  Hands  employ'd  about  the  wheel 

To  give  the  polish  or  fine  edge  the  steel. 

5. 

Not  so  by  Physick  all  whom  she  employs 
Nurse  tenders,  midwives,  pothecaries'  boys 
Druggists  of  both  sorts,  a  tremendous  tribe 
With  wondrous  ease  and  confidence  prescribe, 
Surgeons  and  barbers  horrid  to  endure ! 
The  very  pestle-boy  can  boast  some  cure. 
Well,  then,  suppose  our  knowledge  thus  despis'd, 
I  should  resolve  on  what  you  have  advis'd, 
Read  Wood's  Institutes  and  then  proceed 
To  Coke  on  Littleton,  the  lawyers  creed, 
With  tropes  and  figures  all  in  order  plac'd 
Conscience  thrown  off  and  Bashfullness  effac'd 
For  here  I  own  true  modesty  appears 
To  stop  preferment  for  at  least  ten  years, 
And  thus  equipt  should  enter  at  the  barr 
A  willing  soldier  for  the  quibbling  warr. 
Heavens,  what  a  thought!  my  very  heart  recoils 
At  the  bare  project  and  your  counsel  spoils; 
What. — Hire  out  my  Lungs,  my  Life,  and  more 
My  very  honesty — to  prove  some  whore, 
Some  publick  prostitute  a  virtuous  mother, 
And  for  her  bastard  cheat  her  husband's  brother; 
To  crush  the  orphan,  swell  the  widow's  cries, 
Oppress  th'  oppress'd  and  on  their  ruin  rise. 
Term  after  term,  still  protract  a  cause 
Expound,  mistake,  distort,  confuse  the  laws, 


•The  expression  seems  a  little  bold  here,  as  if  the  omnipotence  of  Providence  was  scarce  able  to 
overcome  and  baffle  the  ignorance  of  quacks,  I  own  it  is  so.    I  have  not  a  properer  to  substitute,  and 

certainly  if  omnipotence  could  be  baffled  it  would  be  in  this  instance.     [Dr.  Robert  Emmet's  note.] 


' '  In  Vain  My  Dear  Betty  "  173 

Wrest  honest  words  from  their  most  obvious  meaning 
And  baffle  justice  by  my  false  explaining. 
Or  if  supporting  in  so  strange  a  way 
So  slow,  so  venal,  for  such  monstrous  pay 
That  equity  gives  up,  alike  undone 
If  costs  go  for  her  or  against,  all  one. 
No,  rather  still  let  poverty  be  mine 
Than  by  such  methods  heap  th'  Asturian  mine 
What  wealth  in  millions  of  such  illgot  gold? 
None  sure  to  me  when  decripit  and  old 
Reflection  holds  her  mirrour  to  record 
The  actions  past,  and  seal  the  great  award. 
January,  1760. 


The  Ninth  Ode  of  Horace 


Avoid  my  friend  th'  unlicens'd  stretch  of  mind 

To  know  what  Length,  or  State  of  Life's  assign'd ; 

Nor  ask  the  Babylonian  Cheats  what  Power 

Or  Starrs  presided  at  your  natal  hour. 

If  fate  allows  you  many  years  to  run 

Or  with  this  Season  the  short  thread  be  spun, 

Be  wise  alike  and  proffit  of  your  time 

At  best  'tis  short ;  indulge  in  mirth  and  wine 

Nor  trust  to  Hope:  for  that  in  prospect  lies 

Whilst  with  each  breath  a  hasty  minute  flys. 

Then  snatch  the  present,  that  alone  is  given, 

Resign'd,  submit  futurity  to  Heaven. 


In  Vain  My  Dear  Betty 


1. 

In  vain,  my  dear  Betty;  your  bosom  you  steel 
Against  the  soft  anguish  you  surely  must  feel ; 
In  the  bloom  of  your  youth  and  so  pleasing  to  sight 
You'll  be  teaz'd  into  Love  and  must  yield  to  delight. 

2. 

Even  now  while  you  slight  me  examine  your  heart 
Yet  a  novice  in  Love,  and  a  stranger  to  art, 
Don't  you  feel  some  emotions  you  cannot  explain, 
A  something  you  know  not  if  pleasure  or  pain? 

3. 

The  innocent  blush  spreads  a  bloom  on  your  face 
And  beauty  disordered  acquires  new  grace; 
Consult  your  own  heart,  what  I  say  it  will  prove 
I  tell  you  my  dear,  they're  symptoms  of  Love. 

4. 

Then  since  you  must  love;  and  sure  love  is  no  crime, 
Indulge  its  first  essays,  the  present's  your  time; 
Enjoy  life's  best  blessing,  improve  the  soft  flame 
Whose  joys  can't  be  painted,  whose  bliss  wants  a  name. 


174 


"No  More  My  Fond  Bosom" 


5. 

Nor  dread  those  distastes  which  so  often  are  said 
To  ruffle  Love's  pleasures  and  Hymen's  blest  bed, 
For  believe  me,  my  dear,  they  can  only  take  place 
When  choice  has  been  founded  on  fortune  or  face. 

6. 

Their  rage  you  may  smile  at  'tis  all  a  mistake 
Distrust  should  attend  but  where  merit  is  weak, 
You  may  ever  depend  on  your  power  to  sway 
Whose  temper  must  please  tho'  your  beauty  decay. 

7. 

Then  choose  from  amidst  the  fond  youth  of  the  town 
Some  one  to  make  happy  and  call  you  his  own, 
But  oh,  dare  I  counsel,  and  speak  my  wish  free, 
1758.  The  choice,  my  dear  Betty,  should  fall  but  on  me. 


Let  Green  Spring  Deck  the  Fields 


1. 

Let  green  Spring  deck  the  fields  and  the  meadows  look  gay 
With  Enamel  of  flowers  and  graces  of  May, 
From  each  spray  let  the  warbling  songsters  proclaim 
Their  joy  to  see  Emma  advance  on  the  plain. 

2. 

Attentive,  ye  fair  ones,  behold  how  she  moves, 
With  what  ease  in  her  shape,  how  invested  by  loves, 
Yet  repine  not  the  rivals  that  Emma's  more  fair 
Since  a  Goddess  and  you  the  same  judgement  must  share. 
3. 

For  Venus  herself  struck  with  rage  and  surprize 
Laid  a  hold  on  young  Cupid  and  banded  his  eyes 
Afraid  least  the  urchin  should  rather  approve 
To  call  Emma  his  mother  and  Goddess  of  Love. 


No  More  My  Fond  Bosom 


No  more  my  fond  bosom  with  anguish  shall  heave 
Or  Love  unpropitious  my  reason  enslave, 
No  longer  her  conquest  coy  Phillis  shall  boast 
Alarm  my  peace  or  give  gout  to  the  toast; 
To  Reflection  and  Reason  the  reins  I'll  resign 
Nor  regret  the  dear  fair  that  can  never  be  mine. 

What  tho'  she  says  no ;  I'm  resolved  not  to  fret 
And  since  she  can't  love  me  must  strive  to  forget ; 
Yet  how  vain  our  resolves,  and  how  weakly  maintain'd 
Whilst  obstinate  Love  keeps  the  ground  he  has  gain'd 
And  by  Reason  or  Right  or  by  Passion  betray'd 
Still  approves  of  the  choice  which  in  Phillis  I  made. 


The  Mason  Family 


175 


Dr.  Emmet  married,  November  16th,  1760,  Elizabeth  Mason,  of  Cork. 
His  marriage  was  announced  in  the  "Dublin  Journal"  November  22,  1760: 
"Married ;  Robert  Emmet,  Esq.,  of  Cork,  Doctor  of  Physic  and  corresponding 
member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Montpelia  in  France,  to  Miss 
Mason  of  said  city."  Her  father,  James  Mason,  Esq.,  was  from  Ballydowney, 
Co.  Kerry,  where  he  was  born  and  still  held  a  country  place.  Her  mother, 
Catherine,  was  a  daughter  of  Pierce  Power,  Esq.,  of  Elton,  Co.  Kerry.  Up 
to  this  date  the  family  of  Emmet  never  had  any  direct  connection  with  or 
interest  in  the  Irish  people.  They  had  been  members  of  the  English  garrison 
living  in  Ireland,  and  in  all  probability,  as  was  generally  the  case,  regarded  the 
Irish  people  proper  as  a  conquered  and  inferior  race. 

By  this  marriage  the  children  of  Dr.  Emmet  became  affiliated  with  Irish 
blood  through  the  Power,  O'Hara,  McLauklin,  Blennerhassett,  Conway, 
Mason,  Spring-Rice  and  other  families.  These  were  all  English  originally, 
but  had  freely  intermarried  with  the  native  Irish  people  of  Co.  Kerry,  and 
other  portions  of  the  West  of  Ireland,  so  that  eventually  many  of  the 
descendants  became  more  Irish  than  the  Irish  people  themselves,  and  were 
always  in  conflict  with  the  English  Government,  as  they  were  all  free  traders, 
and  regarded  smuggling  as  a  most  praiseworthy  occupation.  (See  Appendix, 
Note  IV,  for  record  of  the  Mason  family.) 

It  is  not  known  where  Dr.  Emmet  lived  in  Dublin  when  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  His  residence  from  about  1770  to  1776  was  on  the 
north  side  of  Molesworth-street,  near  Kildare  with  a  street  lamp  in  front  as 
shown  in  the  print.  Mr.  David  S.  Quaid,  solicitor,  of  Dublin,  in  1902  issued 
a  little  work,  "Robert  Emmet,  His  Birthplace  and  Burial",  and  as  a  result  of 
his  investigation  it  is  now  proved  that  Robert  Emmet  was  born  in  Stephen's 
Green  and  not  in  Molesworth-street,  as  held  by  Dr.  Madden.  Mr.  Quaid 
states : 

The  Dublin  Directory  for  1777,  and  the  entry  of  his  son  Robert's  Baptism,  on  10th 
of  March,  1778,  in  St.  Peter's  Church  Record,  show  conclusively  that  Dr.  Emmet's  resi- 
dence was  Stephen's  Green,  West,  for  at  least  two  years  earlier  than  the  date  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Madden.  ...  If  further  proof  is  thought  necessary  that  the  houses  Nos.  124  and 
125  Stephen's  Green,  West,  at  Glover's  Alley  corner,  were  Dr.  Emmet's  it  is  afforded  by  a 
partnership  deed  of  February  27th,  1808,  made  between  David  Sherlock  and  Thomas 
Sherlock.  "McCready's  Dublin  Street  Names"  states:  "that  Glover's  Alley  (which  runs 
from  Stephen's  Green,  West,  to  Lower  Mercer  Street)  was  known  by  that  name  as  far 
back  as  1766,  that  Glover's  Alley  was  formerly  known  as  Gregory's  Lane,  that  the  house 
had  certainly  been  refronted  and  divided  into  two  houses".  The  house,  on  a  lot  34  feet 
in  width,  may  have  been  divided  into  two  by  Dr.  Emmet  as  seems  likely  because  I  find 
that  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  according  to  the  Dublin  Directory,  was  living,  about  1796, 
next  door  to  Dr.  Emmet.  The  baptism  of  John  Patten  Emmet  [father  of  the  writer],  a 
son  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Parochial  Register  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
on  the  15th  of  April,  1796— "John  Patten  Emmet,  son  of  Thomas  (Addis)  and  Jane  Patten 
of  Stephen's  Green."  It  would  seem,  therefore,  fairly  certain  that  there  were  two  houses 
beside  each  other  in  1796,  Nos.  109-110.  The  present  numbers  are  124  and  125.  There  is 
a  good  deal  of  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  brick  work  in  front  of  the  houses  from 
that  in  the  side  back  wall.   The  roof,  too,  is  very  old. 


176 


Visitors  at  the  Emmet  Home 


No  alteration  seems  to  have  been  made  in  the  back  of  the  houses,  which, 
viewed  from  Glover's  Alley,  seem  antiquated.  There  had  been  no  alteration 
in  the  appearance  of  these  houses  since  the  building  of  the  College  of  Surgeons 
in  1828,  as  shown  by  a  large  engraving  of  that  building  in  the  possession  of 
the  writer,  but  changes  had  been  made  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  of  T.  A. 
Emmet.  Dr.  Madden  gives  the  names  of  some  of  those  who  were  frequent 
visitors  at  Dr.  Emmet's  house.  Dr.  William  Drennan,  Arthur  O'Connor,  Lord 
Edward  Fitzgerald,  Rev.  Walter  Blake  Kirwan,  Mr.  (afterwards  Chief  Baron) 
Pennefather  and  his  brother  Judge  Pennefather,  Surgeon  Richards,  Dr.  Mac- 
neven,  Mr.  (afterwards  Judge)  Chamberlain,  Mr.  (afterwards  Chief  Justice) 
C.  K.  Bushe,  Mr.  (afterwards  Judge)  Peter  Burton,  Sir  Edward  Newenham, 
•of  St.  Donlough's,  Peter  Burrowes,  K.  C,  Lady  Anne  Fitzgerald  and  Mr. 
(afterwards  Baron)  George.  Mr.  St.  John  Mason,  B.  L.,  a  nephew  of  Mrs. 
Emmet,  was  also  a  constant  visitor.  He  was  an  intimate  associate  of  Robert 
Emmet,  the  two  being  first  cousins.  So  oblivious  was  Mr.  Baron  George  of 
his  early  friendship  with  the  Emmet  family  that  he  actually  sat  with  Lord 
Norbury  in  1803,  at  the  "trial"  of  Robert  Emmet. 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Emmet's  marriage,  Earl  Temple,  a  relative,  then  the 
Marquis  of  Buckingham,  became  Viceroy  of  Ireland.  He  advised  Dr.  Emmet 
to  settle  in  Dublin,  and  then  appointed  him  "State  Physician."  Through  the 
appointments  thus  afforded  him  Dr.  Emmet  soon  became  a  prominent  man  and 
most  successful  in  his  profession.  He  took  an  active  part  in  politics  and  ac- 
quired a  reputation  as  a  noted  political  writer  of  the  day. 

Christopher  Emett  spelled  his  name  with  one  m  and  double  t,  and  so  did 
his  son  Robert  while  studying  medicine  and  for  some  time  after  he  began  the 
practice.  It  is  not  now  known  when  he  made  the  change  or  the  reason  for 
doing  so,  but  he  apparently  adopted  the  present  mode  of  spelling  about  the 
time  of  his  marriage  and  while  living  in  Cork.  The  first  positive  evidence  we 
have  is  from  the  marriage  contract  made  with  Elizabeth  Mason  on  November 
15th,  1760,  when  he  signs  his  name  "Robert  Emmet",  but  in  the  body  of  the 
instrument  it  is  differently  spelled.  He  again  made  a  change  within  the  next 
ten  years,  when  he  moved  to  Dublin.    Dr.  Madden  writes : 

In  1770,  Dr.  Robert  Emmett,  as  he  then  wrote  his  name,  appears  to  have  commenced 
practice  in  Dublin.  In  1771,  the  name  of  Robert  Emmett  first  appears  in  the  "Dublin 
Directory,"  and  in  the  list  of  State  officers  as  "State  Physician,"  having  been  appointed 
Feb.  25th,  1770,  and  his  place  of  residence  "Molesworth-street," — the  name  is  thus  given 
with  double  t  'till  the  year  1781,  when  it  appears  in  the  Directory  of  that  year  "Emmet," 
and  so  continued,  while  he  lived  on  Stephen's  Green,  and  to  the  last  appearance  of  his 
name  in  the  Directory  of  1802. 

It  is  thus  shown  that  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  changed  the  method  of  spelling 
his  name  no  less  than  four  times  during  his  life — from  Emett  to  Emmett,* 
then  Emmet,  again  to  Emmett,  and  finally  to  Emmet.  Other  like  instances 
were  noticed  in  looking  over  the  public  records,  where  the  change  was  made 

♦The  minutes  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  for  1771,  have  a  record  of  the  presentation  of  a 

petition  of  Robert  Emmett,  M.D.,  stating  that  the  Petitioner  is  Physician  to  St.  Patrick's  Hospital  for 
the  reception  of  Lunatics  and  Idiots;  setting  forth  his  duties,  and  the  lack  of  adequate  compensation, 
and  praying  such  aid  as  to  the  House  should  deem  fit. 


The  Temple  Family 


177 


at  different  periods  of  life,  as  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Emmet.  But  the  most  remark- 
able variation  in  spelling  the  name  has  been  found  in  several  instances  where 
the  letters  o  and  e  seemed  to  have  been  used  indiscriminately  by  the  same 
individual. 

Dr.  Madden  states  that : 

Dr.  [Robert]  Emmet  was  a  man  of  warmth  of  feeling,  frank,  upright,  and  stead- 
fast in  his  opinions.  His  lady  was  a  person  of  noble  disposition,  and  of  a  vigorous 
understanding,  fit  to  be  the  mother  of  three  such  children  as  Christopher  Temple,  Thomas 
Addis,  and  Robert  Emmet. 

When  giving  the  "Folk-lore  of  the  Emmets,"  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
chapter  in  the  "Life  of  T.  A.  Emmet",  Dr.  Madden'refers  to  the  material  which 
has  been  furnished  as  follows : 

The  notes  of  the  sons  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  that  have  reference  chiefly  to  the 
career  of  their  illustrious  father,  leave  many  deficiencies  to  be  supplied  in  the  accounts 
given  of  the  origin  of  this  remarkable  family — perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable,  in 
an  intellectual  point  of  view,  of  any  family  we  have  authentic  account  of. 

During  a  visit  to  Ireland  in  1880  the  writer  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet 
Dr.  Madden,  and  on  one  occasion  he  expressed  the  opinion,  as  one  based  upon 
his  personal  investigation,  that  the  father  and  mother,  the  three  sons  and  the 
daughter  of  this  branch  of  the  Emmet  family  constituted  the  "most  talented 
family,  in  every  respect,  that  he  had  ever  known  of." 

Sir  John  Temple  and  his  brother  Robert  were  natives,  it  is  believed,  of  New 
England,  having  at  least  lived  there  for  the  greater  portion  of  their  lives,  and 
had  by  their  marriage  with  the  Shirley,  Bowdoin  and  other  families  become 
connected  with  many  of  the  prominent  people  of  New  England.  When  the 
American  Revolution  began  they  were  rather  in  sympathy  with  the  movement, 
and  were  personally  acquainted  with  many  of  the  leaders.  But  when  separa- 
tion was  brought  about  by  the  passage  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
Temples,  as  loyalists,  left  the  country  and  went  abroad. 

Robert  Temple  and  his  family  after  their  arrival  from  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton resided  in  Dublin  for  some  eighteen  months  with  his  cousin,  Dr.  Robert 
Emmet,  after  whom  he  had  been  named.  Mr.  Temple  had  been  opposed  to  a 
separation  of  the  colonies  from  the  "mother  country",  but  his  views  underwent 
a  great  change,  and  he  became  more  of  a  sympathizer  with  the  movement  be- 
fore his  sudden  death,  which  occurred  towards  the  close  of  the  struggle.  While 
Robert  Temple  was  residing  in  Dublin,  Christopher,  Dr.  Emmet's  eldest  son, 
married  his  cousin,  Anne  Western  Temple,  a  daughter  of  Robert.  On  the 
death  of  the  father,  Dr.  Emmet  became  the  executor  of  Mr.  Temple's  will  and 
the  guardian  of  his  two  youngest  daughters.  Shortly  afterwards  the  youngest, 
Mehitabele,  married  the  grandfather  of  the  late  Marquis  of  Dufferin. 

In  a  list  of  pensions  on  the  Civil  Establishment,  taken  from  "The  Parlia- 
mentary Register,"  Vol.  IV,  there  appears  the  following: 

Robert  Emmet,  Doctor  of  Physic,  in  trust  for  Harriet  Temple,  from  4th  of  February 
1782,  during  pleasure — £50. 

Mehetable  Temple  from  4th  of  February,  during  pleasure — £50. 


178 


Dr.  Emmet  a  Republican 


The  following  letter  written  by  Dr.  Emmet  to  an  unacceptable  suitor  for 
the  hand  of  one  of  his  wards,  would  show  that  he  at  least  made  the  attempt 
to  discharge  his  duty — 

Presuming  that  a  Letter  which  I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  you  about  a  month 
ago  had  not  reached  you  by  the  sixth  of  last  month ;  when  you  addressed  a  second  letter 
to  a  young  Lady  under  my  guardianship  and  which  was  this  day  delivered  to  her  by  Mr. 
Nelson,  I  think  it  but  proper  again  to  inform  you,  that  all  applications  on  the  subject  of 
that  Letter  will  be  unproductive  to  you  and  disagreeable  to  the  Lady.  Your  own  Prudence, 
Honor  and  Discretion  will  therefore  I  hope  determine  you  not  to  prosecute  it  farther.  In 
my  last  I  inform'd  you,  by  desire  of  the  Lady:  that  subsequent  Letters  from  you  would  not 
he  received ;  if  however,  or  if  receiv'd  not  reply'd  to.  As  my  former,  however,  possibly 
might  not  have  reached  you ;  am  again  necessitated  to  repeat  that  Resolution  to  you. 

Indeed  it  is  not  to  be  avoided.  The  young  Lady's  father's  dying  injunction  was,  that 
such  a  proposal  should  not  be  accepted — his  testamentary  appointment — that  if  accepted, 
no  division  of  his  property  should  accompany  it.  Under  such  circumstances  you  see  Sir, 
that  even  Hope  must  be  precluded.  The  young  Lady  is  not  in  the  least  degree  dispos'd  to 
violate  her  father's  Injunctions;  on  the  contrary,  she  is  determined  in  the  most  strict  and 
punctual  means  to  adhere  to  it  and  so  must  Sir  Your  obed'nt  Humb.  Serv1. 

Rob1.  Emmet. 

Dublin,  Feb.  2,  1783. 

This  letter  was  addressed  to  "Mr.  Saml.  White — in  care  of  Mr.  Johnth" 
Williams,  Mantz,  France." 

It  is  evident  that  Mr.  Temple  and  his  brother  exercised  a  great  influence 
in  changing  the  views  which  must  have  been  held  by  their  kinsman,  Dr.  Emmet. 
This  is  shown  by  the  gradual  withdrawal  of  Dr.  Emmet  from  the  associations 
which  his  family  had  always  held  with  those  still  termed  the  "Castle  people", 
who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  British  Government.  He  gave  up  the  different 
governmental  positions  which  he  had  so  long  held  in  consequence  of  being  the 
"State  Physician",  the  salaries  of  which,  it  has  been  stated,  aggregated  over  two 
thousand  pounds  a  year.  The  last  move  was  to  sever,  after  so  many  years  of 
service,  in  1783,  his  connection  with  St.  Patrick's  Hospital,  and  then  it  was 
that  he  was  presented  with  the  silver  salver,  the  history  of  which  has  already 
been  given.  From  this  period  Dr.  Emmet  became  an  enthusiastic  advocate  for 
a  republican  form  of  government  as  understood  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  in  time  he  fully  indoctrinated  his  two  sons,  Thomas  and  Robert, 
with  his  principles. 

Far-reaching,  indeed,  was  his  teaching.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  its 
full  bearing  upon  the  immediate  past  or  the  future  history  of  Ireland  for  many 
generations  to  come,  while  its  influence  upon  the  fortunes  of  his  own  family 
was  great  indeed.  Temple  died  before  there  was  any  special  trouble  in  the 
country,  and  he  died  a  loyal  subject  of  George  the  Third. 

Thomas  Addis,  uninfluenced  to  any  great  degree  by  his  father's  teaching, 
thought  for  himself.  He  did  not  contemplate  a  separation  from  England 
unless  driven  to  the  decision  as  a  last  resort,  after  failure  in  obtaining  certain 
needed  changes  in  the  Constitution. 

Not  a  member  of  the  family  wished  for  disunion  until  Pitt,  the  Younger, 
by  his  merciless  policy  of  misrule,  had  purposely  forced  the  greater  portion  of 


Distrust  of  Napoleon 


179 


the  Irish  people  into  rebellion.  The  situation  was  such  that  there  seemed  to 
be  no  future  for  Ireland  unless  a  separation  was  brought  about,  by  which 
means,  it  was  expected  from  the  effort  of  1798  and  1803,  the  people  would 
gain  Home  Rule  in  a  more  complete  form  than  the  present  generation  can  hope 
to  acquire  it  in  the  near  future  after  a  century  and  more  of  agitation. 

By  a  letter  to  be  given  hereafter,  it  will  be  shown  that  on  the  arrest  of 
his  son  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  had  no  knowledge  as  to  how  far  he  was  implicated, 
beyond  being  dissatisfied  with  the  general  mode  of  governing  the  country. 
Eventually  every  member  of  Dr.  Emmet's  family  favored  separation  from 
England  as  the  only  preliminary  to  any  change  for  the  better  in  the  government 
of  Ireland ;  and  they  held  the  greatest  admiration  for  the  republican  principles 
formulated  by  the  United  States.  Under  these  circumstances  they  loathed 
the  teaching  brought  forth  by  the  French  Revolution.  Yet,  it  is  persistently 
held  that  Dr.  Emmet  and  his  family  were  in  full  sympathy  with  the  French 
movement.  Thomas  Addis  and  Robert  Emmet,  as  their  father  in  the  previous 
generation,  had  many  warm  personal  friends  among  the  titled  and  educated 
classes  in  Paris,  who  subsequently  lost  their  lives  at  the  hands  of 
the  French  rabble.  With  these  friends  they  were  in  full  sympathy, 
and  naturally  detested  French  politics,  so  incompatible  with  a  true 
republican  form  of  government.  Above  all,  not  a  member  of  the 
family  had  the  slightest  confidence  in  Bonaparte's  truthfulness  or 
honesty  of  purpose.  The  sons,  in  politics,  were  often  obliged  to 
yield,  from  expediency,  their  personal  views  to  the  will  of  the  majority  among 
their  associates.  This  policy  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  able  to  follow,  with 
great  success,  until  his  arrest,  and  the  delay  enabled  him  to  exercise  his  per- 
sonal influence.  The  Emmets  were  at  one  time  in  hope  of  being  able  to  obtain 
a  controllable  aid  from  France,  such  as  was  given  to  the  United  States,  but 
never  ceased  to  fear  that  if  France  rendered  any  aid,  the  result  would  only 
be  a  change  of  masters.  Whether  this  was  a  fortunate  or  unfortunate  circum- 
stance for  Ireland  will  always  be  a  matter  of  conjecture.  The  result  would  in 
all  probability  have  been  different  had  the  Emmet  brothers  for  personal  ad- 
vantage been  willing  to  become  satellites  of  Napoleon.  At  least  the  separation 
of  Ireland  from  England  would  have  been  accomplished,  and  the  country 
would  have  remained  a  French  province  until  the  fall  of  the  Emperor,  when 
the  Allies  would  have  restored  Ireland  to  England,  if  an  exchange  had  not 
already  been  made  by  Napoleon  with  England  for  some  of  the  sugar-bearing 
West  India  Islands,  but  Ireland's  condition  would  beyond  a  doubt  have  been 
infinitely  worse  than  it  is  today. 

Madden  states : 

The  person  living  who  is  the  best  qualified  to  speak  of  the  habits  and  principles  of 
Dr.  Emmet  [evidently  John  Patten],  a  gentleman  intimately  connected  by  ties  of  friend- 
ship with  his  family,  who  lived  under  his  roof  and  still  has  a  perfect  remembrance  of  his 
character,  and  of  his  conduct  towards  his  children,  declares  that  beyond  passing  observa- 
tion on  the  duty  which  every  man  owed  to  his  country,  there  was  no  ground  for  these 
injurious  statements  now  to  be  considered. 


180 


Grattan's  Account  of  Dr.  Emmet 


Dr.  Emmet  was  the  father  of  seventeen  children,  but  only  four  lived  beyond 
childhood.*  These  were  Christopher  Temple,  Thomas  Addis,  Mary  Anne  and 
Robert.  In  reference  to  these  sons  of  Dr.  Emmet  it  is  stated  in  Grattan's 
"Memoirs"  that  they  "were  three  most  singular  men,  few  families  could  boast 
of  such  individuals."  While  these  three  men  were  particularly  noted  for  their 
intellectual  development  a  stranger  would  scarcely  draw  the  inference  from 
the  statement.  Henry  Grattan  had  been  a  school-mate  and  for  many  years 
was  an  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Emmet  in  early  manhood.f  so  that  he  was  as 
familiar  with  the  doctor's  views  as  any  friend  could  be,  yet  in  this  Life  it  is 
recorded  in  a  most  unjust  and  cynical  manner: — "Emmet  had  his  pill  and  his 
plan  and  he  mixed  so  much  politics  with  his  prescriptions  that  he  would  kill 
the  patient  who  took  the  one,  and  ruin  the  country  that  listened  to  the  other." 
Dr.  Emmet  was  said  to  have  resigned  the  positions  of  honor  and  profit  he 
held  under  the  government  and  misled  his  two  sons  with  false  views  in  rela- 
tion to  a  republican  form  of  governmet  based  "upon  the  teaching  from  the 
leaders  of  the  French  Revolution" .  Doubtless  it  was  on  Grattan's  authority 
that  Charles  Phillips,  in  "Curran  and  his  Contemporaries",  based  a  version  of 
the  same  story  accredited  to  Curran : 

The  memorable  year  1803  "reintroduces— sadly  enough  upon  the  scene — the  name  of 
Emmet.  The  father  of  this  remarkable  family  was  a  physician  in  good  practice,  resident  in 
Dublin,  he  was  a  very  ardent  politician  and  according  to  Mr.  Grattan,  was  ever  "mixing  up 
his  pills  with  his  plans,"  sometimes  much  to  the  perplexity  of  the  patients.  H'e  had  three 
sons,  all  gifted  with  very  rare  genius,  and  these  it  was  his  delight  to  educate  in  his  princi- 
ples. Curran  used  facetiously  to  describe  the  old  doctor  giving  them  what  he  called  'their 
morning  draught: — "Well,  Temple,  what  would  you  do  for  your  country?  Addis,  would 
you  kill  your  brother?  would  you  kill  me?" 

Grattan's  version  of  the  story  is  slightly  different. 

Little,  alas,  did  that  unfortunate  father  foresee  the  consequences  of  the  lesson  he  was 
inculcating!  and  little  also  did  Curran  dream,  when  he  turned  this  inappropriate  tuition 
into  a  jest,  how  mournfully  it  was  one  day  to  affect  himself!  How  revolting,  how  heart- 
rending it  is  to  hear  the  unfortunate  Robert  thus  apostrophizing  that  deluded  parent  on 
the  eve  of  his  execution:  "If  the  spirits  of  the  illustrious  dead  participate  in  the  concerns 
of  those  who  were  dear  to  them  in  this  transitory  scene,  dear  shade  of  my  venerable  father 
look  down  on  your  suffering  son  and  see  has  he  for  one  moment  deviated  from  those  moral 


*In  a  subsequent  chapter  will  be  found  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  to  his  daughter  in  1822. 
He  here  mentions  the  fact  that  the  water  was  so  unwholesome  in  that  part  of  Ireland  where  he  lived 
as  a  boy,  that  it  all  had  to  be  boiled  before  drinking.  He  doubtless  refers  to  some  place  near  Dublin 
where  Dr.  Emmet  sent  his  children  during  the  summer  where  the  water  was  contaminated  from 
sewerage.  It  was  not  then  known  that  washing  the  dairy  utensils  in  this  water  would  poison  the 
milk.  This  may  account  for  the  unusual  proportion  of  deaths  among  Dr.  Emmet's  children,  where 
both  parents  were  healthy.    The  milk  carried  off  the  infants,  and  typhoid  fever  the  elder  children. 

tAt  the  time  of  Dr.  Emmet's  death  he  had  in  his  possession  an  oil  portrait  of  Grattan  as  a  young 
man,  presented  to  him  by  his  friend.  On  closing  "Casino",  with  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  in  prison, 
and  never  likely  to  return  to  Ireland,  Mrs.  Holmes,  through  fear  of  confiscation  of  Mr.  Emmet's 
effects,  distributed  many  articles  of  value  and  all  the  library  among  the  friends  of  the  family  for  safe- 
keeping. Very  few  of  these  things  were  ever  returned,  or  could  be  traced  in  after  years.  Unfor- 
tunately Mrs.  Holmes  did  not  make  a  list  of  where  these  things  were  left.  A  few  years  ago  two 
photographs  claiming  to  be  of  Robert  Emmet,  Jr.  were  sent  to  the  writer,  stating  they  were  held  as 
heirlooms  and  not  for  sale.  Although  one  of  these  portraits  was  marked  R.  Emmet  and  had  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  family  for  an  unknown  period,  neither  of  them  could  have  been  a  portrait 
of  Robert  Emmet,  Jr.,  for  he  was  a  younger  man  at  the  time  of  his  death,  but  it  is  very  likely  that 
both  were  at  one  time  the  property  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  and  this  is  rendered  the  more  probable 
as  the  holder  claimed  to  have  been  a  distant  relative.  From  an  anatomical  study  of  the  shape  of  the 
bones  forming  the  brow  and  nose,  as  shown  by  enlarging  the  photograph,  the  writer  is  willing  to  ac- 
cept one  as  the  likeness  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  without  any  knowledge  of  its  history  beyond  the 
resemblance  to  the  death  mask.  As  a  portrait  of  the  Doctor  the  other  is  doubtful,  it  is  most  probably 
a  photograph  of  the  oil  painting  of  Henry  Grattan. 


Residence  at  " Casino" 


181 


and  political  principles  which  you  so  early  inculcated  into  his  youthful  mind,  and  for  which 
he  has  now  to  offer  up  his  life"! 

Alas !  Alas !  indeed  unhappy  father,  could  this  mournful  appeal  have  reached  him ! 
Of  this  family,  Temple,  the  eldest,  passed  through  the  University  with  such  success  that  it 
is  said  the  examiners  changed  in  his  case,  the  usual  approbation  of  "Valde  Bene"  into  the 
laudatory  one  of  "O  Quam  Bene"  !  His  rise  at  the  Irish  bar  was  unexampled,  and  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty  with  a  reputation  to  which  time  could  not  have  added,  he  was  called 
away. 

The  second  brother  .  .  .  had  he  confined  himself  to  his  profession  there  could  have 
been  no  doubt  from  the  eminence  to  which  he  soon  attained,  of  his  ultimately  realizing 
every  object  of  his  ambition.  But  the  aspish-seed  sown  in  his  youthful  mind  had  fallen  on 
a  too  genial  soil  and  was  rising  fast  to  obscure  the  brightness  of  his  prospects.  He  devoted 
himself  to  the  unhappy  politics  of  the  day  and  became  at  last  so  inextricably  compromised 
that  with  the  consent  of  the  government  he  was  self-expatriated.  .  .  .  Emmet  himself  I 
never  saw.  He  was  in  America  some  years  before  I  was  called  to  the  Irish  bar.  But  I 
found  his  memory  still  fresh  there,  and  many  of  his  associates  still  remaining.  From 
their  report  of  him,  it  was  quite  clear  that  his  presence  in  Ireland  was  incompatible  with 
its  peace,  and  his  public  manifestations  were  the  more  dangerous,  because  in  private  life  he 
was  altogether  irreproachable.  Peter  Burrowes,  his  friend  and  correspondent  (in  the 
Oath  of  an  act  of  Parliament)  used  to  revel  in  the  recollections  of  him. 

These  comments  are  from  the  pen  of  a  man  who  desired  to  be  just,  and 
was  so  to  the  extent  an  Irishman  with  English  sympathies  could  be.  Curran, 
to  make  a  good  story,  was  not  always  truthful. 

Dr.  Emmet's  position  has  never  been  understood.  As  will  be  seen  in  the 
memoir  of  his  son  Robert,  neither  he  nor  any  member  of  his  family  held  any 
sympathy  with  French  republicanism. 

The  only  insight  we  have,  casting  any  light  upon  the  domestic  life  of  the 
family,  is  given  in  the  letters  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  received  while  at 
Fort  George.  These  were  all  written  from  "Casino",  the  family  country  place, 
at  Miltown  in  the  suburbs  of  Dublin,  where  Dr.  Emmet  retired  after  relin- 
quishing his  practice,  in  consequence  of  his  advanced  age  and  after  his  son's 
arrest  and  imprisonment.  The  town  house  was  then  rented  and  the  family 
remained  at  "Casino"  until  the  final  breaking  up.  After  the  arrest  of  his  son, 
Thomas  Addis,  many  old  friends  and  acquaintances  drifted  away  in  conse- 
quence of  the  family  troubles.  While  Doctor  Emmet  and  his  wife  were  de- 
serted by  a  large  proportion  of  their  fair-weather  friends,  this  most  worthy 
couple  held  the  sincere  sympathy  of  many  among  the  middle-class  and  the  poor 
of  Dublin.  This  city  had  always  been  burdened  with  more  than  a  fair  propor- 
tion of  the  destitute,  and  at  this  time  the  number  was  unusually  great,  and  not 
the  slightest  effort  was  made  by  the  authorities  for  their  relief.  During  a  long 
life  Mrs.  Emmet  was  probably  the  only  woman  in  her  station  of  life  in  Dublin 
who  had  ever  made  any  individual  effort  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  Dr.  Emmet 
derived  a  large  income  from  the  official  position  he  held  as  "State  Physician", 
so  that  he  was  able  to  devote  the  great  part  of  his  professional  life  to  the 
charitable  relief  of  the  indigent,  and  for  many  years  he  held  the  largest 
medical  practice  in  Dublin  among  the  rich  and  poor.  In  consequence  of  the 
fact  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  "Emmet  were  so  well  known  for  their  charitable  life, 
their  youngest  son  Robert  became  known  to  a  larger  number  of  persons  in 


182  Popularity  of  Robert  Emmet 


Dublin  than  many  a  noted  man.  While  he  was  at  Trinity  College  many  became 
aware  that  he  had  been  dismissed  on  account  of  his  political  views.  This  was 
resented  to  a  remarkable  extent  and  Robert  Emmet  was  regarded,  by  these 
people,  as  a  martyr  for  the  popular  cause  years  before  he  had  become  identified 
with  the  politics  of  the  country.  He  was  devoted  to  his  mother  and  as  a 
young  boy  was  constantly  by  her  side  and  had  few  other  companions.  She 
probably  made  use  of  him  in  her  charitable  work  and  he  thus  became  ac- 
quainted with  many  whom  he  would  never  otherwise  have  met. 

For  years  before  Doctor  Emmet's  death  he  had  devoted  much  time  and 
money  to  improving  the  grounds  and  gardens  at  "Casino",  and  the  result  was 
one  in  which  he  took  great  pride.  After  the  arrest  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet 
and  the  long  delay  to  which  he  was  subjected,  without  preferred  charges  or 
prospect  of  trial,  these  poor  old  people  in  their  seclusion,  rapidly  lost  their 
interest  in  their  surroundings.  With  the  knowledge  that  their  son  Robert  was 
in  full  sympathy  with  the  views  of  his  brother,  and  that  his  life's  prospects 
were  already  lost  from  being  unable  to  engage  in  any  professional  work  after 
expulsion  from  college,  they  became  crushed  by  the  uncertainty  of  the  future. 
Their  death  blow  had  been  received,  long  before  the  fact  was  realized  by  theii 
friends. 


That  England  should  govern  Ireland  by  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  'was  not  enough.  It 
remained  to  close  the  scene  of  conquest  by  a  mortification  of  the  feelings  as  'well  as 
a  triumph  over  the  liberties  of  the  conquered. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


THE  GARDEN  AT  CASINO 


The  English  Parliament  at  a  very  remote  period  had  occasionally  exercised  the  potuer 
of  legislation  for  Ireland,  particularly  as  to  foreign  trade.  .  .  .  This  occasional 
exercise  of  legislative  authority  on  the  part  of  England,  however,  had  been  generally 
protested  against  by  the  Irish  Parliament  as  a  manifest  usurpation. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  IV 

"Casino"  and  its  history  for  fifty  years  after  it  passed  from  the  family — Dr.  Emmet's 
death  and  place  of  burial — The  fate  of  the  Earl  of  Clare — Dr.  Emmet's  will — Thomas 
Addis  Emmet's  letter  to  his  mother — Her  answer  and  its  history — Death  of  Mrs.  Emmet — 
"Casino"  closed — Town  houses  rented — The  Emmet  family  a  remarkable  one  at  this 
period — Something  about  permanent  traits  of  character  among  the  Temple,  Mason  and 
Emmet  families — Speculations  by  the  writer — Those  along  the  same  line  of  Louise  Imogen 
Guiney,  the  author  of  Robert  Emmet's  Life. 


N  1880,  before  any  material  change  had  been  made,  the 
writer  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  "Casino"  near  Mil- 
town  beyond  the  city  about  three  miles  to  the  south,  and 
the  family  arms  were  still  in  evidence  on  each  stone  gate- 
post. A  Mr.  Meldon,  who  died  shortly  afterwards,  owned 
it  at  that  time.  He  had  held  the  property  some  fifty  years 
and  before  it  had  undergone  any  change.  The  previous 
owner  had  purchased  it  from  the  family  and  had  taken 
care  to  preserve  everything  intact.  So  in  1880  the  appear- 
ance of  the  house  and  grounds  was  essentially  the  same  as  when  occupied  by  the 
family,  with  the  single  exception  that  the  window-frames  in  the  front  of  the 
house,  having  become  decayed,  new  ones  filled  with  plate-glass  had  been  sub- 
stituted. The  garden  had  been  preserved  just  as  Dr.  Emmet  laid  it  out;  and 
when  the  greenhouses  became  decayed,  new  ones  in  facsimile  had  been  put  up 
in  their  place.  The  wall-fruit,  too,  which  the  doctor  had  planted  and  trained 
was  all  preserved  by  building  new  trellis  work  about  it  when  necessary.  It  was 
stated  that  even  the  vegetables  found  on  the  place  were  continued  of  the  same 
stock  and  occupied  the  same  locality.  The  parlor  was  still  covered  by  the 
tapestry  paper  which  no  doubt  had  been  a  source  of  delight  to  the  younger 
generation  of  the  past. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Meldon  and  the  expiration  of  his  lease,  the  house 
was  said  to  have  been  pulled  down,  but  this  was  proved  not  to  be  the  case 
and  it  is  still  occupied  as  a  private  residence. 
Dr.  Madden  states : 

Dr.  Emmet  died  at  Casino,  near  Miltown,  in  the  autumn  of  1802.  H'e  was  buried 
in  the  graveyard  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Aungier-street  (Dublin),  on  the  right-hand 
side  of  the  entrance,  close  to  the  wall  on  the  south  side. 

183 


184 


Fate  of  the  Earl  of  Clare 


He  also  notes  that  the  tomb  of  vault  has  the  following  inscription  on  it : 

Here  lies  the  remains  of 
Robert  Emmet,  Esq.,  M.D., 
who  died  the  9th  of  December,  1802, 
In  the  73rd  year  of  his  age. 

In  1880  the  writer  could  not  find  his  tomb,  nor  that  of  any  other  member 
of  the  family.  On  inquiry  he  ascertained  that  all  the  tombstones  had  been  re- 
moved some  years  previously,  but  were  yet  preserved,  and.  several  feet  of 
earth  had  been  put  on  the  original  surface  of  the  ground  to  raise  it  to  the  level 
of  the  street  in  front.  The  tombstones  after  removal  were  all  placed  in  piles 
at  a  distance,  and  though  these  were  carefully  examined,  no  trace  of  any  con- 
nected with  the  family  could  be  found.  The  only  compensation  for  the  labor 
of  investigation  was  that  at  the  bottom  of  the  pile  was  found  the  headstone  of 
John,  Earl  of  Clare,  broken  and  forgotten,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it 
had  been  elaborately  emblazoned  with  the  arms  of  his  mushroom  title.  This 
man  had  been  honored  by  the  British  Government  for  services  rendered  in 
bringing  about  the  so-called  "Union",  with  which  the  Irish  people  themselves 
had  nothing  to  do,  and  by  means  which  we  know  today  were  the  most  corrupt 
and  damnable  ever  devised  by  mortal  man  or  designated  as  statecraft.  The 
enjoyment  by  Clare  of  his  honors  was  deservedly  brief.  He  died  in  January, 
1802,  despised  by  every  honest  man  in  the  country,  and  but  for  this  accident 
no  one  today  would  know  where  the  remains  of  this  unhallowed  man  had 
been  hidden  away. 

Mr.  Quaid  states : 

Dr.  Emmet,  by  his  will,  dated  3rd  February,  1800,  appointed  as  his  trustee,  his  son 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  then  a  State  prisoner  in  Fort  George,  and  by  an  undated  codicil, 
[which,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  has  never  been  published  before]  he  directed  that  "in  case 
it  should  be  inconvenient  to  my  son,  Thomas  Addis,  to  act  as  my  executor  as  by  the 
within  will  appointed,  I  then  and  hereby  appoint  my  son-in-law,  Robert  Holmes,  Esq., 
to  that  trust". 

Here  in  the  events  which  happened  we  find  Mr.  Holmes  occupying  a  posi- 
tion of  the  greatest  trust  in  relation  to  his  wife's  family. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  never  saw  his  native  land  again,  and  on  the  28th 
of  December,  1802,  Mr.  Holmes  obtained,  as  executor,  a  grant  of  probate  to 
Dr.  Emmet's  will,  of  which  I  give  the  following  extracts: — 

In  the  name  of  God,  amen,  I,  Robert  Emmet,  of  Casino,  near  Miltown,  in  the  County 
of  Dublin,  Doctor  of  Physic,  being  of  sound  and  disposing  mind  and  memory  and  under- 
standing do  make  and  publish  this  my  Will  and  Testament  in  manner  and  form  following. 
I  order  and  direct  that  my  just  debts  be  paid.  ...  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  my 
leasehold  interests  in  lands  of  Knockena  in  the  County  of  Kerry  and  also  my  leasehold 
interest  whether  freehold  or  chattel  in  the  dwellinghouse  and  lands  whereon  I  now 
reside.  .  .  .  with  my  household  furniture,  plate,  stock  of  cattle  and  farming  utensils 
to  my  eldest  son  now  living,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  subject  to  the  payment  of  £2,500  to 
be  paid  by  him  as  purchase  money  and  to  be  considered  by  him  as  part  of  the  residue 
....  of  my  fortune,  and  in  case  my  said  son  shall  not  choose  to  accede  or  agree  to 
the  foregoing  bequest  upon  the  said  terms,  then  my  will  is  that  my  said  two  leasehold 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

ROBERT  HOLMES 
[Father  of  the  Dublin  Bar.]    From  an  oil  painting  in  Dublin 


Dr.  Emmet's  Will 


185 


interests,  together  with  my  said  furniture,  plate,  stock  of  cattle  and  farming  implements 
shall  be  sold,  and  the  money  arising  therefrom  shall  be  paid  into  and  considered  as  part 
of  my  personal  estate. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  did  not  accept  the  terms  of  the  will  as  proposed  by 
his  father,  as  he  was  absent  from  Ireland  with  no  expectation  of  ever  returning. 
Mr.  Quaid  continues  to  elucidate  Dr.  Emmet's  will  as  follows : — 

By  the  terms  Mrs.  Emmet  was  to  have  been  entitled  during  her  life  to  the  invested 
proceeds  of  £5,500,  which  was  directed  by  Dr.  Emmet  to  be  raised  for  that  purpose.  The 
testator's  direction  was  "to  pay  and  hand  over  unto  my  dearly  beloved  and  most  deserving 
wife  Elizabeth  Emmet,  formerly  Mason,  the  interest  money  accruing  ....  upon  the  said 
principal  sum  of  £5,500  ....  which,  with  £30  per  annum  settled  upon  her  at  her  mar- 
riage and  charged  upon  the  lands  of  Ballydowney,  in  the  County  of  Kerry,  will  make 
her  income  £360  per  annum". 

Dr.  Emmet  also  directed  that  after  the  decease  of  his  wife  "the  interest  money,  of 
£2,000,  part  of  the  said  sum  of  £5,500,  shall  go  and  be  paid  to  my  daughter  Mary  Anna 
now  married  to  Robert  Holmes,  Esq.,  during  her  life,  and  after  her  decease  the  said 
interest  money  to  be  applied  for  the  maintenance  of  her  child  or  children",  and  included 
a  provision  in  his  will  for  the  payment  of  the  entire  £2,000  to  Mrs.  Holmes'  child  or 
children  after  her  decease.  If  she  had  no  children,  which  did  not  happen,  the  testator 
directed  that  the  £2,000  "shall  revert  to  my  two  sons,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  Robert 
Emmet,  to  be  divided  equally  between  them"'.  The  testator  also  directed  that  "as  to 
£2,000  more  of  said  principal  sum  of  £5,500  the  interest  money  whereof  I  have  bequeathed 
to  my  dearly  beloved  wife  during  her  life  my  will  is  that  after  her  decease,  said  £2,000 
shall  be  handed  over  and  paid  to  my  son  Robert  Emmet,  and  as  to  the  remaining  £1,500 
of  said  principal  sum  of  £5,500,  .  .  .  my  will  is  that  said  £1,500  shall  be  paid  to  my 
grand-daughter,  Catherine  Emmet,  daughter  of  my  late  son,  Christopher  Temple  Emmet 

 "  The  last-mentioned  provision  made  by  Dr.  Emmet  for  his  grand-daughter,  Miss 

Catherine  Emmet,  clearly  indicates  that  Dr.  Emmet  was  one  of  the  most  high-minded 
of  men.  It  appears,  as  recited  in  the  will,  that  Mrs.  Temple,  mother  of  Mrs.  C.  T. 
Emmet,  paid  over  £l,'000  to  C.  T.  Emmet  in  consideration  of  being  paid  an  annuity  of 
£50  a  year  for  life.  Through  some  oversight  the  £l,000  was  never  received,  but  notwith- 
standing the  annuity  was  regularly  paid  to  Mrs.  Temple,  until  her  daughter,  Mrs.  C.  T. 
Emmet,  died  after  her  husband.  The  testator  stated  he  had  afterwards  paid  the  £1,000 
himself,  and  directed  the  life  annuity  to  be  paid  to  Mrs.  Temple,  after  his  death  out  of 
the  lands  of  Ballydowney,  County  Kerry,  and  if  it  was  not  so  paid,  that  it  should  be 
paid  out  of  the  interest  on  the  £1,500  bequeathed  to  his  grand-daughter. 

Dr.  Emmet's  will  concludes  with  a  bequest  of  the  remainder  of  his  fortune  to  his 
sons,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  Robert  Emmet,  share  and  share  alike.  The  codicil  is 
in  Dr.  Emmet's  handwriting. 

The  testator  directed  that  the  rent-charge  of  £150  per  annum  before  referred  to 
should,  after  his  wife's  death,  be  paid  to  her  son  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and  he  was  also 
to  have  "Casino".  The  testator  adds — "By  which  here  above  regulation  I  think  that  my 
dearly  beloved  wife  and  both  my  sons  will  be  eventually  benefited,  as  she  will  be  given 
an  addition  of  £30  per  annum  to  the  provision  first  appointed  for  her.  My  son,  Thomas 
Addis,  will  after  her  decease  acquire  an  annuity  of  £150  per  annum  during  his  own 
and  his  brother  Robert's  life,  peaceably  and  well  secured,  instead  of  a  disputable  and 
uncertain  interest  ....  I  hereby  appoint  the  above  regulation,  written  by  myself  of 
a  codicil  to  my  within  will,  and  in  case  it  should  be  inconvenient  to  my  son  Thomas 
Addis  to  act  as  my  executor  as  by  the  within  will  appointed,  I  then  and  hereby  appoint 
my  son-in-law,  Robert  Holmes,  Esq.,  to  that  trust".   The  testator  added — "And  whereas, 


186 


Mrs.  Emmet's  Grief 


my  said  grand-daughter  may  die  without  being  married  or  leaving  any  issue  by  marriage 
whereby  her  fee-simple  estate  in  the  County  of  Kerry  would  rest  with  my  son  Thomas 
Addis,  now,  my  will  and  appointment  in  that  case  is  that  the  sum  of  £1,500  herein  be- 
queathed to  my  said  grand-daughter,  shall  in  that  contingency,  go  and  be  paid  to  my 
son,  Robert,  and  his  heirs". 

In  December,  1802,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  learned  of  his  father's  death 
and  wrote  to  his  mother  in  the  following  strain : — 

The  first  comfort  you  can  know  must  spring  up  from  within  yourself,  from  your 
reflection  and  religion,  from  your  recalling  to  memory  that  my  father's  active  and 
vigorous  mind  was  always  occupied  in  doing  good  to  others,  that  his  seventy-five  years 
unostentatiously  and  inestimably  were  filled  with  perpetual  services  to  his  fellow-creatures. 
That  although  he  was  tried,  and  that  severely,  with  some  of  those  calamities  from 
which  we  cannot  be  exempt,  yet  he  enjoyed  an  uncommon  portion  of  tranquillity  and 
happiness,  for  by  his  firmness  and  understanding  he  was  enabled  to  bear  like  a  man 
the  visitations  of  external  misfortunes,  and  from  within  no  troubled  conscience  or 
compunction  of  self-reproach  ever  disturbed  his  peace. 

Some  one  indorsed  on  this  letter:  "In  his  father's  character  his  own  has 
been  drawn". 

Within  a  month  after  her  husband's  death  Mrs.  Emmet  wrote  to  her  son, 
but  as  she  directed  it  to  New  York,  Poste  restante,  it  did  not  reach  Mr.  Emmet 
until  long  after  her  own  death.  It  is  a  most  pathetic  piece  of  writing,  and, 
one  well  worthy  the  last  place  in  their  correspondence.  That  it  was  the  last 
letter  which  passed  between  them  is  most  probable,  as  all  communications  with 
Ireland  was  soon  afterwards  cut  off  by  reason  of  the  war  with  France.  This 
letter  shows  that  her  son  Robert  was  with  her  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death. 
It  doubtless  was  a  fortunate  circumstance,  for,  poor  broken-hearted  woman 
that  she  was,  his  support  must  have  been  most  grateful  and  even  necessary  to 
her.  Her  letter  shows  how  fully  she  appreciated  it.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  this  letter. 

January  7th,  1803. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

After  some  struggle  with  myself  I  have  determined  to  write  to  you;  it  is  an  effort, 
but  it  is  such  an  one  as  I  shall  feel  the  better  for  having  made,  knowing  that  a  letter 
from  me  will  be  a  cordial  to  you,  and  the  more  so  as  I  can  give  you  a  better  assurance 
of  the  state  of  my  mind  than  any  other  person  could  do  for  me.  I  do  not  wish  to  excite 
your  feelings  or  my  own.  We  both  know  the  magnitude  of  our  loss,  all  we  now  have 
to  do  is  to  endeavor  to  lull  our  uneasy  and  melancholy  sensations.  I  have  had  many 
mitigations  afforded  to  me;  the  presence  and  support  of  our  dear  Robert  was  one  of 
the  greatest  that  could  have  happened  in  such  a  situation.  I  am  consoled  by  all  my 
children,  for  surely  never  parent  has  been  more  supremely  blessed  than  I  am  in  the 
affection,  the  virtues,  and  the  disposition  of  my  children.  I  am  strongly  impressed 
thereby,  but  while  I  feel  grateful  for  the  blessings,  I  feel  humbled  by  the  consciousness 
that  I  by  no  means  merit  the  too  high  opinion  which  their  filial  affection  and  partiality 
have  of  either  my  power  or  disposition.  I  do  not  mean  at  this  time  to  sue  for  compli- 
ments when  I  assure  you  that  I  feel  a  great  unworthiness  about  me.  That  I  should 
enjoy  so  great  a  calm  as  I  do  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  me,  whose  married  life  of 
forty-three  years  were  all  embittered  by  the  apprehension  of  what  has  now  befallen  me; 
it  is  of  such  a  kind  as  to  cause  self-reproach  that  it  is  unworthy  of  my  situation  or  of 
the  strong  affection  which  I  bore,  and  which  both  you  and  I  know  was  pure,  ardent, 


1  /^^ 


n 


f 


Facsimile  of  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (M< 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


.  lason)  Emmet,  the  last  letter  to  her  son  Thomas  in 
wh.ch  she  refers  to  the  death  of  her  husband  and  the  presence  of  her  son  Robert 


SL^T^^l ;     fa'-pv+J  ~?^J 


^  *Jy,.:  ^*-%?L  v^^n 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


|    2wr^         ^A^*.    h^*~  rf>~  Q-t>  ff,  ?>~+*.  9^*^'  /  fy^m^/A  /Zd^s-  ^ 

&  t>uj  jf e£/  A^JPv  fa^^^/X es^f  ^^tJc^+J  ffr*^*^  jjfL?^*  *^*-^*JL 

7/^+*??*-}  fr/+~~*~zzr—*.  -^.?y»^« 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Death  of  Mrs.  Emmet 


1S7 


and  sincere.  I  do  not  delude  myself  by  a  spiritual  vanity  that  any  supernatural  aid  has 
been  afforded  to  me,  nor  can  I  console  myself  that  it  was  the  effect  of  religion  or  resig- 
nation. I  know  it  proceeds  from  a  cessation  of  long-endured,  agonizing  agitations  that 
tore  my  heart  tho'  they  have  not  injured  my  frame.  I  have  for  a  length  of  time  lived 
under  an  uplifted  axe,  it  has  fallen,  and  I  am  not  destroyed.  My  dear,  dear  Tom,  I 
am  unfortunately  at  liberty  to  see  you ;  I  shall  not  go  to  Brussels  because  I  should  only 
impede  your  plans,  and  'till  our  affairs  are  arranged  I  do  not  wish  to  incur  any  expense 
that  I  do  not  know  how  far  I  may  be  warranted  in.  If  life  is  granted  to  me,  I  mean 
the  summer  after  next  to  spend  a  year  with  you  in  America,  and  if  the  dangers  of  the 
voyage  do  not  operate  too  strongly  upon  a  coward  heart,  the  rest  of  my  life  will  probably 
be  divided  between  you  and  Mary  Anne  [Mrs.  Holmes].  She  has,  beyond  the  ties  of 
affection  strong  claims  upon  me,  and  upon  us  all,  as  she  has  stood  in  the  pass  and  borne 
the  first  assault  of  all  our  distresses,  and  she  has  always  endeavoured  to  lighten  them, 
generally  to  the  prejudices  of  her  own  health. 

Your  dear,  tender,  and  ever  to  be  honoured  father  had  so  arranged  his  affairs  as 
to  enable  him,  if  he  had  been  spared,  to  allow  one  hundred  a  year  to  you  and  another 
hundred  to  Robert  during  his  life.  The  too  ample  provision  that  has  been  made  for 
me,  tho'  it  will  not  enable  me  to  do  thus  much,  will  I  trust  leave  it  in  my  power  to 
allow  fifty  pounds  a  year  to  each  of  my  children ;  they  all  deserve  alike  and  all  hold  an 
equal  place  in  my  affections. 

I  do  not  want  riches  for  myself,  but  I  wish  I  could  do  more  for  all  of  you.  Assure 
Jane  of  my  best  affections.  I  know  how  she  has  felt,  and  I  know  that,  however  strong 
her  attachment,  it  was  no  more  than  adequate  to  that  which  was  felt  for  her.  Mary 
Anne  is  but  just  recovering  from  a  bilious  fever  which  succeeded  her  lying-in;  it  was 
what  was  to  be  expected  as  a  natural  consequence  of  the  preceding  circumstances. 
Mr.  Holmes  is  heavily  laden  with  our  business;  the  confidence  we  have  in  him  is  great, 
and  he  will  fully  fill  the  trust  your  father  had  in  him  with  rectitude  and  ability.  Your 
children  here  are  as  they  should  be ;  the  dear  ones  with  you  I  feel  an  increased  affection 
for  them.  May  the  blessings  of  the  best  of  fathers  light  upon  you,  and  may  the  prayers 
and  wishes  of  my  heart  be  heard  in  favour  of  you,  your  wife,  and  children;  how 
strongly  do  I  feel  myself  inclined  to  invoke  a  departed  spirit.  Adieu,  my  dearest  Tom, 
I  am 

Your  truly  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Poste  restante,  New  York. 

As  the  stone  found  by  Dr.  Madden  in  St.  Peter's  churchyard  over  the 
Emmet  tomb  was  a  flat  one  covering  the  entrance  to  the  family  vault,  doubtless 
it  was  simply  covered  in  and  not  disturbed.   Dr.  Madden  writes  in  addition : 

Here  also  the  remains  are  interred  of  the  widow  of  Dr.  Emmet,  who  survived 
her  husband  only  nine  months.  She  preceded  her  youngest  son,  Robert,  to  the 
tomb  by  a  few  days.  From  the  period  of  the  arrest  of  her  son,  T.  A.  Emmet,  in  March, 
1798,  her  existence  was  a  blank.  She  died,  mercifully  was  it  ordained,  some  days  before 
the  execution  of  Robert  Emmet.  The  death  of  this  amiable,  exemplary,  and  high- 
minded  lady,  whose  understanding  was  as  vigorous  as  her  maternal  feelings  were 
strong  and  ardent,  took  place  at  a  country  residence  of  the  late  Dr.  Emmet,  on  the 
Donnybrook-road,  at  the  rear  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  She  survived 
her  husband  about  nine  months,  and  evidently,  like  the  mother  of  the  Sheares,  was 
hurried  to  the  grave  by  the  calamity  which  had  fallen  on  her  youngest  son,  who,  it  was 
vainly  hoped,  was  to  have  occupied  one  of  the  vacant  places  in  the  house,  and  in  the 
hearts  of  his  afflicted  parents.  Vainly  had  they  looked  up  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to 
supply  that  place  which  had  been  left  void  by  the  death  of  their  eldest  and  most  gifted 


188 


Ancestral  Traits 


son,  Christopher  Temple  Emmet.  And  when  Thomas  Addis  was  taken  away  from  them' 
and  banished,  to  whom  had  they  to  look  but  to  that  younger  son?  and  of  that  last 
life-hope  of  theirs  they  might  have  spoken  with  the  feelings  which  animated  the 
Lacedemonian  mother  when  one  of  her  sons  had  fallen  fighting  for  his  country,  and 
looking  on  the  last  of  them  then  living,  she  said: — "Ejus  locum  expleat  frater".  And 
that  son  was  taken  from  them,  incarcerated  for  four  years,  and  doomed  to  civil  death. 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  then  a  proscribed  man  in  exile.  The  father  had  sunk  under 
the  trial,  although  he  was  a  man  of  courage  and  equanimity  of  mind ;  but  the  mother's 
last  hope  in  her  youngest  son  sustained  in  some  degree  her  broken  health  and  spirits, 
and  that  one  hope  was  dashed  down  never  to  rise  again,  when  her  favorite  child,  the 
prop  of  her  old  age,  was  taken  from  her,  and  the  terrible  idea  of  his  frightful  fate  became 
her  one  fixed  thought, — from  the  instant  the  dreadful  tidings  of  his  apprehension 
reached  her  'till  the  approaching  time  of  the  crowning  catastrophe,  when,  in  mercy  to- 
ner, she  was  taken  away  from  her  great  misery. 

In  Chapter  XIII  of  the  second  volume  will  be  found  an  account  of  the  last 
interview  between  Robert  Emmet  and  his  devoted  mother. 

The  mental  and  physical  individuality  of  Dr.  Emmet  and  his  wife  was 
remarkable,  and  all  their  children,  although  there  was  no  family  resemblance 
as  to  mind  or  countenance,  reached  a  still  higher  degree  of  development.  It  is 
not  unusual  for  a  child  to  be  born,  whether  of  a  noted  family  or  in  the  lowest 
walks  of  life  who,  resembling  no  member  of  his  family,  in  after  life  becomes 
noted  for  his  intellectual  attainments,  but  it  is  unique  for  an  entire  family 
to  reach  an  extraordinary  degree  of  perfection. 

Before  the  marriage  of  Christopher  Emmet  and  Rebecca  Temple,  no  mem- 
ber of  the  Emmet  family,  during  several  hundred  years,  reached  a  higher  posi- 
tion than  that  of  a  successful  professional  man  who  thus  gave  evidence  of 
possessing  more  than  the  average  amount  of  brains,  and  this  success  was  more 
the  rule  than  the  exception.  It  was  a  well  marked  trait  of  all  bearing  the 
name  of  Emmet,  to  attend  strictly  to  their  private  business,  seldom  to  hold 
office  or  take  the  least  prominence  in  public  affairs. 

The  Temples,  on  the  contrary,  having  with  the  Emmets  been  in  the  country 
since  the  Norman  Conquest,  at  an  early  date  became  connected  with  the 
dominant  race  by  marriage,  and  were  from  the  beginning  prominent  in  their 
self-assertion  as  military  leaders  and  directors  in  the  management  of  State 
affairs.  They  were  always  typical  Normans  and  were  seldom  at  home,  while 
the  Emmets  made  good  husbands  and,  the  Saxon  element  predominating,  their 
whole  happiness  seemed  to  rest  on  their  domestic  relations. 

When  might  made  right,  the  Temples  were  ever  ready  to  take  what  they 
could  get  and  sometimes  were  not  over-scrupulous.  As  a  rule,  they  had  always 
been  narrow-minded  and  bigoted  in  everything  relating  to  religion  and  politics, 
but  were  truthful,  trustworthy  and  fearless.  Withal,  their  religion  was  gen- 
erally based  on  the  simplest  form,  dogma  carried  little  weight  and  their  chief 
reliance  seemed  to  be  on  human  judgment.  Until  a  late  period  they  favored 
the  simplest  form  of  government,  one  in  which  all  power  should  rest  with 
the  people.  The  writer  has  given  much  study  to  this  subject  and  has  been 
able  to  recognize  many  characteristic  features  which  the  Emmet  family  of 
later  days  inherited  from  their  Temple  ancestors.   In  the  same  connections  the 


Miss  Guiney's  Views 


189 


Masons  of  County  Kerry  were  found  to  have  much  in  common  with  the 
Temples  and  from  their  isolated  position  for  centuries  on  the  west  coast  of 
Ireland,  they  were  never  much  impressed  with  England's  claims  to  Irish 
loyalty. 

But  it  was  through  the  Masons  that  all  bigotry  and  intolerance  in  religion 
or  politics  which  previously  existed  in  the  family,  disappeared,  Dr.  Robert 
Emmet's  wife  being  the  person  who  brought  about  the  change.  No  woman 
outside  of  a  convent  could  have  passed  through  life  more  influenced  by  the 
teaching  of  Our  Lord,  as  to  Christian  charity  and  love  of  her  neighbor.  So 
completely  was  the  life  of  this  noble  wife  and  mother  passed  in  a  spirit  of 
self-abnegation  and  good  deeds  in  the  service  of  others  that  almost  all  knowl- 
edge as  to  her  own  humanity  was  obscured,  leaving  us  only  the  results  to  base 
any  judgment  on  as  to  her  well-spent  life  in  charitable  work. 

Several  years  after  the  completion  of  this  portion  of  the  writer's  work,  his 
attention  was  accidentally  called  to  a  statement  along  the  same  lines  of  investi- 
gation expressed  by  Louise  Imogen  Guiney  in  her  sketch  of  Robert  Emmet, 
and  it  may  be  of  interest  to  give  here  the  views  of  one  unbiased. 

The  Emmets  were  of  Anglo-Norman  stock,  Protestants  (converted  by  the  methods 
of  Henry  8th)  settled  for  centuries  in  Ireland.  The  Masons,  of  like  English  origin, 
had  merged  it  in  repeated  alliances  with  women  of  Kerry,  where  the  Normans,  the  Dane, 
and  later  invaders  from  nearer  quarters  had  never  settled  down  to  perturb  the  ancient 
Celtic  social  stream.  Dr.  Emmet  was  a  man  of  clear  brain  and  incorruptible  honor.  The 
mother  of  his  children,  to  judge  by  her  letters,  many  of  which  have  been  privately 
printed,  [in  the  "Emmet  Family"  and  reproduced  in  this  volume]  must  have  been  an 
exquisite  being,  high-minded,  religious,  loving,  humorous,  wise.  Her  eldest  son,  Christo- 
pher Temple  Emmet,  was  named  for  his  two  paternal  grand-parents,  Christopher  Emmet 
of  Tipperary  and  Rebecca  Temple,  great-great-granddaughter  of  the  first  Baronet  Temple 
of  Stowe,  in  Buckinghamshire.  The  mention  of  the  prolific,  wide-branching,  and  ex- 
traordinary family  of  Temple,  as  forebears  of  the  younger  Emmets,  is  like  a  sharply 
accented  note  in  a  musical  measure.  It  has  never  been  played  for  what  it  was  worth ; 
no  annalist  has  tracked  certain  Emmet  qualities  to  this  perfectly  obvious  ancestral 
source. 

The  Temples  had  not  only  in  this  case  the  bygone  responsibility  to  bear,  for  in 
a  marked  manner  they  kept  on  influencing  their  Emmet  contemporaries,  as  in  one  con- 
tinuous mood  thought  engenders  thought.  Says  Mr.  James  Hannay: — "The  distinctive 
Wos  of  the  Temples  has  been  a  union  of  more  than  usual  of  the  kind  of  talent  which 
makes  men  of  letters,  with  more  than  usual  of  the  kind  of  talent  which  makes  men  of 
affairs".  The  Emmets,  too,  shared  the  "distinctive  Wot  '  in  the  highest  degree.  Added 
to  the  restless  two-winged  intelligence,  they  had  the  heightened  soberness,  the  moral 
elevation,  which  formed  no  separate  inheritance.  The  Temples,  were,  and  are,  a  race 
of  subtle  but  somewhat  austere  imagination,  strongly  inclined  to  republicanism  and  to 
that  individualism  which  is  the  norm  of  it.  The  Temple  influence  in  eighteenth  century 
Ireland  was,  obliquely,  the  American  influence;  a  new  and  heady  draught  at  that  time, 
a  "draught  of  intellectual  day".  If  we  seek  for  these  unseen  agencies  which  are  so 
much  more  operative  than  mere  descent,  we  cover  a  good  deal  of  ground  in  remembering 
that  Robert  Emmet  the  patriot,  came  of  the  same  blood  as  Sidney's  friend,  Cromwell's 
chaplain,  and  Dorothy  Osborne's  lean  and  philosophic  husband.  And  he  shared  not  only 
the  Temple  idiosyncracy,  but  unlike  his  remarkable  brothers,  the  thin,  dark,  aquiline 
Temple  face. 

Rebecca  Temple,  only  daughter  of  Thomas,  a  baronet's  son,  married  Christopher 


190 


Love  of  Liberty 


Emmet  in  1727,  brought  the  dynastic  names,  Robert  and  Thomas  into  the  Emmet  family 
[correct  as  to  Thomas,  but  Robert  de  Emott  was  the  first  of  the  name  known  in 
England].  Mrs.  Emmet  lived  in  the  house  of  her  son,  the  Dublin  physician,  until  her 
death  in  1774,  when  her  grandchildren,  Temple  and  Thomas  Addis,  were  aged  thirteen 
and  ten ;  Robert  being  yet  unborn.  Her  protracted  life  and  quiet  character  would  have 
strengthened  the  relations,  always  close  with  the  Temple  kin.  Her  brother  Robert  had 
gone  in  his  youth  from  Ireland  to  Boston,  where  his  father  was  long  a  resident ;  and 
where  he  married  a  Temple  cousin.  This  Captain  Robert  Temple  died  April  13,  1754, 
at  his  seat,  Ten  Hills,  at  Boston,  in  New  England.  His  three  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom, 
succeeding  his  great-grandfather,  became  afterwards  Sir  John  Temple,  eighth  Baronet 
of  Stowe,  all  settled  in  New  England  and  married  daughters  of  the  Bowdoin,  Shirley, 
and  Whipple  families — good  wives  and  clever  women  ....  The  latter  day  Winthrops 
of  the  Republic  are  directly  descended  from  him,  and  the  late  Marquis  of  Dufferin 
and  Ava,  from  his  brother.  A  certain  victorious  free  spirit,  an  intellectual  fire,  whimsi- 
cal and  masterful,  has  touched  the  whole  race  of  untamable  Temples  and  the  Emmets, 
the  very  flower  of  that  race.  Love  of  liberty  was,  in  both  Robert  Emmet  and  in  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet,  no  isolated  phenomenon,  but  their  strengthened  and  applied  inheritance 
....  This  community  of  ideas  was  further  cemented  by  the  marriage  of  Anne  Western 
Temple,  Robert  Temple's  daughter,  to  Temple  Emmet,  Doctor  Emmet's  eldest  son. 

The  only  daughter  of  Dr.  Emmet,  Mary  Anne,  had  what  was  termed,  by  way  of 
adequate  eulogy,  a  "masculine  understanding",  with  which  she  wrote  pertinently  and  well. 
Her  husband  was  the  celebrated  barrister  of  Dublin  and  devoted  Irishman,  Robert 
Holmes.  He  was  the  true  friend  and  adviser  of  the  whole  Emmet  family  after  the 
death  of  Doctor  Robert  Emmet. 


Ireland  has  not  received  her  education  from  herself,  she  has  been  educated  by  another 
country,  which  for  a  long  time  had  but  little  to  bestow,  would  not  communicate  even 
that  little,  and  at  length  studied  to  check  the  growth  which  it  feared. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


ANNE  WESTERN  TEMPLE 
ife  of  Christopher  Temple  Emmet 


The  malignant  jealousy  to'ward  Ireland  increased  iviifi  the  increasing  commerce  of  Eng- 
land. 

T.  A.  Emmei. 


Chapter  V 


Christopher  Temple,  the  eldest  son  of  Dr.  Emmet— Sketch  of  his  life  from  the 
"Dictionary  of  National  Biography" — A  man  of  remarkable  ability  and  a  dis- 
tinguished lawyer  in  Dublin  before  the  age  of  twenty-seven — His  death  and  burial 
— Grattan's  statement  as  to  Emmet's  talents — Emmet's  only  child  a  daughter  who 
died  young  and  unmarried — Something  of  her  life — Peter  Burrowes'  recollections 
of  his  college-mate — Burrowes  a  noted  lawyer,  but  absent-minded — Mr.  Emmet's 
early  poems — Two  of  these  poems  printed  in  Edkins'  Collection  after  his  death — 
"The  Decree",  an  allegory  from  his  pen — Remarkable  production,  as  Emmet  took 
no  special  interest  in  politics — He  predicts  the  ultimate  fall  of  England  if  justice 
be  not  rendered  Ireland — "The  Myrtle" — At  the  time  of  his  death  he  holds  from 
the  government  the  position  of  King's  Counsel,  indicating  that  no  doubt  of  his 
loyalty  was  entertained — Temple  Emmet  a  member  of  the  "Monks  of  the  Screw" 
— History  of  this  exclusive  society  of  professional  men  of  Dublin. 


ERFECTLY  in  accord  with  the  Family  records  the  "Dic- 
tionary of  National  Biography"  states : 

Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  barrister,  eldest  son  of  Robert 
Emmet,  M.D.,  and  elder  brother  of  Thomas  Addis  and  Robert 
Emmet,  was  born  at  Cork  in  1761.  He  entered  the  University 
of  Dubliti  in  1775,  and  obtained  a  scholarship  there  in  1778.  He 
was  called  to  the  bar  in  Ireland  in  1781,  and  in  that  year  he 
married  Anne  Western  Temple,  daughter  of  Robert  Temple,  an 
American  loyalist  who  had  settled  in  Ireland.  Emmet  attained 
eminence  as  an  advocate;  he  possessed  a  highly  poetical  imagina- 
tion, remarkably  retentive  memory  and  a  vast  amount  of  acquired  knowledge  of  law, 
divinity,  and  literature.  Under  the  chancellorship  of  Lord  Lifford,  Emmet  was  advanced 
to  the  rank  of  king's  counsel  in  1787.  His  death  occurred  in  February,  1788,  while  he 
was  on  circuit  in  south  of  Ireland,  and  his  widow  died  in  the  following  November. 

The  "Hibernian  Magazine",  Feb.  1788,  states  that  he  died  in  York-street  in 
Dublin.  This  is  an  error.  Temple  Emmet  died  away  from  home,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven,  but  was  buried  from  his  residence  in  York-street,  and  the 
tradition  exists  in  the  family  that  he  died  from  over-work.  As  has  been 
stated,  his  wife,  Anne  Western  Temple,  of  Ten  Hills,  near  Boston,  Mass.,  was 
a  second  cousin. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  official  entry  in  the  Church  Records,  which 
is  in  the  possession  of  the  writer: — 

191 


192  Christopher  Temple  Emmet 


Register — St.  Peter's  Parish,  Dublin — 

This  is  to  certify  that  Temple  Emmet,  Esq.,  late  of  York  Street  in  the  City 
of  Dublin,  was  interred  on  the  ninth  day  of  March,  1788,  as  appears  by  an  entry 
thereof  in  the  Register  of  this  Parish. 

Given  under  our  hands  this  10th  day  of  March,  1830. 


Dr.  Madden  wrote  of  Temple  Emmet: 

His  brilliant  talents  and  eminent  legal  attainments  obtained  for  him  a  character  that 
in  the  same  brief  space  was  probably  never  gained  at  the  Irish  Bar. 

He  also  quotes  from  the  testimony  of  Mr.  St.  John  Mason,  that : 

He  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  bright  ornaments  of  the  Irish  Bar,  and  the  most 

eloquent  man  of  his  day  .  .  . 

His  death  created  a  great  sensation  at  the  time  and  notices  of  his  character 
and  death  and  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  will  be  found  in  the 
public  journals  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Grattan,  in  the  life  of  his  father,  the  celebrated  Henry  Grattan,  gives 
it  as  his  opinion  that : 

Temple  Emmet,  before  he  came  to  the  Bar,  knew  more  law  than  any  of  the 
judges  on  the  bench;  and  if  he  had  been  placed  on  one  side  and  the  whole  benck 
opposed  to  him,  he  could  have  been  examined  against  them,  and  would  have  sur- 
passed them  all;  he  would  have  answered  better  both  in  law  and  divinity  than 
any  judge  or  bishop  in  the  land.  He  had  a  wonderful  memory,  he  recollected  everything, 
it  stuck  to  him  with  singular  tenacity. 

C.  Temple  Emmet  left  one  child,  Catherine,  who  died  unmarried.  Nothing 
is  now  known  of  Catherine  Emmet's  life  after  the  death  of  her  grandparents, 
Dr.  Emmet  and  his  wife,  beyond  the  fact  that  she  once  visited  her  uncle  in 
America  and  there  established  a  friendship  with  his  two  older  daughters.  It 
would  seem  that  she  did  not  preserve  the  acquaintance  closely,  as  only  one 
letter  from  her  to  her  cousin,  Elizabeth  Emmet,  has  been  found  among  the 
family  papers.  This  letter,  however,  gives  every  indication  that  she  was  a 
talented  woman,  and  we  learn  from  it  of  her  bad  health,  which  was  probably 
the  reason  that  she  was  not  able  to  keep  up  a  correspondence  with  her  relatives. 
It  is  also  probable  that  Miss  Emmet  was  an  invalid  for  many  years  before  her 
death,  as  she  inherited  a  delicate  constitution  from  her  mother.  The  following 
is  a  copy  of  her  letter : 


My  beloved  Elizabeth  will  not,  I  hope,  reject  a  few  lines  from  me  to  whom  she 
is  very  dear,  though  various  circumstances  have  for  some  time  obliged  that  one 
to  be  silent  towards  her  and  the  other  members  of  the  family.  That  every  one 
of  these  members  of  the  family  is  nevertheless  as  tenderly  beloved  as  ever,  she 
can,  however,  most  sincerely  assure  them,  and  she  trusts  that  they  will  not  refuse 
their  pardon  for  an  offence  which  she  could  not  in  fact  avoid,  since  the  debility  to 
which  she  was  at  one  period  reduced,  rendered  her  incapable  of  writing  to  anybody 
whatever.  Do  not,  therefore,  my  friend,  condemn  me  without  hearing,  but  rather 
grant  me  a  generous  pardon,  and  let  me  if  possible  soon  hear  from  you,  and  hear 


John  [Illegible],  Minister 


George  Gray 
Edvvd.  Brewster 


Warders 


Combe  Down,  near  Bath, 
27th  February,  1817. 


Letter  from  Catherine  Emmet 


193 


too  some  particulars  concerning  my  uncle  and  aunt,  my  dearest  Robert,  and  all 
those  other  friends  so  dear  to  you  as  well  as  to  myself,  and  in  whose  society  you 
have  the  happy  prospect  of  spending  your  days,  a  bliss  of  which  I  have  given  up 
even  the  remotest  hope  on  this  side  of  the  grave.  I  have  promised  in  this  to  give 
you  some  account  of  my  health  and  of  my  present  situation. 

I  must  not  therefore  allow  myself  to  run  forth  into  fine  speeches,  but  will  begin 
with  telling  you  that,  persuaded  b  y  the  arguments  of  Mrs.  Tinton,  who  had  paid 
me  several  visits  since  I  came  to  Bath,  and  likewise  by  those  of  the  excellent  family 
in  which  I  reside,  I  have  entirely  given  up  the  system  of  Dr.  Parry  as  it  contributed 
only  to  weaken  me  without  diminishing  the  complaint  which  it  professed  to  erad- 
icate. This  you  may  suppose  was  to  me  no  trifling  disappointment,  for  if  I  had 
set  my  mind  too  earnestly  upon  any  earthly  object,  it  was  upon  getting  free  from 
a  complaint  which  must  render  me  a  burden  to  those  around  me  and  prevent  mc 
from  feeling  that  independence  which  nothing  could  otherwise  deprive  me  of. 
Since  however  it  is  so  ordained  I  must  only  remain  satisfied,  and  most  grateful 
do  I  feel  for  having  met  with  a  friend  such  as  my  dear  Miss  Hazlitt,  who  can 
feel  and  allow  for  all  my  weaknesses.  We  are  now,  together  with  her  good  Father 
and  Mother,  residing  on  Combe  Down,  near  the  town  of  Bath.  The  situation  itself 
is  most  delightful,  and  the  air  is  reckon'd  uncommonly  wholesome  for  all  who  have 
in  their  constitution  anything  of  a  consumptive  tendency.  My  dearest  Elizabeth 
Holmes*  has  more  than  half  promised  to  pay  me  a  visit  here  in  the  course  of  next 
summer,  on  her  return  from  Devonshire,  where  she  is  now  spending  some  time 
and  where  she  has  already  derived  some  benefit  from  the  mildness  of  the  climate. 
I  saw  her  as  she  passed  through  Bath  on  her  journey  thither,  and  was  much  shocked 
by  the  visible  weakness  of  her  frame,  but  I  trust  from  the  favorable  accounts  which 
I  have  received  since  that  all  may  yet  be  overcome.  She  spoke  to  me  much  about 
those  friends  in  America  whom  she  so  much  long'd  to  see  and  from  whom  a  few 
lines  were,  she  said,  to  her  more  precious  than  anything  besides.  This  I  could 
easily  believe,  for  I  myself  felt  the  same  emotion.  I  look  forward  to  some  hours 
of  enjoyment  in  the  summer  with  this  object  of  my  fond  affection,  and  I  think  that 
she  too  will  enjoy  herself  amid  the  scenes  about,  and,  what  is  more  to  be  desir'd 
than  anything,  that  each  of  us  will  become  acquainted  with  the  character  and  dis- 
position of  the  other.    Such  are  the  hopes  in  which  I  at  present  indulge. 

To  any  greater  happiness  I  durst  not  look  forward  lest  the  whole  should  ter- 
minate in  disappointment.  Sometimes,  when  I  think  of  you  and  those  around  you, 
I  cannot  help  indulging  in  the  wish  that  I  could  once  more  see  you  and  converse 
with  you,  though  for  ever  so  short  a  space  of  time.  But  the  idea  vanishes  from 
my  mind,  almost  as  soon  as  formed,  for  I  quickly  perceive  its  fallacy.  My  dear 
Miss  Hazlitt  could  tell  you  how  often  our  conversation  is  of  New  York,  and  how  at 
such  moments  rather  than  any  other,  my  tongue  can  discover  the  art  of  extending 
itself  without  fatigue  in  praise  for  those  most  dear  to  my  heart.  As  to  company, 
we  see  none.  Our  enjoyments  are  totally  of  the  domestic  kind.  In  strength  T 
can  perceive  myself  daily  to  be  gaining  something,  and  when  again  established  to 
the  same  point  of  health  which  I  enjoyed  before  I  entered  upon  this  unfortunate 
experiment,  when  able  to  use  my  limbs  for  myself  and  those  around  me,  as  I  then 
did,  I  shall  be  thoroughly  satisfied,  for  I  shall  then  have  it  in  my  power  to  be 
useful,  and  you,  my  dear  Elizabeth,  do  not  know  and  cannot  well  form  an  idea  of 
the  horror  of  that  sensation  connected  with  the  consciousness  that  you  are  of  use  to  no 
one,  and  perhaps  forgotten  by  those  whom  you  best  love. 

Forgive  me  for  saying  this.  The  thought  will  sometimes  enter  into  the  soul, 
and  it  cannot  always  be  banished  just  at  pleasure.  The  way  by  which  you  will 
oblige  me  totally  to  dismiss  it  will  be  by  writing  soon  and  sending  me  even  the 
most  trifling  particulars  that  relate  to  my  belov'd  aunt  and  uncle.    To  yourself, 


*Her  cousin;  afterwards  Mrs.  Lenox  Conyngham. 


194 


Monks  of  the  Screw 


or  my  dearest  Margaret,  or  to  any  other  member  of  that  Family  which  I  so 
frequently  reflect  upon,  and  for  whose  happiness  these  lips  daily  offer  up  so  many 
prayers,  to  all  these  you  must  remember  me  as  if  particularly  named,  and  I  hope 
that  from  some  of  you  I  shall  soon  hear. 

In  the  meantime  I  can  only  assure  you  that  whatever  may  be  the  distance  that 
lies  between  us  and  however  long  the  time  of  our  separation,  you  will  at  all  times 
and  in  every  situation  possess  in  me  a  most  faithful  friend  and  affectionate  cousin. 

C.  Emmet. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet, 

Peter  Burrowes'  "Memoir"  contains  the  following  notice  of  his  college 
mate : — 


Temple  Emmet  died  prematurely.  His  eloquence  was  great,  but  spoiled  by 
imagery.  He  could  not  speak  prose;  it  was  poetry.  Having  on  one  occasion  to 
close  the  sitting  of  the  College  Historical  Society  by  a  speech  from  the  chair,  he 
prepared  the  speech  and  sent  it  to  Mr.  Burrowes  desiring  him  to  curtail  it  as  he 
thought  proper,  and  so  alter  it,  if  necessary  as  that  it  should  appear  to  the  best 
advantage.  Mr.  Burrowes  tried,  but  ineffectually;  he  could  not  alter  it  without 
changing  the  entire.  It  was  all  poetry.  One  passage  he  used  to  repeat  wtih  great 
earnestness  and  animation:  "America!  America!  the  land  of  arts  and  arms,  where 
that  goddess,  Liberty,  was  wooed  and  won,  and  twelve  young  eaglets  springing 
from  her  nest,  bore  freedom  upward  on  her  soaring  wings". 

The  entire  speech  was  in  this  style;  and  Mr.  Burrowes  returned  it,  being  un- 
able to  comply  with  the  speaker's  wishes.  He  did  however  pronounce  a  most 
flowery  and  eloquent  address  from  the  chair  on  that  occasion;  it  was  full  of  talent, 
but  it  was  a  speech  of  blank  verse.* 


Temple  Emmet's  professional  standing  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  founder  and  member  of  a  social  club  called  the  "Monks  of  the  Screw", 
composed  of  fifty  members  selected  from  the  learned  professions  in  Dublin, 
who  dined  together  at  least  once  a  week  at  the  club-house  on  Dublin  Bay.f 

Mr.  Emmet  possessed  a  most  logical  mind,  and  it  had  been  stated  that 
when  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  his  arguments  were  so 
concise  in  statement  and  so  logical  in  the  deductions  drawn  that  there  was 
no  one  at  the  Irish  Bar  during  his  service  who  could  equal  him.  In  this 
respect  Temple  Emmet  possessed  a  mental  development  rarely  found  in  any 
individual  with  a  poetical  tendency.  In  his  early  life  Mr.  Emmet  had  pub- 
lished in  London  a  large  volume  of  his  original  poems.    So  diligently  and 


•This  is  a  very  clear  criticism  from  one  said  to  have  been  the  most  absent  minded  man  in 
Ireland.  According  to  Phillips  in  "Curran  and  His  Contemporaries":  "It  is  recorded  of  him 
[Burrowes]  that  on  circuit,  a  brother  barrister  found  him  at  breakfast  time  standing  by  the  fire 
with  an  egg  in  his  hand  and  his  watch  in  the  saucepan." 

tSome  years  ago  the  writer  possessed  a  work  of  two  or  three  volumes  bearing  the  title,  he 
thinks,  of  "The  Monks  of  the  Screw",  written  evidently  by  one  who  had  obtained  access  to 
their  minutes,  or  who  had  known  some  one  most  familiar  with  the  individualism  of  the  different 
members  and  their  work.  This  book  gave  a  report  of  much  that  was  said  and  done  by  the  members 
at  their  Dinners.  These  men  were  the  most  learned  in  their  professions,  and  noted  for  their  wit 
and  story  telling.  In  a  recently  published  work  "John  Philpot  Curran",  1750-1817,  by  R.  W.  W., 
Dublin,  1907,  it  .is  stated: — "When  Lord  Avonmore  [Barry  Yelverton,  a  friend  of  Curran] 
founded  the  patriotic  convivial  society  of  'The  Monks  of  the  Screw'  in  1779  [to  1795]  Curran  wa» 
made  Prior  of  the  Order;  and  a  glance  at  the  names  of  the  men  who  accepted  him  at  twenty-nine  as  a 
special  leader  will  attest  the  position  he  had  already  won. 

"Their  chapter  song,  written  by  the  Prior,  and  a  picture  of  their  proceedings,  will  be  found  in 
'Charles  O'Malley'.  Curran,  who  was  a  host  in  himself — though  according  to  Lever's  pun,  his 
elevation  could  not  be  depended  on — gloried  in  his  title,  and  named  his  estate  of  Hally  Park,  near 
Rathfarnham,  some  four  miles  from  Dublin,  'The  Priory'. 

"He  gravely  told  the  inmates  of  a  French  monastery  who  thanked  him  for  his  advocacy  of  the 
Catholic  cause  and  offered  him  the  keys  of  the  house,  that  he  was  a  prior  himself  in  Ireland,  and 
that  he  would  merely  accept  the  key  of  the  wine  cellar." 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA   FRANCES  LEVINS 

CHRISTOPHER  TEMPLE  EMMET 


Poems  of  Temple  Emmet 


195 


during  so  many  years  had  this  work  been  sought  for,  that  the  writer  would 
doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  statement,  were  it  not  that  the  elder  members  of 
the  family,  who  have  long  passed  away,  all  remembered  seeing  the  work  and 
hearing  it  spoken  of  in  Ireland  during  their  early  childhood. 

That  Temple  Emmet  possessed  a  poetical  faculty  and  that  his  poems  were 
published  there  can  be  no  doubt.  By  means  of  the  cross-reference  card  cata- 
logue at  the  Public  Library  in  New  York  city,  two  poems  of  some  length  from 
his  pen  were  found  which  were  previously  unknown,  to  the  present  generation 
at  least. 

"The  Decree"  was  found  to  have  been  printed  several  times,  and  for  the 
last  time  in  "A  Collection  of  Poems,  Dublin,  MDCCLXXXIX,  issued  for  the 
editor  Joshua  Edkins".  In  the  Public  Library  of  New  York  there  were 
found  copies  of  three  annual  issues  for  1789,  1790  and  1801 — "The  Decree" 
was  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  series,  known  as  "Edkins'  Collec- 
tion of  Poems",  and  the  following  year  appeared  "The  Myrtle"  by  Emmet 
with  an  anonymous  poem  supposed  to  have  been  also  from  his  pen.  "The 
Decree",  an  allegory  of  thirty-two  stanzas  of  four  lines  each,  according  to 
the  "Dictionary  of  National  Biography"  : — 

Was  written  during  the  administration  of,  and  inscribed  to,  the  Earl  of  Buck- 
inghamshire, Viceroy  of  Ireland  from  1777  to  1780.  In  these  verses  the  author 
predicted  that  the  future  eminence  of  England  would  be  imperilled  if  she  delayed 
to  act  justly  toward  Ireland,  by  annulling  harsh  laws,  and  by  removing  the  enact- 
ments which  prohibited  commerce  between  the  Irish  and  America,  which  he  styled 
'the  growing  western  world*. 

It  is  not  known  when  "The  Myrtle"  was  written,  but  the  volume  of  poems 
by  Christopher  Temple  Emmet  was  published  in  London  during  his  lifetime 
and  must  therefore  have  been  written  previous  to  1788,  in  which  year  he  died, 
and  these  poems  reprinted  in  "Edkins'  Collection  of  Poems"*  must  have  been 
taken  from  the  work  issued  by  Mr.  Emmet  himself  years  before. 


The  Decree 

Written  During  the  Administration  of,  and  Inscribed  to 
His  Excellency 
John  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire 
By  Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  Esq. 

High  enthron'd,  in  godlike  state, 
Rising  from  the  wat'ry  plain, 
Mighty  Neptune  sat,  elate; 

Neptune's  trident  shook  the  main. 

•Thomas  Addis  Emmet's  name  appears  among  the  list  of  subscribers  with  Henry  Grattan,  Edmund 
Burke,  Richd.  Brinsley  Sheridan,  The  Rt.  Hon.  C.  J.  Fox,  George  Robert  Fitzgerald  ("Fighting" 
Fitzgerald,  afterwards  hanged  for  murder),  John  Kemble,  Saml.  Whyte,  Dr.  Drennan,  and  many 
others. 


The  Decree 


Dazzling  glory,  round  his  head, 
Beam'd  a  blaze  of  orient  light; 

Mermaids  left  their  sea-green  bed, 
Gaily,  rob'd  in  azure  bright. 

In  their  shells,  blue  Tritons  rode 
Round  their  monarch's  wat'ry  car; 

Naiads  hymn'd  a  nautic  ode, 
And  the  shores  resounded  far. 

Then,  sweet  Sirens,  gently,  sung 
"Rule,  Britannia,  rule  the  waves!" 

And  responsive  Tritons  rung 
"Britons  never  shall  be  slaves". 

Distant  valleys  caught  the  sound, 
On  a  swelling  surge  convey'd, 

And  the  sportive  Echoes  round 
Tuneful,  lent  their  mimic  aid. 

Ere  the  notes  well  dy'd  away, 
1,0 !  a  beauteous  form  arose. 

Zephyrs,  soft,  began  to  play, 
Soft  as  new-born  April  blows. 

Drest,  she  stood  in  vernal  green, 
Floating,  loosely,  to  the  wind; 

At  her  side,  an  harp  was  seen, 
And  her  hair  flow'd  loose  behind. 

Careless,  circling  round  her  head, 
Gather'd  fresh  from  off  the  plain, 

Three-leav'd  grass  compos'd  a  braid  ;— 
Gayer  dress  may  suit  the  vain. 

Soft,  she  struck  her  trembling  lyre; 

Soft,  the  warbling  notes  were  play'd 
Soft,  addressing  then  her  sire, 

Thus  the  mild-ey'd  beauty  said. 

"Ne'er  be  Britain's  honours  faded, 
Long  may  Britain  rule  the  main, 
Long,  her  flag  fly,  undegraded, 
Dread  of  France  and  haughty  Spair 

"May  she  humble  ev'ry  foe, 
May  her  honours  ever  rise, 
Still,  in  greatness,  may  she  grow, 
May  her  glories  reach  the  skies. 

"Happy,  thus,  that  she  is  great, 
Happy,  thus,  that  she  is* free, 
May  I,  humbly,  ask  what  Fate 
Has  resolv'd  on,  touching  me?" 

Neptune  wav'd  his  hoary  head, 
Tritons  trembled  at  his  nod, 

Ocean  shrunk  beneath  its  bed, 
Nature  felt  the  lab'ring  God. 


The  Decree 


Pausing,  then,  at  length,  he  cry'd, 

"Britain's  monarchs  long  shall  reign, 
Long  her  fleets,  in  triumph,  ride, 
Neptune's  bulwarks,  on  the  main. 

"But  if  ere,  in  thoughtless  hour, 
Freedom's  rights  she  shall  invade, 
Struck  with  lust  of  lawless  pow'r, 
Britain's  laurels,  then,  shall  fade. 

"Vainly,  then,  her  fleets  shall  roam, 

Half  mankind,  combin'd,  her  foes; 
She  may  strike — but  not  strike  home ; 
Heav'n  itself  shall  blast  her  rose. 

"Older,  stronger,  mark'd  by  Fate, 
Hers  it  is  to  rule  the  main, 
Nor  do  thou  the  humbler  state, — 
Stiller  joys  of  life,  disdain. 

"Britain,  in  that  higher  sphere, 
Must  ten  thousand  ills  endure, 
Whilst,  divest  of  anxious  care, 
You  may  sit  and  smile  secure. 

"But  should  Britain  ere  forget 
What  to  Sisters'  claims  are  due, 
Madly,  should  she  ever  threat 
Tyrant  laws,  or  force,  to  you ; 

"Should  she  ever  claim  a  right, 
Ireland's  commerce  to  restrain, 
Should  she  ere  presume,  by  might, 
Such  oppression  to  maintain; — 

"In  that  day,  her  doom  is  seal'd ; 

By  that  act,  her  charter  void, 
Heav'n's  condition'd  grant  repeal'd, 
Heav'n's  intended  boon  destroy'd ; 

"In  that  day — 'tis  so  decreed, 
Letter'd  large,  enroll'd  by  Fate, 
You  to  Britain  shall  succeed, 
Yours  shall  be  the  rising  State." 

"Oh !  far  distant  be  the  day," 
Quick,  the  mild-ey'd  Maid  reply 'd, 
Ne'er  let  Britain's  pow'r  decay, 
Ne'er  be  Britain's  title  try'd. 

"Ne'er  let  wrongs  her  honour  stain, 
Still,  her  sway  let  Britain  keep; 
In  her  stead  should  Ireland  reign, 
Ireland  in  that  pomp  would  weep. 

"Never  may  I  so  be  prais'd, 
Never  so  obtain  renown ; — 
If  on  Britain's  ruin  rais'd, 
I  reject  the  proffer'd  crown." 


"The  Decree" 


"What  Jove  wills  must  be  obey'd, 
What  Jove  wills  is  ever  best," 
Neptune  said,  with  voice  dismay'd, 
And,  in  sorrow,  smote  his  breast. 

"Hark! — methinks,  I  hear  the  word; 
Hark! — methinks,  the  loud  alarm; 
See ! — oh,  see !  the  half  drawn  sword  1 
See !  the  half  uplifted  arm ! 

"Right,  provok'd  by  wrong  exceeding, 
Drest  in  Terror's  garb  appears ; 
Oh,  how  stay  my  children  bleeding! 
How  prevent  the  widow's  tears ! 

"Prudence,  mild,  must  sooth  the  storm; 
Prudence  stop  my  children's  woes; 
Prudence,  drest  in  Hobart's  form, 
Must  the  growing  ills  compose. 

"Patient,  faithful,  mild,  and  just, 
He  shall  make  their  discord  cease, 
Greatly,  godlike  in  his  trust, 
He  shall  seal  their  mutual  peace. 

"Injur'd  Ireland  he  shall  guide, 
Britain's  errors  shall  upbraid, 
He  shall  open  Wealth's  fair  tide, 
And  set  free  restricted  Trade. 

"Then  shall  Commerce  gladly  smile, 

In  each  flying  gale,  unfurl'd, 
Hov'ring  'twixt  her  fav'rite  Isle 
And  a  growing  Western  world. 

"Ireland,  happy  in  redress, — 

Britain,  sav'd  by  cancel'd  laws, — 
Each  shall  Hobart's  conduct  bless, 
Each  proclaim  her  loud  applause. 

"High,  amidst  the  good  and  great, 
Honour  shall  enroll  his  name; 
Friend  and  father  to  each  state 
He  shall  fill  the  trump  of  Fame!" 

Ireland,  raptur'd  struck  the  lyre 
Neptune  still'd  the  roughen'd  main 

Nymphs  and  Tritons  caught  the  fire; 
Heav'nly  music  clos'd  the  scene! 


"The  Myrtle" 


Sent  to 
a  Lady 
With  a  Present  of 
Myrtle 

By  Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  Esq. 


Once  on  a  time,  as  poets  tell, 
And  poets,  sure,  knew  old  times  well, 
When  simple  swains  and  virgins  fair 
Tended  in  vales  their  fleecy  care, 
And  each,  like  the  wild  flocks  they  fed, 
On  earth's  soft  lap  reclin'd  their  head; 
Then  Jove,  for  Jove  o'er  Ida  reign'd, 
On  Ida's  top  the  Gods  conveyn'd; 
And  each  God,  e'er  th'  assembly  rose, 
Some  Tree  from  hill  or  valley  chose, 
Jove  took  the  Oak,  a  tree  divine ! 
And  little  Bacchus  took  the  Vine; 
The  Laurel  Phcebus  made  his  care, 
For  still  he  lov'd  the  Flying  Fair; 
The  Olive  pleas'd  the  blue-ey'd  Maid; 
But  Venus  chose  the  Myrtle's  shade. 

First  Jove  arose,  and  first  he  spoke, 

And  gifted  thus  his  chosen  Oak; 

"O'er  all  the  mountains  thou  shalt  reign, 

And  spread  thy  branches  to  the  plain; 

High  on  the  hills,  my  Oak  shall  rise 

And,  first  of  trees,  approach  the  skies ; 

In  vain  loud  storms  and  rattling  hail 

Thy  leafy  honours  shall  assail ; 

But,  in  the  Dodonsean  grove, 

Men  shall  thy  pow'r  prophetic  prove; 

While  priests  in  holy  madness  wait 

To  catch  from  thee  the  voice  of  fate; — 

And  thou  shalt  grace  the  wat'ry  plain, 

Long  as  Britannia  rules  the  main, 

Her  floating  bulwark  thou  shalt  prove, 

To  Britain  sacred — and  to  Jove." 

Next  Bacchus  to  his  Vine  began, 
"Sweet  Tree !  which  smooths  each  care  of  man 
To  thee  shall  truth  her  altars  raise, 
Parent  of  mirth  and  child  of  ease, 
By  thee  shall  dull  reserve  be  drown'd, 
When  with  thy  fruit  the  cup  is  crown'd; 
Thy  floods  shall  fright  away  despair, 
Dazzle  deep  thought,  and  drown  old  care; 
And  all,  who  feel  the  force  of  wine, 
Shall  pay  due  honours  to  my  Vine; 
For  thou  can'st  ev'ry  grief  destroy, 
And,  in  their  place,  plant  ev'ry  joy". 


200 


"The  Myrtle" 


Apollo,  too,  his  Tree  displayed, 

And,  speaking,  wept  the  Penian  maid; 

"Henceforth  'tis  will'd,  fair  favour'd  Tree! 

Each  honest  breast  shall  beat  for  thee; 

And  who  feel  fame's  pure  kindling  fire 

To  thy  green  honours  shall  aspire; 

Thy  leaves  shall  prove  the  victor's  praise, 

And  sacred  make  the  poet's  lays; 

Thy  wreaths  shall  twine  the  champion  round. 

And  conquest,  with  thy  boughs,  be  crown'd". 

Minerva,  thus,  her  Tree  addrest; 

"When  men  by  war's  black  scourge  are  prest, 

And  discord,  high  in  air,  displays 

Her  bloody  torch  and  wasteful  blaze, 

My  Olive  shall  its  branches  wave, 

To  snatch  from  death  the  bold  and  brave; 

No  more  the  trembling  maid  shall  weep, 

Nor  frightful  visions  scatter  sleep; 

No  starting  fair,  with  faded  cheek, 

Her  promis'd  love  in  vain  shall  seek; 

No  more  the  orphan's  tears  shall  flow, 

Nor  death  awake  the  widow's  woe; 

To  white  rob'd  Peace  shall  Terror  yield 

His  gorgon  crest  and  snake-hung  shield; 

Nor  sullen,  view  th'  ensanguin'd  plain 

And  whirl  his  car  o'er  heaps  of  slain; 

But  fury  pale  shall  learn  to  cease, — 

My  Olive  still  the  pledge  of  peace". 

Last,  Venus  took  her  Myrtle  fair, 

And  drest  each  sprig  with  happy  care ; 

"For  thou  shalt  be  supremely  blest, 

And  far  more  favour'd  than  the  rest; 

In  future  times  her  care  you'll  prove 

Who  reigns  on  earth  the  Queen  of  love; 

For  her  my  Myrtle  I  design, 

To  her  I'll  give  whate'er  is  mine; 

In  proof  whereof,  her  waist  around 

With  my  own  cestus  shall  be  bound; 

At  present,  you'll  remain  with  me — 

Hereafter,  one  more  fair  you'll  see; 

And  each  new  day  and  each  new  year, 

In  beauties  new  like  her,  appear, 

Unsully'd  as  her  native  truth, 

And  blooming  like  her  op'ning  youth; 

Perhaps  with  gentle  hand,  she'll  pour, 

From  steaming  urn,  a  silver  show'r; 

Perhaps,  in  gayest  verdure  drest, 

You'll  chance  to  deck  her  snowy  breast, 

There  flourish,  with  superior  bloom, 

And,  thence,  your  chiefest  sweets  assume, 

And  while,  with  concious  grace  she  treads, 

And  Love  around  his  glory  spreads, 


"The  Myrtle" 


201 


The  nymphs  shall  all  in  envy  vie, 
And  all  the  swains  with  envy  die; 
The  nymphs  shall  envy  her  they  view, 
The  swains,  blest  Myrtle  !  envy  you ; 
Because,  design'd  to  give  delight, 
Your  sweets  attract  my  Delia's  sight; 
Because  you  grace  her  gentle  breast, 
Where  Sorrow's  self  might  learn  to  rest! 
And  thus  what  each  aspires  to  be 
Becomes  the  fate  reserv'd  for  thee". 


Man  looks  to  antiquity  for  a  right  to  be  free;  as  <well  might  he  look  to  antiquity  for  a 
right  to  breathe. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


The  policy  of  England  towards  Ireland,  even  as  a  dependent  state,  mas  untvise,  illiberal 
and  unfeeling,  but  it  was  uniformly  the  policy  of  the  despot  to  the  slave. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  VI 

Birth  and  early  life  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet — His  course  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
compared  with  the  standing  of  his  brother  Temple — Studies  medicine  in  Edinburgh — His 
course  there — Thesis  for  graduation — Dr.  Samuel  Mitchell's  account  of  Emmet's  career — 
His  great  popularity  in  the  literary  societies — His  college  friends — Served  in  Guy's  Hos- 
pital, London — Begins  practice  in  Dublin — Gets  rapidly  into  a  large  practice — Associated 
with  his  father — He  and  his  father  become  state  physicians  for  the  king — Sudden  death 
of  his  brother  Temple — Studies  law  at  the  wish  of  his  father  and  is  equally  successful  as  a 
student — His  acquaintances  while  a  law  student  among  men  afterwards  distinguished — In 
less  than  a  year  he  fully  establishes  himself  at  the  Dublin  bar — His  early  connection  with 
the  United  Irishmen — Takes  an  active  part  in  forming  the  organization  prior  to  becoming 
a  member — Takes  the  oath  of  the  United  Irishmen  in  open  court,  during  the  trial  of  his 
client  for  the  same  offence — Emmet's  early  association  with  Theobald  Wolfe  Tone — Dr. 
Madden's  work — An  early  advocacy  of  Catholic  Emancipation  and  parliamentary  reform 
and  work  in  advancing  the  movements — Tone's  visit  to  the  United  States — Pitt's  course 
towards  Ireland  for  bringing  about  the  Union  with  England — England's  promises  to  Ire- 
land never  observed  in  good  faith — Had  Pitt  and  Napoleon  an  understanding? 

HOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET,  the  second  son  of  Dr.  Robert 
Emmet  and  Elizabeth  Mason,  was  born  in  Cork,  Ireland, 
April  2i,  1764.  He  was  educated  in  a  school  kept  by  Mr. 
Keer  in  Dublin.  Nothing  is  now  known  of  his  course  be- 
yond the  fact  made  evident  from  the  number  of  prize- 
books  gained  by  him  that  he  possessed  more  than  average 
ability  and  application.  According  to  family  tradition 
Mr.  Emmet,  when  passing  into  manhood,  was  fond  of 
all  out-door  sports,  particularly  of  hunting,  and  he  was 
considered  to  have  been  an  unusually  good  horseman.  He  entered  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Dublin,  1778,  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  was  graduated  at 
the  end  of  the  course  with  very  high  honors.  His  elder  brother  Temple  was 
graduated  a  few  years  previous  with  such  distinction  as  to  establish  a  standard 
so  high  as  never  since  to  have  been  reached  by  any  other  individual.  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet  obtained  a  scholarship  in  1781,  and  the  Degree  of  B.A.  in  1782, 
and  established  for  himself  a  standard  which  has  remained  to  his  individual 
credit.  During  a  visit  to  Trinity  in  1880  the  writer  learned  from  an  official, 
who  seemed  fully  acquainted  with  the  circumstances,  that  while  sonv  individ- 
ual occasionally  reached  Temple  Emmet's  standard  in  some  special  line,  as  in 
mathematics  or  the  Classics,  no  student  up  to  that  date,  in  his  final  examina- 
tion for  graduation,  had  since  reached  the  standard  established  by  these 

202 


Graduation  Thesis 


203 


brothers  for  the  whole  course.  The  early  death  of  the  one  and  the  political 
difficulty  and  exile  of  the  other  so  soon  after  graduation  had  caused  this  re- 
markable fact  connected  with  them  to  be  forgotten. 

After  receiving  the  Degree  of  LL.B.  from  Trinity  University,  Mr.  T.  A. 
Emmet  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  Edinburgh  and  graduated  in  1784, 
achieving  there  comparatively  as  high  a  standard  as  he  held  at  Trinity.  We 
are  indebted  to  the  funeral  oration  delivered  by  Dr.  Samuel  Mitchell,  who  was 
a  fellow-student  with  Mr.  Emmet,  for  the  following  information : 

In  October,  1784,  I  found  T.  A.  Emmet  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He  had  in 
the  September  preceding  received  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine  in  due  form,  pursuant 
to  a  decree  of  the  faculty,  and  an  order  of  the  academic  senate.  The  velvet  cap  had  been 
put  upon  his  head  by  the  distinguished  Principal  William  Robertson.  He  staid  there  during 
the  winter  which  succeeded  his  graduation,  for  the  purpose  of  further  improvement. 
Gentlemen  who  can  afford  it,  and  are  not  pressed  immediately  into  business,  not  un- 
frequently  do  so.  I  soon  became  acquainted  with  him.  I  even  sought  an  introduction, 
for  he  was  in  high  consideration  among  the  students,  and  he  was  reputed  by  the  pro- 
fessors and  seniors  as  having  performed  his  exercises,  and  gone  through  the  prescribed 
course  of  study,  with  more  than  common  ability. 

The  statutes  imposed  upon  a  candidate  for  the  doctorate  among  other  tasks,  the 
publication  of  a  dissertation  upon  some  professional  subject  in  the  Latin  language — Mr. 
Emmet  possessing  a  taste  for  chemistry  did  defend  at  the  solemn  examination  [for  the 
degree  of  medicine]  a  composition*  "De  aere  fixo  vel  acido  aereo" :  the  production  upon 
which  Professor  Black  had  founded  much  of  his  well-earned  fame.  Experiments  had 
proceeded  at  that  day  far  enough  to  ascertain  that  it  was  an  air,  fixed  in,  or  attracted  to 
other  bodies  as  by  chalk,  for  example,  and  they  had  proved  that  it  was  an  acid  quality, 
capable  of  changing  the  purple  of  litmus  to  red.  But  they  had  not  discovered  that  its 
basis  was  elementary  charcoal,  nor,  that  in  correct  nomenclature,  it  ought  to  be  called 
carbonic  acid.  The  performance  was  considered  to  have  been  his  own,  and  not  the  work 
of  one  of  those  useful  hirelings,  who  prepared  exercises  for  the  dull  and  lazy. 

As  to  the  style,  it  was  deemed  a  good  specimen  of  modern  latinity,  and  in  regard 
to  the  matter,  it  was  reckoned  one  of  the  best  inaugural  tracts.  Mr.  Smellie,  one  of  the 
printers  to  the  University,  a  good  naturalist  and  a  fair  judge  of  literary  and  scientific 
matters,  had  made  a  selection  of  those  collegiate  pieces  that  went  through  his  hands, 
which  he  published  in  a  volume  from  time  to  time,  under  the  title  of  "Thesaurus  Medicus". 
Emmet's  dissertation  had  the  honor  of  being  reprinted,  and  preserved  among  the  choice 
articles  there.  .  .  .  The  dissertation  states  that  it  is  Chymico-Medical.  .  .  .  The 
first  section  or  chapter,  contains  the  history  of  the  substance,  as  it  was  understood  forty- 
seven  years  ago.  That  his  diligence  may  be  duly  appreciated  it  becomes  me  to  tell  you 
he  quotes  the  English  philosophical  transactions,  and  the  writings  of  Priestley,  Cavallo, 
Falconer,  Lavoisier,  and  Bergman,  as  reigning  authorities.  He  likewise  manifests  his 
acquaintance  with  the  labors  of  Percival,  Nooth,  Black,  Macbride  and  Pringle,  to  whom 
he  makes  becoming  reference  and  acknowledgment. 

In  the  next  division  of  his  subject,  he  examines  the  "nature  of  the  Aereal  Acid",  and 
after  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  matter  from  the  facts  and  opinions  before  him,  he 
concludes  his  enquiry,  by  observing,  like  a  candid,  modest  and  sensible  man  [p.  45]  :  "If  I 
should  be  required  to  give  a  theory  of  the  Aereal  Acid,  I  should  not  venture  to  do  it  at 
present;  we  are  probably  ignorant  of  many  qualities  belonging  to  the  gases;  but  further 
removed  from  an  acquaintance  with  their  peculiarities  and  constitutions !  This,  how- 
ever, I  will  venture  to  assert,  that  fixed  air,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  approaches  as  nearly 


"Tentamen  Chymico-Medicum  de  Aere  Fixo  sive  Acido  Aereo,  Edenburg  mdcclxxxiv.  See  Ap- 
pendix, Note  V. 


204 


Early  Oratorical  Efforts 


to  a  simple  substance  as  any  gas,  or  any  acid,  and  in  the  two  cases,  we  are  equally  unac- 
quainted with  their  constituent  ingredients" ! 

The  chief  part  of  his  discussion  is  directed  to  the  employment  of  the  aereal  acid  in 
medicine.  Herein  he  exhibits  a  summary  of  its  use  in  gangrene,  diseases  of  the  stomach 
from  a  defect  of  vigor,  in  putrid  typhus  fever,  in  angina  maligna,  in  confluent  smallpox 
and  putrid  measles,  in  consumption  of  the  lungs,  in  dysentery  and  in  scurvy,  after  the 
manner  of  an  industrious  enquirer,  who  had  exerted  every  effort  that  health,  oppor- 
tunity and  assiduity  could  apply,  for  the  elucidation  of  the  subject. 

Mr.  Emmet's  paper  on  aereal  acid  was  read  at  the  first  meeting  of  the 
National  Philosophy  Society  in  its  new  hall,  which  on  the  same  occasion  was 
dedicated,  and  he  took  his  seat  as  president.  At  this  time  he  was  also  presi- 
dent for  the  year  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Medicine  and  the  Society  of  Natural 
History  and  Research.  The  work  was  dedicated  by  Mr.  Emmet  to :  "Nobi- 
lissimo  et  integerrimo  viro,  Georgio  Grenville  Nugent  Temple,  comiti  de  Temple 
&c." 

Dr.  Mitchell  goes  on  to  say : 

The  capital  city  of  Scotland  abounds  in  Societies,  composed  mostly  of  the  higher 
order  of  students,  who  meet  for  mutual  improvement. 

The  Royal  Medical  is  one  of  these,  in  which  memoirs  are  read  and  debated.  Mr. 
Emmet  was  a  conspicuous  orator  in  these  discussions.  He  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the 
best  speakers  if  not  the  very  best.  He  was  sufficiently  esteemed,  to  be  chosen  one  of  the 
four  presidents.  It  was  a  regulation  that  a  part  of  the  discussion  in  the  order  of  business 
should  be  in  Latin,  and  therein  perhaps  Mr.  Emmet  excelled  every  person  who  took  the 
floor.  His  knowledge  was  various,  his  memory  retentive,  his  ideas  methodical,  and  his 
utterance  impressive. 

There  was  another  society-  in  which  he  appeared  to  great  advantage,  in  these  juve- 
nile pursuits.  This  was  the  Royal  Physical  Society.  The  objects  of  this  association 
were  virtually  the  same  with  the  former.  A  new  hall  had  been  constructed  and  a  formal 
inauguration  ordered.  Dr.  Emmet,  one  of  the  presiding  officers,  was  appointed  to  deliver 
the  discourse.  This  he  executed  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  audience  in  the  Latin 
tongue;  although  in  the  preface  of  the  pamphlet  he  informs  the  reader  that  it  was  but 
a  work  of  three  days  [tridui  opus].  The  copy  I  possess  of  the  tract  is  noted  as  having 
been  received  from  the  author.  I  recollect,  almost  as  well  as  if  it  was  yesterday,  his 
attitude  and  manner,  and  the  motion  of  his  right  hand  which  grasped  a  roll. 

There  was  a  third  society,  to  the  presidential  chair  of  which  he  was  elevated.  This 
was  the  association  for  the  promotion  of  Natural  History. 

I  believe  I  am  correct  in  remarking  that  the  distinction  and  praise  he  obtained  while 
yet  at  the  university,  operated  upon  me  as  incentives  to  industry,  after  a  model  so  con- 
spicuous and  admired,  with  the  hope  of  gaining  similar  rewards. 

There  was  yet  another  society,  called  the  "Speculative",  to  which  he  belonged,  and 
over  which  he  also  became  presiding  officer.  The  exercises  here  were  of  a  different 
character  from  those  of  the  others;  inasmuch  as  they  embraced  almost  every  subject 
except  physical,  natural  and  medical  science.  The  whole  extent  of  politics,  metaphysics, 
economics,  literature  and  history  were  considered  at  the  meetings. 

He  was  the  presiding  officer  of  five  of  the  literary  societies  at  the  same  time,  while 
it  was  a  great  honor  to  have  held  the  position  once. 

Young  Emmet  had  gained  in  this  place  as  much  reputation  as  one  of  his  years  could 
attain.  He  was  prepared  to  enter  the  world  of  business  and  give  counsel  to  rich  and 
disabled.  And  in  this  function  he  would  probably  have  been  able  and  successful ;  adorn- 
ing from  year  to  year  a  profession  he  had  cultivated  with  extraordinary  diligence  and 
ardor. 


Personal  Characteristics 


205 


Dr.  Mitchell  mentions  among  Dr.  Emmet's  intimate  friends  the  names  of  Sir 
James  Mackintosh,  Dougal  Stuart,  Mr.  Hope,  Dr.  John  Rogers  of  New  York 
and  Dr.  Casper  Wister  of  Philadelphia,  all  of  whom  became  in  after  life  dis- 
tinguished men.  On  leaving  Edinburgh  he  went  to  London,  where  he  entered 
Guy's  Hospital  as  a  resident  physician  and  served  the  usual  course  in  that 
institution.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  Continent  for  an  extended  tour,  accom- 
panied by  an  intimate  friend  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  Mr.  George  Knox,  a 
son  of  Lord  Northland.  With  Mr.  George  Knox,  Dr.  Emmet  corresponded 
for  several  years  during  a  portion  of  his  life  of  which  we  have  little  knowl- 
edge. This  correspondence  is  still  in  existence,  but  the  writer  was  unable  to 
obtain  permission  to  have  the  letters  copied.  Dr.  Madden  in  early  life  had 
the  good  fortune,  as  a  foundation  for  his  "Lives  of  the  United  Irishmen,"  to 
become  personally  acquainted  with  many  who  had  taken  part  in  the  political 
movement  of  1798.  He  thus  knew  many  of  Dr.  Emmet's  contemporaries  and 
from  them  he  was  able  to  portray  for  our  benefit  the  personal  attributes  of 
Dr.  Emmet  as  they  existed  at  this  period  of  his  life.  In  Madden's  work,  to 
which  we  have  to  make  such  frequent  reference,  will  be  found  the  following 
analysis : — 

His  career  at  college,  if  less  brilliant  than  that  of  his  brother  Temple,  was  such  as 
gave  ample  promise  of  his  future  eminence.  His  qualities  were  not  of  the  same  shining 
character.  The  powers  of  his  imagination  were  less  remarkable  than  the  solidity  of  his 
judgment  and  the  logical  precision  and  acumen  of  his  reasoning  faculties.  His  oratorical 
efforts  were  distinguished  by  no  bold  flights  of  impassioned  eloquence;  they  abounded 
not  in  the  flowers  of  a  poetic  imagination,  but  in  plants  of  a  less  precocious  maturity — of 
a  more  enduring  bloom:  an  impressive  earnestness  of  manner,  an  honesty  of  purpose, 
and  sincerity  of  conviction  in  the  delivery  of  his  sentiments ;  a  strict  adherence  to  truth ; 
a  manly  scorn  of  the  meanness  of  subterfuge  or  falsehood ;  a  closeness  of  reasoning  that 
never  deviated  from  its  essential  line  of  argument;  and  on  occasions  which  called  for  the 
display  of  fervid  feelings  an  outbreak  of  indignant  or  enthusiastic  eloquence,  which 
formed  a  striking  contrast  with  the  apparent  calmness  of  reflection  and  coldness  of 
feeling  which  his  staid  demeanour  and  contemplative  cast  of  countenance  would  seem 
to  indicate. 

His  physical  conformation  was  not  robust;  he  was  measured  in  his  gait,  and  retiring 
and  unobtrusive  in  his  deportment.  In  his  dress  he  was  careless — almost  negligent;  he 
bestowed  no  attention  on  personal  appearance.  His  head  was  finely  formed — it  had  all 
the  compactness  that  a  phrenologist  would  look  for  in  the  head  of  a  man  of  profound 
thought ;  and  the  expression  of  his  countenance  was  indicative  of  integrity  and  straight- 
forwardness that  inspired  confidence  and  respect,  and  made  those  who  came  into  con- 
tact with  him  feel  the  presence  of  a  man  of  inflexible  principles,  and  of  fixed,  well 
considered  opinions.  A  slight  cast  in  his  eyes,  accompanied  by  a  habit  of  closing  his 
eye-lids,  incidental  to  what  is  termed  "nearness  of  sight",  gave  a  kind  of  peering  expression 
to  his  regard.  It  was  that  of  a  man  who  communed  more  with  himself  than  with  external 
things,  but  its  predominant  expression  was  benevolence :  it  was  the  regard  of  a  man 
whose  suavity  of  disposition  was  too  great  to  be  spoiled  by  studious  habits,  by  strong 
convictions  on  political  subjects,  or  a  determined  purpose  to  act  upon  these  when  the 
occasion  came  for  action. 

Dr.  Madden,  in  his  Life  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  claims  in  the  dedication 
that  he  was : 


206 


Admitted  to  the  Irish  Bar 


A  man  of  great  worth  and  virtue,  sound  understanding,  solid  judgment,  fine  talent, 
and  highly  cultivated  tastes;  of  singular  equanimity  of  mind,  urbanity  of  manners,  and 
kindness  of  disposition;  yet  of  inflexible  integrity,  steadfast  principles,  just  views,  and 
well  weighed  opinions. 

Emmet's  vanity  was  of  a  peculiar  kind ;  he  was  vain  of  nothing  but  his  name :  it 
was  associated  with  the  brightest  of  the  by-gone  hopes  of  Irish  genius,  and  with  the 
fairest  promises  of  the  revival  of  the  latter  in  the  dawning  powers  of  a  singularly  gifted 
brother.  No  man  could  say  with  truth  that  vanity  or  selfishness  was  the  mental  in- 
firmity of  Emmet. 

No  malignant  act  was  ever  imputed  to  him.  The  natural  kindness  of  his  disposition 
was  manifested  in  his  looks,  in  his  tone  of  voice ;  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him 
felt  that  his  benignity  of  disposition,  his  purity  of  heart  and  mind  were  such,  "and  the 
elements  so  mixed  in  him,  that  nature  might  stand  up  and  say  to  all  the  w:orld — this  was 
a  man."    Malignity  and  Emmet  were  as  dissimilar  in  nature  as  in  name. 

A  restless  mind  was  not  the  mind  of  Emmet;  the  calm,  tranquillizing  influence  of 
philosophy  had  given  its  serenity  to  his  intellectual  organization.  The  repose,  if  one  may 
so  speak  of  his  character,  was  apparent  in  the  composure  of  his  demeanour  and  the 
quietude  of  his  deportment. 

Emmet's  ambition  was  to  see  his  country  well  governed,  and  its  people  treated  like 
human  beings,  destined  and  capacitated  for  the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  religious  freedom. 
For  himself  he  sought  no  pre-eminence,  no  popular  applause ;  he  shrunk  from  observation 
where  his  merits,  in  spite  of  his  retiring  habits,  forced  themselves  into  notice.  No  man 
could  say  that  Emmet  was  ambitious. 

The  reader  should  bear  this  statement  of  Madden's  fully  in  mind  as  it  is 
the  key  to  Mr.  Emmet's  political  life,  and  the  explanation  why  he  failed  to 
such  an  extent  in  gaining  due  credit  when  no  other  leader  in  the  Rebellion 
of  1798  accomplished  so  much. 

Dr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  from  the  beginning,  took  a  prominent  position  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Dublin,  where  he  was  very  extensively  known,  and 
was  soon  appointed  by  the  Government  "State  physician"  in  connection  with 
his  father.  This  was  a  position  of  great  importance,  to  which  was  attached 
a  good  salary.  He  thus  became  a  "Court  physician",  and  ex  officio,  the  physi- 
cian to  any  member  of  the  royal  family  requiring  medical  services  while  visit- 
ing Dublin.  The  position  also  connected  him  with  several  hospital  appoint- 
ments, and  made  him  a  member  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  Dublin  and 
of  several  important  commissions. 

In  Mr.  Emmet's  twenty-sixth  year,  when  holding  a  position  in  his  pro- 
fession acquired  by  few  before  middle  age,  his  brother  Temple  suddenly  died, 
having  already  reached  the  head  of  the  Dublin  Bar  before  he  was  thirty  years 
of  age.  The  father,  judging  of  his  son's  ability  as  a  physician,  believing  he 
would  occupy  even  a  more  prominent  position  and  take  his  brother's  place, 
urged  him  to  give  up  medicine  for  the  legal  profession. 

He  at  once  acquiesced  in  his  father's  wish  and  proceeded  to  London,  where, 
for  two  years  and  a  half,  he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  law,  at  the  Temple 
and  in  the  courts  at  Westminster,  and  on  returning  to  Ireland  was  admitted 
to  the  Irish  Bar  in  the  Michaelmas  term  of  1790. 

Mr.  Emmet's  advance  in  law  was  quite  as  rapid  as  it  had  been  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  medical  profession. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Legal  diploma  issued  by  Trinity  College  to  Thomas  Addis  E 


Case  of  Napper  Tandy 


Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan  has  written  :* 

In  January  or  February,  1792,  I  had  been  arrested  by  a  warrant  from  Judge  Downes 
on  a  charge  of  distributing  a  seditious  paper.  ...  I  had  at  first  declared  my  wish  to 
employ  no  other  counsel  to  defend  me  than  those  who  belonged  to  the  Society  of  United 
Irishmen ;  but  Messrs.  Emmet  and  Butler  both  declined  the  task,  as  they  said  it  might 
look  like  arrogance  in  junior  counsellors  to  conduct  so  great  a  case  as  that  which  would 
probably  ensue. 

It  soon  became  evident  to  Mr.  Emmet's  friends  that  he  could  not  remain 
longer  in  retirement,  even  to  serve  the  cause  of  the  Society  of  United  Irish- 
men in  the  work  of  organization,  which  he  was  so  desirous  of  doing. 

Within  two  years  after  Mr.  Emmet's  admission  to  the  Irish  Bar,  he  made 
his  first  appearance  in  Court,  together  with  Simon  Butler,  Leonard  M'Nally 
and  Matthew  Dowlin,  the  attorney,  to  conduct  the  noted  case  of  Napper  Tan- 
dy, begun  on  June  27,  1792.  The  final  hearing  was  on  Nov.  29th,  1792, 
"Against  the  Viceroy,  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  the  lord  chancellor,  the 
Right  Hon.  John  Foster  and  Arthur  Wolfe  (afterwards  Lord  Kilwarden), 
Timothy  Dillon  and  George  O'Reilly.  The  action  was  on  the  question — 
"Whether  any  action,  civil  or  criminal,  can  be  brought  against  a  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland,  pending  his  viceroyalty." 

As  in  so  many  other  matters  concerning  this  period  we  are  indebted  to 
Dr.  Madden  for  the  only  information  which  throws  light  on  much  that  would 
otherwise  be  obscure,  particularly  for  his  reproduction  of  the  account  written 
by  St.  John  Mason,  himself  a  lawyer  of  ability.    Dr.  Madden  states : — 

The  proceedings  were  instituted  on  the  ground  that  the  official  rank  of  the  lord 
lieutenant  was  conferred  by  letters  patent  under  the  great  seal  of  Great  Britain ;  while 
the  great  seal  of  Ireland  was  the  only  one  which  could  be  recognized  in  any  court  of  law 
in  Ireland. 

Those  who  advised  the  course  of  proceeding  adapted  in  Tandy's  action  against  the 
lord  lieutenant  and  privy  council  were  men  of  a  time  that  was  productive  of  boldness. 
The  circumstances  of  Tandy's  case  are  briefly  these: — He  was  Secretary  to  the  Dublin 
Society  of  United  Irishmen.  It  became  the  object  of  the  Society  to  discover  the  views 
of  the  Defenders:  he  accordingly  met  a  party  of  Defenders  at  Castle  Bellingham,  where 
he  took  the  oath ;  he  was  informed  against,  a  bill  of  indictment  was  privately  prepared 
against  him  at  the  Louth  assizes,  the  authorities  expecting  to  take  him  on  his  way  to 
Dublin  where  he  had  shortly  to  stand  his  trial  for  libel.  He  was  informed  of  his  danger, 
however,  at  Dundalk,  and  soon  after  quitted  the  kingdom. 

The  final  hearing  of  the  motion  came  on  the  26th  of  November,  1792. 

The  result  was  what  might  be  expected ;  and  the  case  is  not  only  remarkable  for  the 
question  raised  in  it,  but  for  the  report  of  Emmet's  speech  on  this  occasion,  the  first  of 
his  on  record,  and  the  longest  of  any  that  has  reached  us.  In  that  speech  there  were 
sufficient  indications  of  ability  of  the  first  order  to  justify  the  anxiety  felt  to  take  him 
from  the  Bar,  and  to  shelve  such  formidable  talents  on  the  Bench. 

The  great  object  of  those  proceedings  it  was  desirable  to  keep  undiscovered  in  the 
preliminary  steps;  that  object  was  to  contest  the  validity  of  the  lord  lieutenant's  patent, 
as  having  been  granted  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  instead  of  that  of  the  chancellor 
of  Ireland.  The  object,  however,  was  disclosed  to  the  crown  lawyers,  and  Tandy's  ad- 
vocates were  obliged  to  bring  forward  the  main  question  prematurely. 

•Autobiography  of  Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan,  Esq.,  &c,  Dublin,  1840. 


208  Report  of  Emmet's  Speech 


Mr.  Mason  stated: 

With  respect  to  the  proceedings  in  the  King's  Bench  against  the  viceroy,  Lord  West- 
moreland [on  account  of  a  proclamation  which  the  latter,  in  council,  had  issued  for  the 
apprehension  of  James  Napper  Tandy,  who  had  fled  the  country  on  the  issuing  of  an 
order  for  his  arrest,  in  consequence  of  a  report  of  a  secret  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  charging  him  with  treasonable  communication  with  the  Defenders]  the  object 
was  to  contest  the  validity  of  the  appointment  of  Lord  Westmoreland  as  lord  lieutenant, 
and  indeed  of  all  those  who  had  previously  filled  the  office  of  viceroy;  and  to  produce 
the  Earl  of  Westmoreland  as  a  witness  in  these  proceedings  of  Tandy,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  his  lordship's  appointment  was  invalid,  inasmuch  as  it  was  in  virtue  only  of 
letters  patent,  granted  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  and  not  under  the  great  seal  of 
Ireland,  which  was  then  a  separate  kingdom.  On  the  occasion,  a  subpoena  having  been 
issued  for  the  attendance,  as  a  witness  of  Lord  Westmoreland,  T.  A.  Emmet  moved  for 
the  plaintiff,  that  the  defendant,  John  Fane,  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain,  do  enter  into  security  for  his  appearance  at  court  on  the  day  of  next  term. 
The  court  refused  the  motion.  The  attorney-general  declared  that  the  lord  lieutenant 
would  not  give  security. 

Mr.  Mason  in  addition  states : 

On  the  renewed  proceedings  in  this  case,  26th  November,  1792,  T.  A.  Emmet  spoke 
strongly  on  the  subject  of  the  lord  lieutenant's  appointment.  One  passage  created  a  sen- 
sation throughout  the  kingdom : — "I  boldly  assert  that  there  has  been  no  legal  viceroy  in 
Ireland  for  the  last  six  hundred  years,  and  not  only  the  counsel  of  Lord  Westmoreland 
will  not  deny  that  fact,  but  they  will  not  dare  to  let  his  patent  come  under  a  train  of 
legal  investigation". 

Mr.  Mason  made  the  charge: 

Leonard  McNally,  the  barrister,  betrayed  the  cause  by  disclosing  the  object  to  the 
government,  or  the  judges,  or  legal  advisers  of  the  crown  who  had  been  previously  igno- 
rant of  it. 

M'Nally  as  an  informer  was  already  in  the  employ  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment. 

A  full  and  authentic  report  was  given  of  Mr.  Emmet's  speech,  which  is 
worthy  of  being  presented  in  full  to  the  reader,  it  being  his  first  made  at  the 
bar  and  the  only  one  while  Emmet  was  engaged  in  Dublin  practice  of  which 
so  full  an  account  is  given. 

Mr.  Emmet  began  his  speech  by  explaining  the  nature  of  his  action.  It 
was  made  necessary  by  the  attorney-general  avowing  himself  not  to  be  counsel 
for  the  Lord  Westmoreland,  no  course  being  in  court  on  which  to  ground  this 
application  before  appearance  and  unsupported  by  any  affidavit.  It  was  not 
a  motion,  and  it  would  not  be  called  a  motion,  if  the  counsel  on  the  other  side 
could  call  it  by  any  other  name.  He  would,  however,  tell  the  court  what  it 
was, — it  was  a  message  from  a  great  man,  desiring  the  court  to  stop  the  pro- 
gress of  the  law  against  him;  and  he  would  say  on  the  authority  of  2  Inst.  :56, 
that  it  is  exactly  that  against  which  the  nulli  negabimus  justitiam  of  Magna 
Charta  was  enacted.  The  ground  of  the  application,  as  stated  by  the  attorney- 
general  on  a  former  occasion,  was  that  Lord  Westmoreland  would  not  appear, 
and  that  it  would  be  inconvenient  and  even  dangerous  to  arrest  him  in  the 


Even  the  King  Can  be  Sued 


209 


midst  of  his  guards.  "If  by  law  he  can  not  be  compelled  to  appear  the  menace 
was  unnecessary;  if  by  law  he  may  be  compelled  to  appear,  the  menace  was 
indecent.  If  he  can  be  compelled  to  appear,  he  must  appear;  and  notwith- 
standing the  character  given  of  him  by  his  own  immediate  advocates,  I  cannot 
believe  that  while  he  claims  to  be  the  viceroy  of  this  Kingdom,  he  will  set  the 
example  of  resisting  the  laws  to  the  subjects  of  his  sovereign.  But  by  law 
he  may  be  compelled  to  appear;  no  privilege  exempts  him  from  being  sued." 

It  is  a  principle  of  the  law,  laid  down  in  1  Com.  Dig.  104,  Title  action,  C.  3, 
that  "every  subject  of  the  King,  ecclesiastical  or  temporal,  man  or  woman,  vil- 
lein or  free,  may  be  sued".  So  great  was  the  protection  to  the  subject's  right 
of  suing  that  the  common  law  code  was  preserved  even  against  the  King 
until  another  was  pointed  out  [for  this  Mr.  Emmet  cited  1  Com.  Dig.  104,  C. 
1 :  until  the  time  of  Edward  I  the  King  might  as  an  ordinary  individual  have 
been  sued  in  all  actions].  The  court  observing  that  there  was  doubt  expressed 
in  that  very  passage  as  to  the  fact,  he  then  cited  43  Ed.  Ill,  22;  Thel.  Dig.  1,  4, 
C.  1,  3;  24  Ed.  Ill,  55;  and  having  established  that  position,  proceeded  to 
argue  that  even  supposing  Lord  Westmoreland  to  be,  what  he  claimed  to  be, 
lord  lieutenant,  "his  privilege  is  only  an  emanation  from  and  cannot  be 
greater  than  the  King's  prerogative.  But  even  the  King  can  be  sued  by  peti- 
tion, and  would  still  continue  suable  by  the  common  law  mode,  if  another 
more  adapted  to  the  subtlety  of  the  times,  had  not  been  found  out;  therefore 
the  lord  lieutenant  must  still  continue  suable  by  the  common  law  mode,  since 
he  can  not  be  sued  in  any  other  way.  The  court  have  no  right  to  quash  its 
process  for  anything  but  irregularity  and  none  is  alleged  here.  But  the  only 
foundation  of  the  application  is  that  an  action  will  not  lie  against  the  lord 
iieutenant". 

"That  may  be  true,  and  yet  he  may  be  sued.  There  are  many  men  in  many 
cases,  against  whom  actions  will  not  lie,  and  yet  they  may  be  sued  and  must 
appear.  If  the  viceroy  has  such  a  privilege,  he  comes  too  soon — he  must  plead 
it".  In  "Nostyn  versus  Fabrigas  Comp.  172",  Lord  Mansfield  says : — "If  it 
were  true  that  the  law  makes  him  that  sacred  character,  he  must  plead  it,  and 
set  forth  his  commission  as  special  matter  of  justification,  because  prima 
facie  the  court  has  jurisdiction".  Mr.  Emmet  then  cited  several  authorities 
to  show  that  this  was  the  rule  of  all  privileges,  and  observed  that  this  attempt 
to  avoid  pleading  and  setting  forth  the  lord  lieutenant's  commission  resulted 
from  fear;  for  his  counsel  knew  that  if  it  was  spread  on  the  record  it  might 
be  demurred  to,  and  could  be  proved  to  be  a  nullity.  This  endeavor  to  deter- 
mine the  question  in  a  summary  way  has  also  another  object,  to  prevent  the 
plaintiff  from  being  able  to  appeal,  or  from  taking  advantage  of  a  writ  of 
error ;  but  that  very  reason  ought  to  induce  the  court  to  refuse  the  application. 
A  question  of  novelty  and  importance  ought  to  be  put  in  the  most  solemn  and 
conclusive  mode  of  determination,  and  the  court  ought  to  decline  deciding  in 
a  manner  summary  and  final  on  a  matter  in  which  the  subject  ought  to  have 
the  power  of  appeal.  He  next  questioned  the  dictum  that  no  action  will  lie 
against  a  governor  locally  during  his  government.    "It  is  my  Lord  Mansfield's 


210 


Legal  Status  of  Viceroy 


opinion,  unsupported,  as  far  as  I  know,  by  any  other  authority  in  the  books ; 
and  fortunately  my  Lord  Mansfield  has  given  the  reason  of  his  opinion: — 
'because  upon  process  he  would  be  subject  to  imprisonment'.  The  guarded 
manner  of  expressing  the  dictum  shows  its  weakness.  He  says  locally  no  ac- 
tion would  lie  against  him  out  of  the  place  where  he  is  governor,  and  yet  his 
imprisonment  in  England  would  as  much  impede  and  embarrass  his  govern- 
ment as  if  it  were  at  Barbadoes.  But  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  be 
subject  to  imprisonment  in  order  that  an  action  should  lie.  They  are  every 
day  brought  against  peers  and  persons  whose  bodies  are  privileged  from 
arrest.  If  the  rights  of  the  subject  to  have  remedy  for  injury  must  be  re- 
stricted as  far  as  that  policy  renders  it  indispensable  the  principles  of  the 
common  law  and  the  right  of  the  subject  ought  not  to  be  sacrificed  even  to  the 
attainment  of  that  great  object,  the  security  of  a  viceroy's  person,  if  it  can 
be  attained  in  any  other  way.  The  consequence  therefore  is  that  the  court 
must  so  mould  its  process  as  to  attain  the  redress  of  the  subject  without  vio- 
lating that  privilege.  This  can  be  done  by  making  the  next  process  after  this 
subpoena  distress  and  not  attachment,  and  he  by  letting  the  plaintiff  proceed 
at  his  peril  to  a  parliamentary  appearance.  Mr.  Emmet  then  cited  by  way 
of  analogy  to  his  last  position  a  case  from  Raymond,  152,  in  which  it  was  de- 
termined that  an  officer  of  the  King's  household,  whose  person  was  conse- 
quently free  from  arrest,  might  be  sued,  so  as  that  the  King  might  not  be 
deprived  of  his  service,  and  so  might  be  outlawed.  He  then  observed  that  the 
inconveniences  of  the  opposite  doctrine  would  be  most  monstrous,  and  show 
it  cannot  be  law.  .  .  .  Here  Mr.  Baron  Power  intimated  that  the  court  knew 
the  cause  of  action,  for  the  attorney-general  had  told  it  to  them ;  upon  which 
Mr.  Emmet  replied  that  neither  the  court  nor  the  attorney-general  could  pos- 
sibly know  the  cause  of  action,  that  no  one  but  Mr.  Tandy,  his  counsel  and 
his  attorney  could  know  the  cause  of  action ;  and  that  "the  court,  if  they  de- 
cide against  the  plaintiff,  must  say  that  no  action  whatsoever  will  lie  against 
the  lord  lieutenant.  But,  if  the  governor  be  entitled  to  such  a  privilege  as  is 
contended  for,  he  must  be  a  legal  governor,  and  legally  appointed  inasmuch 
as  the  privilege  is  a  legal  one.  The  court  may  know  that  he  is  a  de  facto 
governor,  and  that  may  be  sufficient  to  warrant  and  induce  them  to  pay  him 
every  obeisance  and  attention,  or  perhaps  to  sanction  any  ministerial  act  which 
he  must  do,  but  he  can  never  have  a  legal  right  to  a  legal  privilege  in  a  court 
of  law  unless  he  had  a  legal  right  to  his  office,  for  he  is  appointed  under  the 
great  seal  of  England.  It  was  but  lately  that  some  of  the  ablest  lawyers  on 
the  bench,  and  at  the  bar,  were  of  opinion  that  the  great  seal  of  England  can 
appoint  a  regent;  for  it  can  appoint  a  viceroy,  whose  name  and  whose  func- 
tions differ  but  little  from  those  of  a  regent.  The  attorney-general  depre- 
cated on  a  former  day  the  supposition  that  this  country  had  been  for  six 
hundred  years  without  a  legal  viceroy.  To  that  I  answer  with  the  sincere 
wish  that  this  country  may  not  continue  to  be  as  it  has  been  for  the  last  six 
hundred  years;  its  independence  was  ascertained  in  1782,  and  if  there  was 
any  abuse  crept  in  before,  it  ought  to  have  ceased  then.   For  the  last  ten  years 


Takes  Oath  of  United  Irishmen 


211 


I  boldly  say  there  has  been  no  legal  viceroy  in  Ireland;  and  the  counsel  for 
Lord  Westmoreland  will  not  only  not  venture  to  contradict  me,  but  they  will  not 
even  dare  to  let  his  patent  get  into  a  train  of  legal  investigation".  Mr.  Emmet 
concludes :  "this  is  an  application  which  Lord  Westmoreland  has  no  right  to 
make,  and  which  the  court  has  no  right  to  grant".* 

This  case  attracted  general  comment  throughout  Great  Britain,  because  of 
the  ability  and  learning  displayed  by  Mr.  Emmet,  and  above  all  for  the  un- 
daunted courage  he  showed  in  the  defense  of  his  clients. 

The  other  case,  charging  the  prisoner  with  treason  in  having  openly  ac- 
cepted the  oath  as  administered  to  those  becoming  members  of  the  Society 
of  United  Irishmen,  was  brought  to  trial,  and  Mr.  Emmet  with  great  clear- 
ness informed  the  court  that  the  purpose  of  the  United  Irishmen  was  entirely 
free  from  all  treasonable  purpose,  their  object  being  to  restrain  the  people 
from  outbreak,  and  to  unite  them,  regardless  of  religious  belief,  by  bringing 
about  Catholic  Emancipation,  and  the  correction  of  certain  parliamentary 
abuses.  Mr.  Emmet  then  stepped  forward  in  front  of  the  bench,  and  in  full 
view  of  all  in  the  court  room,  after  invoking  the  aid  of  the  Almighty,  he 
slowly  and  impressively  read  aloud  the  oath,  kissed  the  Bible  as  he  declared 
himself  thereby  a  member  of  the  United  Irishmen.  He  then  took  his  seat.  The 
whole  scene  was  so  striking  and  dramatic  as  to  have  the  effect  of  stopping 
all  further  proceedings.  The  judge,  without  comment,  discharged  the  prisoner 
and  dismissed  the  court.  Tandy  was  thus  saved  from  being  sentenced  to  be 
hung  early  on  the  following  morning,  as  was  the  usual  practice,  with  a  packed 
jury  and  without  the  slightest  regard  for  the  evidence.  There  are  many 
instances  on  record  where  the  innocence  was  clearly  established  and  yet  the 
judge  seemed  to  base  his  decision  upon  some  fault  of  the  prisoner's  apart 
from  the  question  of  guilt. 

The  Government  became  alarmed  at  Mr.  Emmet's  course  and  immediately 
resorted  to  the  usual  measures  of  corruption  and  bribery,  hoping  to  render 
him  harmless  before  he  should  become  formidable.  With  this  object,  Pitt 
delegated  a  Castle  official  to  see  Mr.  Emmet  and  offer  him  in  the  name  of 
the  Government  the  position  of  solicitor  general  of  Ireland,  with  the  additional 
assurance  that  he  would  be  promoted  to  the  next  vacant  judgeship.  Mr.  Emmet 
at  once  saw  the  purpose  and  realized  that  the  offer  was  not  intended  either 
as  a  compliment  or  an  honor,  but  as  a  business  transaction  to  secure  his  politi- 
cal support.  Much  to  the  astonishment  of  the  government  at  so  unprecedented 
an  action  on  the  part  of  an  Irishman,  and  especially  one  who  had  not  yet  spent 
two  years  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  promptly  declined  the  offer. 
Dr.  Macneven  told  Judge  Emmet  that  his  father's  course  was  not  understood 
by  the  Government  and  that  their  inference  was  that  he  set  a  higher  price  on 
his  services,  and  would  only  be  satisfied  with  a  pecuniary  compensation  in 
addition.    Another  agent  was  therefore  sent  from  Pitt  to  make  the  sugges- 


•Report  of  Proceedings  in  Action— James  Napper  Tandy,  Plaintiff,  and  John,  Earl  of  West- 
moreland, Defendant,  Published  by  order  of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen,  December,  1782,  Page 


212 


Refuses  Solicitor- Generalship 


tion  that  Mr.  Emmet  should  reconsider  his  course,  assuring  him  that  no  man, 
whatever  his  age  or  position,  could  afford  to  offend  Government  in  a  way  that 
he  must  eventually  regret.  Notwithstanding  the  official  warning  given  by  a 
man  with  the  suavity  of  a  swine-feeder,  Mr.  Emmet  promptly  reiterated  his 
former  answer  and  doubtless  in  doing  so  clearly  expressed  his  contempt  for 
the  whole  proceeding.  Castlereagh  afterward  became  involved  and  accepted 
Mr.  Emmet's  refusal  as  a  personal  matter,  and  until  his  final  release  years 
after,  allowed  no  occasion  to  pass  without  a  reminder  of  his  vindictive  and 
spiteful  spirit.* 

"The  Press",  published  in  Dublin  as  the  organ  of  the  United  Irishmen,  by 
Arthur  O'Connor,  gives,  in  1797,  a  speech  of  some  length  made  by  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet,  at  the  trial  of  some  United  Irishmen  he  was  defending.  Twelve 
prisoners  had  been  confined  nearly  seven  months  in  the  Belfast  barracks,  and 
were  brought  up  to  Dublin  by  habeas  corpus  for  trial  before  the  Court  of 
Kings'  Bench,  on  October  10th,  1797.  This  occasion  was  one  of  the  few 
instances  where  Mr.  Emmet  appeared  as  counsel  on  the  trial  of  the  United 
Irishmen,  for  the  leaders  thought  it  advisable  he  should  follow  this  course 
since  he  had  been  busy  for  more  than  a  year  extending  the  branches  of  the 
organization  of  the  United  Irishmen  throughout  the  country. 

There  remains  now  but  little  record  of  this  period  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life, 
with  the  exception  of  what  Dr.  Madden  was  able  to  obtain  from  the  Emmet 
family  when  he  contemplated  writing  his  work  on  the  United  Irishmen,  to- 
gether with  all  the  odds  and  ends,  as  it  were,  that  he  could  gather  from  the 
few  individuals  then  alive,  who  were  contemporary.  All  of  this  he  succeeded 
in  working  together,  but  with  little  system  and  many  errors.  Still  without 
Dr.  Madden's  labors  there  would  have  existed  a  hiatus  in  Irish  history.  This 
statement  is  necessary  as  the  writer  has  found  frequently,  that  Dr.  Madden  em- 
bodied in  his  work  the  material  furnished  by  Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.  As  the 
writer  had  access  to  the  same  authority,  he  has  not  always  given  Dr.  Madden 
credit  for  originality.  Dr.  Madden  also  had  the  advantage  of  being  a  personal 
friend  of  Mr.  John  Patten,  Mrs.  Emmet's  brother,  and  he  knew  Mr.  Robert 
Holmes  who  married  Miss  Emmet,  the  sister  of  T.  A.  and  Robert  Emmet. 
He  happily  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  place  on  record  the  details 
obtained  from  these  sources,  details  known  also  to  the  writer.f 

The  first  mention  made  of  Mr.  Emmet  taking  any  active  part  in  Irish  poli- 
tics is  recorded  in  Tone's  Journal.  On  Emmet's  introduction  to  the  sub- 
committee of  the  Catholics  on  October  15th,  1792,  Tone  states  that  he  was 


•Following  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life  signed  J.  R.  S.  the  reader  will  find  (Vol.  I,  Chap.  34) 
further  reference  to  this  subject,  explaining  why  this  offer  was  not  made  public. 

tDr.  Madden's  work,  issued  in  1860,  is  now  out  of  print.  This  difficulty  was  about  to  be  removed 
by  the  enterprise  of  the  Napper  Tandy  Publishing  Company  of  New  York,  in  the  reprinting  of 
Madden's  work  in  a  very  attractive  form.  The  work  was  begun  in  1911,  but  after  the  issue  of  the 
eighth  volume,  covering  about  two  thirds  of  the  work,  it  was  suspended.  The  writer  is  ignorant  as 
to  the  cause,  but  has  supposed  it  was  due  to  the  serious  difficulty  every  writer  and  publisher  of 
Irish  works  has  to  meet,  that  the  Irish  are  not  a  reading  people.  After  over  two  hundred  years  of 
penal  laws  which  made  it  a  crime  to  learn  to  read  or  write,  they  have  not  yet  recovered  sufficiently 
to  become  a  reading  people.  In  some  respects  this  failure  in  the  reproduction  of  Madden's  work 
may  prove  an  advantage  to  the  public,  for,  notwithstanding  its  great  value,  it  contains  so  many  errors  and 
requires  such  a  different  system  in  arranging  the  material,  that  it  should  be  rewritten  and  properly 
prepared  from  a  literary  point  of  view  and  to  prove  of  profit  to  a  publisher. 


A  Friend  to  Catholic  Emancipation 


well  received  by  the  members  and  richly  deserved  their  admiration.  "Emmet 
was  the  best  of  all  the  friends  to  Catholic  Emancipation,  always  excepting  Mr. 
Hutton,  worth  two  of  Stokes,  ten  of  Burrowes,  and  a  hundred  of  Drennan". 

From  this  time  Emmet,  behind  the  scenes  of  Catholic  agitation,  continued 
to  give  his  pen  to  their  cause  and  with  his  usual  heedlessness  of  self  allowed 
others  to  take  the  merit  of  his  services. 

This  trait  in  Mr.  Emmet's  character  is  fully  illustrated  in  his  contribution 
to  "Pieces  of  Irish  History  Illustrative  of  the  Catholics  in  Ireland",  published 
by  Dr.  Macneven  (New  York,  1807).  In  this  volume  is  to  be  found  a  memoir 
termed  "Part  of  an  Essay  Towards  the  History  of  Ireland",  from  Mr.  Emmet's 
pen.  It  consists  of  144  pages,  in  which  he  gives  a  history  of  the  efforts  made 
in  Ireland  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  Popery  Laws,  which  held  three-fourths 
of  the  population  of  Ireland  in  a  grievous  state  of  bondage.  He  also  details 
the  movement  for  organizing  the  United  Irishmen,  who  had  in  view  the  same 
purpose  among  other  measures  which  were  to  be  repealed  or  reformed.  No 
one  had  been  more  active  or  had  been  more  familiar  with  every  step  taken  in 
advancing  these  political  movements  in  Ireland  than  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and 
yet  after  having  given  due  credit  to  others,  Mr.  Emmet  makes  not  the  slightest 
reference  to  himself. 

If  the  frequent  reference  made  to  Mr.  Emmet  by  Lecky  in  his  "History 
of  Ireland  in  the  Eighteenth  Century",  in  connection  with  the  early  movement 
to  bring  about  Catholic  Emancipation  in  Ireland,  be  accepted  as  evidence  of 
the  value  of  his  services,  he  certainly  has  not  received  due  credit  elsewhere. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet  was  throughout  life  absolutely  free  from  all  feeling  of 
bigotry  towards  those  who  differed  from  him  in  their  religious  belief.  His 
course  was  made  all  the  more  prominent  in  contrast  to  the  marked  prejudice 
and  illiberality  shown  toward  the  Catholics,  both  in  Ireland  and  in  this  country, 
by  many  of  those  occupying  Mr.  Emmet's  station  of  life.  The  same  generous 
and  charitable  disposition  which  he  had  received  from  his  father  and  mother 
he  transmitted  to  his  children,  who  were  as  marked  in  their  liberality  as  he  had 
been. 

Mr.  Emmet  did  not  hold  the  feeling  he  did  toward  the  Catholics  simply 
through  a  sense  of  liberality  or  indifference,  but  he  made  himself  familiar 
with  their  tenets,  and  while  he  did  not  fully  share  their  belief,  he  never 
misunderstood  or  misinterpreted  their  motives.  During  a  noted  ecclesias- 
tical trial  in  connection  with  Trinity  Church,  held  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
Mr.  Emmet  was  suddenly  called  upon  to  take  part  and  this  without  prepara- 
tion. To  the  astonishment  of  all  he  showed  that  he  possessed  a  profound 
knowledge  of  theology  and  ecclesiastical  law  in  all  details.  The  writer  was 
informed  of  this  incident  by  his  uncle,  Judge  Robert  Emmet,  who  stated 
that  it  was  generally  conceded  after  the  termination  of  this  trial  that  his 
father,  as  a  theological  scholar,  had  not  an  equal  in  the  country.  In  this 
respect  Mr.  Emmet  was  not  unlike  his  elder  brother,  Christopher  Temple, 
of  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  Grattan  held  that  he  knew  more  law  than  any 
judge  on  the  bench  and  more  divinity  than  any  bishop  in  the  land. 


214 


Early  Association  with  Tone 


In  the  winter  of  1790,  Tone  organized  a  political  club,  consisting  of  Dr. 
Drennan,  Stokes,  John  Pollock,*  Johnson,  Burrowes,  Stark  and  Russell. 

Any  two  of  the  men  present  would  have  been  the  delight  and  entertain- 
ment of  a  well-chosen  society ;  but  all  together  was,  as  Wolsey  says,  "too  much 
honour".    Tone  adds : 

In  recording  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  club,  I  find  I  have  strangely  omitted 
the  name  of  a  man  whom,  as  well  for  his  talents  as  his  principles,  I  esteem  as  much  as 
any,  far  more  than  most  of  them,  I  mean  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  a  barrister.  He  is  a 
man  completely  after  my  own  heart;  of  a  great  and  comprehensive  mind;  of  the  warmest 
and  sincerest  affection  for  his  friends ;  and  of  a  firm  and  steady  adherence  to  his  princi- 
ples, to  which  he  has  sacrificed  much,  as  I  know,  and  would,  I  am  sure,  if  necessary, 
sacrifice  his  life.    His  opinions  and  mine  square  exactly. 

Aggregate  meetings  of  the  Catholic  body  now  became  frequent,  and  every 
person  of  any  note  connected  with  them  took  a  part  in  their  proceedings.  Emmet 
alone  kept  aloof :  he  rendered  them  all  the  assistance  in  his  power — he  devoted 
his  fine  talents  to  their  service,  but  he  made  no  public  display,  and  sought  no 
public  approbation  for  them.  At  this  time  he  was  not  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  United  Irishmen,  but  long  before  he  joined  it  he  zms  the  person  in  every 
emergency  consulted  by  its  leaders. 

When  Tone  was  leaving  Ireland  on  his  visit  to  the  United  States,  Mr. 
Emmet  wrote  to  him : 
My  dear  Friend: 

I  have  just  this  instant  heard  from  Simon  McGuire  that  you  leave  town  tonight. 
I  can  scarcely  believe  that  you  would  entirely  break  yourself  away  from  this  country  and 
from  me  among  the  rest,  without  calling  on  me  or  even  writing  me  a  line.  You  know, 
and  I  trust  will  always  be  convinced  that  my  friendship  and  affectionate  regard  for  you  is 
most  undiminished.  It  is  not  of  that  nature  to  be  shaken  by  adversity,  which  God  knows 
how  soon  it  may  be  my  lot  to  undergo.  Wherever  you  are  you  shall  always  command  a 
steady  friend  in  this  country,  as  long  as  I  reside  here.  Write  to  me  at  least  when  you 
reach  your  destination,  and  as  often  as  may  suit  your  convenience.  Perhaps  your  letters 
may  be  useful  to  me  for  regulating  my  future  settlement  in  life.  God  bless  you.  Give 
my  most  affectionate  compliments  to  Mrs.  Tone. 

We  must  now  give  some  consideration  to  the  purpose  and  expectation  of 
the  United  Irishmen.  In  the  early  organization  and  according  to  Mr.  Emmet's 
purpose  it  was  not  anticipated  by  the  majority  that  force  at  any  time  would 
be  resorted  to  for  bringing  about  the  many  reforms  found  necessary  to  insure 
Ireland's  future  prosperity. 

The  organization  was  a  representative  one  in  all  details,  and  until  the 
sudden  removal  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  as  viceroy,  the  Irish  people  were  con- 
tented, sincerely  believing  in  the  truth  of  England's  profession  of  honesty, 
and  in  her  desire  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the  Irish  people. 

But  Pitt,  the  British  Minister,  feared  that  Ireland  would  soon  become 
too  strong  to  be  coerced,  and  by  her  prosperity  rival  England  in  her  manu- 
factures. It  was  then  that  this  man,  who  was  to  prove  a  demon  incarnate 
in  Irish  affairs,  decided  on  his  course  and  determined  to  force  the  Irish 
people  into  rebellion.    It  was  his  purpose,  through  the  horrors  of  a  merciless 


•Pollock  had  already  become  a  spy  for  the  government. 


Pitt  and  Napoleon 


215 


war,  and  by  means  only  resorted  to  by  the  most  savage  races,  to  force  the 
people  by  his  severity  to  accept,  finally,  as  a  relief  from  exhaustion,  the  so- 
called  "Union"  with  England.  This  he  wished  them  to  do  as  a  claimed  neces- 
sity, that  he  might  justify  himself  before  the  world  for  his  line  of  action.  He 
violated  every  pledge  England  had  made  to  the  Irish  people. 

His  course  has  impressed  the  writer  with  the  belief  that  Pitt  and  Napoleon 
must  have  entered  into  some  compact  to  forward  their  own  ends.  This  may 
seem  an  irresponsible  statement  to  one  not  familiar  with  the  facts  and  the 
unprincipled  political  character  of  both  of  these  men  to  whom  by  nature  the 
truth  was  unknown.  It  was  known  to  every  Irish  leader  in  Paris  that  a 
number  of  French  officers  with  whom  they  were  constantly  being  thrown  in 
social  life  and  who  seemed  to  have  no  special  occupation,  were  "in  the  pay 
of  England."  No  Irishman  seems  to  have  suspected  that  they  could  have 
been  "in  the  pay  of  England"  for  any  other  purpose  than  to  spy  on  them. 

Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  they  were  absent  from  their  regiments 
and  could  only  be  so  with  the  connivance  of  the  French  Government,  and 
must  have  been  assigned  by  the  same  authority  to  be  "in  the  pay  of  England." 
Fitzpatrick,  in  his  "Secret  Service  Under  Pitt",  page  46,  states: 

The  reason  neither  [Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  and  Arthur  O'Connor]  proceeded  to 
Paris  was  lest  the  English  government  in  whose  pay  most  of  the  officers  in  Paris  were 
supposed  to  be,  should  suspect  the  design,  and  arrest  their  persons  on  their  return. 

In  this  suspicion  Lord  Edward  and  O'Connor  were  not  far  astray.  "The 
Confidential  Letters  of  the  Right  Hon.  William  Wickham"  reveal  the  fact 
that  Pichegru  and  other  French  generals  were  paid  by  Pitt  to  allow  themselves 
to  be  beaten  in  battle.  Could  this  have  been  done  more  than  once  without 
the  knowledge  and  connivance  of  the  French  Government?  Surely  Napoleon 
received  some  recompense  from  Pitt  on  his  agreeing  not  to  invade  either 
England  or  Ireland,  for  otherwise,  with  Napoleon's  knowledge  of  England's 
condition,  a  different  course  would  certainly  have  been  adopted  at  the  begin- 
ning and  England  would  have  been  immediately  crushed  by  his  invasion.  Both 
Mr.  Emmet  and  Dr.  Macneven  feared  that  some  understanding  existed  at 
one  time  between  them.  Throughout  the  course,  for  which  they  were  directly 
or  indirectly  responsible,  the  people  incurred  such  an  amount  of  misery  and 
suffering  that  Robespierre  by  comparison  was  an  angel  of  mercy.  In  the 
second  edition  of  "Ireland  Under  English  Rule,"  the  author  has  placed  on 
record  his  opinion  that : 

Napoleon  in  France  and  Pitt  at  the  head  of  the  British  government  were  the  demons 
of  discord,  who  were  at  this  time  sacrificing  the  property  and  happiness  of  the  world. 
Yet,  if  it  were  possible  to  place  in  contrast  all  the  crime,  suffering  and  misfortune,  with 
all  the  consequences,  which  could  be  traced  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  acts  of  these  two 
men,  Napoleon  would  appear  as  an  angel  of  mercy  in  comparison  with  Pitt.  It  is  simply 
special  pleading  and  a  subterfuge  to  maintain  that  Mr.  Pitt  should  not  be  held  blamable 
for  the  misdeeds  of  his  officials  in  Ireland,  in  consequence  of  his  many  cares  at  the  head 
of  the  ministry  in  England  which  would  have  barred  his  personal  supervision.  No  one 
but  himself  was  responsible  for  the  policy  of  the  English  government  previous  to  the 


216 


Camden  Merely  a  Tool  of  Pitt 


appointment  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  and  for  the  latter's  selection  and  administration ;  and 
he  was  equally  responsible  for  his  sudden  removal.  He  certainly  approved  of  Lord 
Camden  who  came  to  Ireland  instructed  to  carry  out  a  totally  different  policy,  which 
was  to  exasperate  the  people  and  thus  furnish  him  a  pretext  to  establish  "The  Union". 
Nothing  could  have  been  done  in  either  country  without  his  approval. 

The  epigrammatic  statement  of  Shakespeare,  "the  evil  that  men  do  lives 
after  them;  the  good  is  often  interred  with  their  bones",  is  applicable  to  Pitt 
in  his  relation  to  Ireland,  in  so  far  as  the  evil  for  which  he  was  responsible  has 
continued ;  with  his  bones  was  interred  not  even  a  good  intention. 

In  "Cloncurry  and  His  Times"  it  is  reasonably  stated : 

We  are  perhaps  wrong  to  identify  the  cruelties  practiced  so  much  with  Lord  Cam- 
den, for  his  many  supporters  to  a  man,  allege  that  he  neither  was  ambitious,  wicked  nor 
unprincipled.  An  empty-headed  puppet,  an  ingeniously  devised  automaton  in  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Pitt,  that  simply  acted  as  that  great  Dictator  willed  and  danced  away,  so  long  as 
its  machinery  continued  wound  up,  conveyed  according  to  some  writers,  a  tolerably  fair 
idea  of  his  artificial  lordship. 

Sir  Jonah  Barrington, who  was  a  contemporary,  records: 

He  [Camden]  fully  carried  out  Pitt's  policy,  for  from  the  day  of  his  arrival  the 
spirit  of  insurrection  increased,  and  in  a  short  period,  during  his  lordship's  government 
more  blood  was  shed,  as  much  of  outrage  and  cruelty  was  perpetrated  on  both  sides,  and 
as  many  military  executions  took  place  as  in  ten  times  the  same  period  during  the  san- 
guinary reign  of  Elizabeth  or  the  usurpation  of  Cromwell  or  King  William. 

Dr.  Madden  in  his  first  series  of  "United  Irishmen",  p.  155,  makes  the 
following  statement,  as  to  the  value  placed  on  Mr.  Emmet's  veracity  but  un- 
fortunately he  neglects  to  put  on  record  the  occasion  calling  for  what  he  says 
concerning  Pitt : 

A  man  in  the  secrets  of  the  opposition  part  of  that  time — the  head-piece  of  that 
system  which  grew  out  of  the  insecurity  of  Irish  independence  and  the  failure  of  the 
measures  which  terminated  in  the  recall  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  a  man  whose  word  was 
never  doubted  by  friend  or  foe — Thomas  Addis  Emmet — thus  speaks  of  the  proposals 
of  the  Irish  leaders  made  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  and  acquiesced  in  by  Mr.  Pitt: 

"Mr.  Pitt  wished,  and  indeed  tried  to  obtain,  that  some  of  those  measures  should  be  at 
least  delayed  in  the  execution  for  a  season ;  but  Mr.  Grattan  and  his  friends  insisted  that 
they  should  be  brought  forward  the  very  first  session,  in  order  to  give  eclat  to  the  commence- 
ment of  their  administration.  In  the  propriety  of  this  demand  the  Duke  of  Portland  uni- 
formly concurred;  and  even  Mr.  Pitt  himself,  zvho  had  previously  kept  in  the  background, 
and  avoided  personal  communication  with  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  friends,  was  present  at  some 
of  the  latter  interviews,  and  certainly  did  not  prevent  its  being  believed  that  he  acquiesced 
in  those  demands,  with  which  it  was  impossible  to  doubt  his  being  acquainted.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Opposition  had  no  great  experience  of  cabinets;  they  conceived  that  they 
were  entering  into  honourable  engagements,  in  which  everything  that  was  allowed  to  be 
understood,  was  equally  binding  with  whatever  was  absolutely  expressed.  They  rested 
satisfied  that  their  stipulations  were  known  and  acceded  to ;  they  neglected  to  get  them 
formally  signed  and  ratified,  or  reduced  to  the  shape  of  an  instrument  from  the  British 
cabinet  to  the  viceroy;  they  put  them  unsuspectingly  in  their  pockets,  and  set  off  to 
become  ministers  in  Ireland". 

Mr.  Emmet  has  thus  given  his  version  of  this  episode  now  generally  ac- 
cepted as  the  true  one.    The  historical  student  frequently  meets  with  what 


Falkiner's  Estimate  of  Fitzwilliam 


217 


may  be  termed  Irish  historical  enigmas,  or  unqualified  perversion  of  facts, 
for  which  no  explanation  can  be  offered.  The  following  is  taken  from  Falk- 
iner's work,  page  126:* 

No  episode  in  Irish  history  has  been  the  subject  of  more  vehement  controversy  or 
more  abundant  criticism  than  the  recall  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  from  his  brief  and  unfor- 
tunate viceroyalty. 

At  the  time  it  took  place  the  incident  strained  almost  to  breaking-point  the  lately 
formed  coalition  between  Pitt  and  the  Portland  Whigs,  upon  which  depended  the  whole 
policy  of  England  in  the  struggle  with  France.  And  even  after  the  lapse  of  about  a 
century  the  passions  it  engendered  can  still  lend  warmth  to  the  pen  of  the  coolest  of 
historians,  and  inspire  the  most  vigorous  passage  in  the  criticisms  of  the  most  moderate 
and  most  detached  of  statesmen.  The  whole  question  of  the  justice  of  Pitt's  action  in 
summarily  recalling  Fitzwilliam  has  been  so  recently  and  so  fully  investigated  from  the 
point  of  view  of  Cabinet  precedents  and  official  propriety,  by  Lord  Rosebery  and  Lord 
Ashbourne,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  re-state  it  here,  though  it  is  impossible  to  refer  to 
the  subject  without  observing  that  the  significance  of  the  recall  has  been  very  greatly 
exaggerated.  It  was  certainly  not  the  proximate  cause  of  the  Rebellion.  Had  it  been  so, 
many  of  the  arguments  used  in  justification  of  the  Rebellion  must  disappear.  The  recall 
was  no  doubt  in  Lord  Rosebery's  phrase,  "a  land  mark".  It  pointed  the  pause  in  that 
policy  of  concession  which  had  its  culmination  in  the  Franchise  Act  of  1793,  and  which 
had  encouraged  extravagant  expectation  in  the  popular  mind ;  but  it  was  not  the  occasion 
of  that  pause.  The  publication  by  Lord  Ashbourne  of  the  Cabinet  Memorandum  drawn 
up  by  Pitt  and  concurred  in  by  Fitzwilliam's  most  particular  friends  and  colleagues — 
Portland,  Spencer,  Windham,  and  Loughborough — disposes,  once  for  all,  of  all  contro- 
versy on  that  aspect  of  the  question  and  fully  justifies  the  censure  which  Lord  Rosebery 
has  pronounced  with  all  the  authority  of  one  who  had  held  the  Premiership,  on  Fitz- 
william's extraordinary  disregard  of  arrangements  definitely  sanctioned  and  prescribed 
by  the  Cabinet  and  of  pledges  most  explicitly  entered  into.  That  document  entirely  de- 
stroys the  case  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  convicting  the  viceroy  not  merely  of  weakness  and 
indiscretion  but  of  actual  bad  faith;  for  it  proves  that  every  one  of  those  acts  of  his 
viceroyalty  which  led  to  Fitzwilliam's  recall,  and  in  regard  to  which  he  claimed  to  have 
been  given  complete  liberty  of  action  by  his  colleagues,  had  been  expressly  repudiated  by 
the  Cabinet  in  advance,  with  Fitzwilliam's  express  assent. 

Had  the  viceroy  and  his  allies  behaved  with  the  commonest  discretion,  it  is 
impossible  to  say  how  far  the  intrigue  might  have  succeeded.  But  their  designs  were 
soon  bruited  abroad,  and  Fitzgibbon  was  not  the  man  to  sit  still  under  such  an  attack. 
If  in  the  course  of  his  administration  he  had  made  enemies,  he  also  had  powerful  friends. 
And  though  Pitt  was  far  from  sharing  his  strong  anti-Catholic  views,  it  was  soon  evi- 
dent that  the  Chancellor  was  much  more  likely  to  dismiss  the  viceroy  than  the  viceroy 
to  dismiss  the  chancellor.  .  .  .  Fitzwilliam  had  no  sooner  arrived  in  Ireland  than  he 
entered  upon  a  career  of  proscription,  and  one  of  the  first  acts  was  to  dismiss  Beresford 
from  his  post  in  the  Revenue.  Beresford  was  not  only  Fitzgibbon's  closest  ally  in  the 
Irish  government,  but  from  his  connections,  influence,  and  great  ability  in  council  he 
had  become  one  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  Ireland — and  one  of  the  most  disreputable. 
The  whole  question  of  Fitzwilliam's  conduct  in  Ireland  became  the  subject  of  a  confer- 
ence among  the  leading  members  of  the  Cabinet;  his  indiscretions  censured  by  the  Prime 
Minister  and  repudiated  by  his  closest  friends  were  too  glaring  to  be  condoned,  and  he 
was  at  once  recalled !  Lord  Camden  was  sent  over  in  his  stead  and  thenceforward,  and 
until  after  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  Union  the  supremacy  of  Fitzgibbon,  now  created 
Earl  of  Clare,  remained  unchallenged. 

'"Studies  in  Irish  History  and  Biography,  mainly  of  the  Eigtheenth  Century",  by  C.  Litton  Fal- 

kini»r     Innnnn     1 0ft?  J    1  ' 


218 


Beresford  Faction 


This  is  given  to  the  world  by  English  sympathizers  as  history!  Is  it  not 
a  natural  inference  drawn  by  every  one  seeking  the  truth,  that  so-called  Irish 
history,  as  issued  under  English  governmental  influence,  is  one  continuous, 
egregious  and  wilful  lie,  beginning  with  that  violater  of  every  precept  of  the 
Decalogue,  Henry  the  Second,  to  the  recital  of  this  particular  incident.  I  cast 
no  reflection  on  the  writer  of  this  article,  for,  unless  he  was  in  the  direct  em- 
ploy of  the  government  for  the  special  purpose,  he  had  at  his  command  only 
the  material  intended  to  be  given  to  the  world.  He  was  not  of  Irish  stock,  or 
he  would  have  not  only  doubted,  but  have  been  prepared  to  disprove  every 
point  after  knowing  its  source. 

Nothing  was  ever  expected  by  the  people  of  Ireland  from  Pitt,  and  nothing 
to  his  credit  stands  there;  for  "the  Union"  so-called  is  but  a  flaunting  lie, 
and  a  monument  to  the  practice  of  every  crime  for  which  Pitt,  in  the  name  of 
the  English  people,  was  alone  responsible ;  and  until  repealed  will  stand  as  an 
indelible  red  stigma  upon  every  honest  Englishman.  There  is  no  evidence  to 
show  that  he  ever  used  his  position  to  rob  the  country,  as  many  did  before 
him,  but  he  corrupted  others  by  giving  them  a  free  hand,  that  he  might  use 
them  for  his  purpose.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  beyond  the  mention  of  the 
Beresford  family — or  the  mention  of  the  name  of  that  member  of  it  who 
with  his  friend  Pitt  was  never  known  to  speak  the  truth.  The  writer  has 
stated  elsewhere  :* 

Marcus  Beresford,  the  leader  of  the  faction  above  referred  to,  belonged  to  a  family 
which  for  generations  had  lived  on  the  country  through  its  influence  with  the  British 
government  under  all  administrations.  Uncompromising  advocates  of  Protestant  As- 
cendancy and  active  Orangemen,  they  were  ever  ready  to  do  any  disreputable  service  for 
the  government.  The  Beresfords  and  their  connections  at  one  time  monopolized  one- 
fourth  of  the  government  offices  in  Ireland  and,  it  was  commonly  held,  had  been  able 
to  take  more  from  Ireland  and  to  give  less  than  any  other  family  in  the  country.  In  less 
than  three  hundred  years  they  have  acquired  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  acres 
of  land  in  Ireland  alone. 

Of  Fitzgibbon,  Lord  Clare,  it  has  been  written : 

It  would  seem  that  nature  formed  that  man  to  show 
How  many  vices  in  one  heart  might  grow. 
How  much  misfortune  one  man's  crimes  might  cause 
A  Nation's  right,  her  liberties  and  laws.-j- 

Before  Mr.  Gladstone  became  the  head  of  the  English  Government,  the 
only  persons  ever  placed  in  charge  of  Irish  affairs  were  the  Beresfords,  the 
Fitzgibbons  or  some  other  of  the  same  race,  who  had  remained  unchanged  in 
nature  from  their  ancestors,  the  Normans.  The  writer  has  elsewhere 
written  :J 

Comment  to  any  great  extent  on  this  subject  is  unnecessary  beyond  presenting  for 
comtemplation  the  views  of  that  classic  writer  and  profound  thinker,  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson.   His  views  are  the  more  applicable  in  connection  with  what  a  reviewer  wrote : 

•"Ireland  Under  English  Rule",  Vol.  I,  p.  161.     The  reader  would  find  it  interesting  to  refer 

also  to  "Our  Old  Nobility"  by  Howard  Evans. 

f'Literary  Remains  of  the  United  Irishmen",  R.  R.  Madden,  1887. 
f'lreland  Under  English  Rule",  Vol.  I,  p.  203. 


"The  Memory  of  Sorrows"  219 


""Look  through  all  Emerson's  writings  and  then  consider  whether  in  all  literature  you  can 
find  that  aspiration  stated  in  such  condensed  words  by  Joubert :  'To  put  a  whole  book 
into  a  page,  a  whole  page  into  a  phrase,  and  that  phrase  into  a  word !'  [and  the  writer 
is  prompted  to  supply — robbery]. 

The  writer  would  include  in  Emerson's  word  of  deduction  the  iniquity  of  England's 
dealings  with  Ireland,  from  the  first  days  of  the  Normans.    Emerson  wrote  :* 

"The  Normans  came  out  of  France  into  England  worse  men  than  when  they  went 
into  it,  160  years  before.  They  had  lost  their  own  language,  and  learning  the  barbarous 
Latin  of  the  Gauls,  had  acquired  with  the  language  all  the  vices  it  had  names  for.  The 
conquest  has  obtained  in  the  chronicles  the  name  of  'memory  of  sorrows'.  Twenty 
thousand  thieves  landed  at  Hastings.  These  founders  of  the  House  of  Lords  were 
greedy  and  ferocious  dragons,  sons  of  greedy  and  ferocious  pirates.  They  were  all  alike. 
They  took  everything  they  could  carry;  they  burned,  harried,  violated,  tortured  and 
killed,  until  everything  English  was  brought  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  Such,  however,  is  the 
illusion  of  antiquity  and  wealth,  that  decent  and  dignified  men  now  existing  boast  of 
their  descent  from  these  filthy  thieves,  who  showed  a  far  juster  conviction  of  their  own 
merits  by  assuming  for  types  the  swine,  goat,  jackal,  leopard,  wolf  and  snake  which  they 
severally  resembled !" 

Evidently  Emerson's  Saxon  blood  had  never  been  eliminated! 

♦"English  Traits",  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  Boston,  1884,  Chapter  IV.,  on  "Race",  pp.  62-63. 


Slavery  in  every  form  it  can  assume  is  destructive  of  the  virtue,  the  genius  and  the  spirit 
of  man.  The  subjection  of  one  people  to  another,  is  of  all  species  of  slavery  incom- 
parably the  ivorst. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Great  as  'were  the  talents  of  the  men  tvho  stood  beside  Emmet  in  the  early  struggle  for  his 
country's  liberty,  the  pre-eminence  may  be  claimed  for  him,  for  'while  the  profound- 
ness of  his  judgment,  and  the  justice  of  his  views  entitled  him  to  the  respect  of  his 
associates,  inflexible  integrity  commanded  respect  even  from  his  enemies. 

"Ne<w  York  Truthteller,"  July  15th,  1843. 


Chapter  VII 

Marriage  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet — Some  account  of  Mrs.  Emmet's  family — Nothing 
known  of  their  early  married  life,  except  the  rapid  progress  made  by  him  in  his  profes- 
sion— Letter  relating  to  the  birth  of  his  second  son  and  to  his  family  at  that  time — 
Political  condition  of  Ireland  after  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution — The  Volunteer 
Movement — An  unusually  large  proportion  of  remarkably  talented  men  took  part  in  Irish 
politics  at  that  time — Their  policy  and  results — Their  purpose  only  to  secure  "Protestant 
Ascendancy" — Ireland  temporarily  prosperous  under  the  "Grattan  Parliament" — Theobald 
Wolfe  Tone  becomes  prominent  as  an  Irish  leader — The  final  failure  by  Grattan  in  ob- 
taining any  reform  of  abuses,  and  the  cause — The  Irish  people  ruthlessly  driven  into  trie 
outbreak  of  1798  by  a  course  of  barbarous  persecution  on  the  part  of  the  English  Gov- 
ernment, that  the  pretext  might  be  furnished  for  bringing  about  the  so-called  Union 
with  England — Thomas  Addis  Emmet  becomes  a  United  Irishman. 

OPEFUL  as  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  at  this  period  of 
his  life  for  the  future  prosperity  of  his  country,  so  dear 
to  him,  he  married  in  1791,  Jane,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
John  Patten,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  of  Clonmel,  Ire- 
land, by  Margaret  Colville,  the  daughter  of  Wm.  Colville, 
Esq.,  and  Margaret  Thompson.  [See  Marriage  Settle- 
ment— Appendix  Note  VI.] 

From  Richard  Patten,  of  Waynfleet,  Co.  Lincoln- 
shire, and  Margery,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Wm.  Brereton, 
of  Co.  Cheshire,  England,  the  Irish  branch  of  this  family  claimed  direct 
descent.  Richard  Patten,  of  Waynfleet,  had  three  sons:  the  eldest  was 
William  Waynfleet,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Winchester ;  the  next  was  Richard 
Patten,  of  Baselow,  Derbyshire,  where  the  family  was  living  at  the  time  of 
James  the  First,  and  from  him  the  Irish  family  sprang;  the  youngest  son  was 
John  Patten,  Dean  of  Chichester. 

Mrs.  Emmet  died  in  1846.  A  few  weeks  later,  while  passing  along  Fulton 
Street,  New  York,  the  writer  noticed  in  a  show  window  the  old  folio  edi- 
tion of  "Burch's  Heads  of  the  People",  which  was  opened  at  the  portrait 
of  William  Waynfleet,  Bishop  of  Winchester.  The  work  was  purchased  be- 
cause of  the  strong  resemblance  this  portrait  bore  to  the  writer's  grandmother; 
in  fact,  when  first  seen  from  across  the  street  the  likeness  was  still  more  strik- 
ing, for  at  that  distance  the  bishop's  miter  closely  resembled  the  cap  generally 

220 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Mrs.  Margaret  [Thompson]  Colville,  taken  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Emmet]  Le  Roy, 
from  a  miniature  painted  about  1730 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Mrs.  Emmet's  Ancestors 


221 


worn  by  Mrs.  Emmet.  Prompted  by  curiosity  the  writer  looked  up  the 
bishop's  history  and  discovered  that  his  family  name  was  Patten,  and  that  he 
had  assumed,  on  entering  upon  his  ecclesiastical  life,  the  name  of  Waynfleet, 
from  the  name  of  his  father's  estate.  After  having  obtained  this  information 
the  writer  learned  for  the  first  time,  from  both  his  uncle  Robert  and  his 
aunt,  Mrs.  Le  Roy,  that  their  mother  had  claimed  her  family  was  descended 
from  Richard  Waynfleet,  the  bishop's  brother,  and  that  both  her  father  and 
grandfather  had  been  educated  in  Oxford,  and,  she  believed,  in  Magdalen  Col- 
lege. 

The  writer  visited  Oxford  some  years  after  to  ascertain  if  any  member 
of  the  family  had  been  educated  in  Magdalen  College,  but  unfortunately  it 
was  during  the  vacation  and  he  was  unable  to  verify  the  statement.  But  he 
discovered  that  the  arms  of  the  college,  which  were  those  borne  by  the  founder, 
were  the  same  as  those  given  on  a  book-plate  in  a  volume  from  his  father's 
library  printed  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  From  the  date, 
the  book,  and  consequently  the  arms,  must  have  belonged  to  the  Rev.  William 
Patten,  of  Dublin,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Emmet.  The  only  difference  in 
the  arms  was  the  addition,  in  those  of  William  Patten,  of  a  white  rose  in  the 
right-hand  corner  of  the  shield,  which  doubtless  was  intended  to  indicate 
that  some  subsequent  member  of  the  Irish  family  had  taken  part  in  the  War 
of  the  Roses. 

By  the  bishop's  will  a  grant  of  this  college  was  made  to  the  university, 
it  is  said,  and  the  writer  has  seen  it  stated  somewhere,  on  the  following  condi- 
tions— that  a  mass  should  be  said  daily  for  the  repose  of  his  soul,  and  that 
the  eldest  of  his  family  should  be  gratuitously  educated  at  the  college.  If  so, 
the  eldest  of  the  family  doubtless  held  the  right  of  free  education,  but  as  the 
authorities  soon  ignored  one  condition  it  would  have  been  quite  as  easy  for 
them  to  have  laid  aside  the  other. 

The  bishop  died  in  1486  and  was  buried  in  his  cathedral  at  Winchester. 
The  features  of  the  marble  effigy  on  his  tomb  bear  even  a  more  marked  re- 
semblance to  Mrs.  Emmet  than  do  those  of  the  engraved  portrait.  This  is 
certainly  a  most  remarkable  circumstance,  that  so  marked  a  family  likeness 
should  crop  out  after  an  interval  of  some  four  hundred  years.  Moreover, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  clergyman  in  nearly  every  generation  of  the  family, 
and  the  same  family  names  were  preserved. 

The  descendants  of  William  Colville  Emmet,  the  youngest  son  of  Thos. 
A.  and  Jane  Patten  Emmet,  have  in  their  possession  a  small  tortoise-shell  box 
which  was  apparently  intended  for  a  snuffbox.  On  the  top  of  this  is  an  en- 
graved silver  plate,  with  a  bishop's  miter  and  so  intricate  a  monogram  that 
W.  W.  can  be  traced  as  readily  as  any  other  combination. 

It  has  been  a  family  tradition,  and  one  doubtless  received  from  Mrs. 
Emmet,  that  this  box  belonged  to  William  Waynfleet,  Bishop  of  Winchester. 
This  is  doubtful,  however,  as  tortoise-shell  or  horn  is  extremely  liable  to 
crack  and  disintegrate,  as  the  oil  dries  out,  even  in  a  much  shorter  period. 
Moreover,  it  could  never  have  been  used  by  the  bishop  as  a  snuffbox,  for  he 


Emmet  Home  at  Rathfarnham 


lived  before  the  introduction  of  tobacco  from  America.  If  it  had  ever  be- 
longed to  the  bishop  it  would  probably  have  been  used  for  conveying  the  Host 
to  the  sick.  But  such  a  box  is  always  made  of  some  metal,  so  that  it  can  be 
kept  thoroughly  clean,  and  the  greatest  care  would  be  taken,  even  to  its  de- 
struction, to  guard  against  its  being  put  to  a  profane  use.  The  probable  ex- 
planation is  that  it  was  a  snuff-box  belonging  to  some  connection  of  the  Col- 
ville  family,  which  was  a  very  extensive  one.  In  corroboration  of  this  view 
the  author  has  established  the  fact  that  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
and  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  several  bishops  in  Ireland  of  the 
Established  Church  were  closely  connected  with  the  Colville  family. 

With  the  exception  of  her  brother  John  the  members  of  the  Patten  fam- 
ily seem  to  have  held  no  further  intercourse  with  Mrs.  Emmet  after  her 
husband's  connection  with  the  Irish  movement  was  brought  to  light  by  his 
arrest.  Consequently  at  the  present  time  all  trace  of  these  connections  has 
been  lost  to  the  relatives  in  America,  and  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Emmet's 
nephew,  John  Patten,  Jr.,  an  unmarried  man,  that  branch  of  the  family  became 
extinct. 

Nothing  special  is  known  of  Mr.  Emmet's  early  married  life,  except  that 
he  lived  at  Rathfarnham,  and  that  for  several  years,  as  we  learn  from  Tone's 
diary,  in  which  he  gives  an  account  of  a  visit  he  made  to  Emmet's  home  with 
Russell.  He  lived  on  intimate  terms  with  Curran  and  his  family,  and  con- 
sequently knew  Curran's  friends,  who  shared  his  political  views.  Among 
these  was  a  Mr.  Hudson,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter  from  Lady  Hudson- 
Kinahan  quoted  in  the  sketch  of  Mrs.  Holmes,  who  was  doubtless  the  same 
later  sent  with  Mr.  Emmet  as  a  State  prisoner  to  Fort  George.  The  follow- 
ing letter  written  to  his  second  cousin,  a  granddaughter  of  Diana  Emett, 
the  sister  of  Christopher,  is  probably  the  first  record  made  of  the  birth  of 
the  son  who  became  the  writer's  father. 

Dublin,  April  30th,  1796. 

My  Dear  Mrs.  Macoubry: 

Tho'  I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  of  Mr.  Forde's  death  on  many  accounts,  yet  I  assure 
you  it  gave  me  very  sincere  pleasure  to  find  by  your  letter  that  he  had  left  you  out  of  debt. 
It  was  an  act  of  kindness  and  generosity  highly  worthy  of  him.  I  am  very  much  obliged 
to  you  for  having  thought  of  making  me  acquainted  with  your  good  fortune  and  feel 
something  more  than  flattered  by  the  expressions  of  gratitude  you  are  so  good  as  to  use 
towards  me.  I  am  only  sorry  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  be  of  more  essential  service  to  my 
friends  and  relatives. 

You  did  not  know  at  the  time  you  were  wishing  me  joy  of  the  birth  of  my  last 
daughter,  Mrs.  Emmet  was  on  the  point  of  giving  me  another  son,  which  she  did  in  a 
few  days  after  I  received  yours.  She  is  now,  thank  God,  extremely  well  and  the 
mother  of  four  fine  children,  two  boys  and  two  girls.  So  you  see  my  family  is  increasing 
fast.  She  is,  thank  God,  extremely  well  and  strong.  So  is  my  brother's  daughter,  who 
is  growing  up  a  very  sensible  and  sweet-tempered  child.  My  sister  Mary  Anne  is  much 
obliged  to  you  for  inquiring  after  her.  My  father,  mother,  Mrs.  Emmet  and  all  the 
family  join  in  the  kindest  good  wishes  to  you, 

Your  affectionate  friend  and  kinsman, 

Mrs.  Macoubry,  care  of  Thos.  Addis  Emmet. 

G.  Knox,  Anacloy,  Downpatrick. 


%  AS  .t  '  /ss<<?„/ /teZr.ys  A^C^  ^ 

'^■■s        tvc^r  ^ 

v-  i 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

FACSIMILE  OF  A  LETTER  BY  T.  A.  EMMET  ON  HIS  INCREASING  FAMILY 


^  ^  A—^^a-  ;V 


s. .  7- 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


The  Volunteer  Movement 


223 


Alfred  Webb,  in  his  "Compendium  of  Irish  Biography,"  states : 

The  next  year,  1796,  he  began  to  take  a  prominent  and  leading  part  as  a  United 
Irishman.  Possessed  of  private  means,  already  earning  £750  a  year  at  the  Bar,  with  a 
young  family  rising  up  around  him,  of  domestic  habits  and  irreproachable  character, 
nothing  but  the  clearest  conviction  of  duty  could  have  impelled  him  to  range  himself 
against  the  Government. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  successful  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  from  the  begin- 
ning and  rose  rapidly  to  a  prominent  position  at  the  Bar.  The  author  of  a 
sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet  in  "American  Eloquence"  wrote : 

He  rode  the  circuit  with  Curran — and  in  the  opinion  of  many  was  his  superior  in 
talents,  legal  attainments  and  general  information.  But  this  was  not  the  time  for  him  to 
realize  his  hopes  of  legal  preferment.  The  condition  of  his  country  impoverished  by 
the  cupidity  of  the  English,  the  dark  and  cheerless  prospect  that  opened  upon  her  des- 
tinies, engrossed  all  his  attention. 

After  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution  a  remarkable  movement  was 
instituted  in  Ireland  by  a  number  of  men,  the  leaders  of  which  were  of  great 
talent,  called  "The  Volunteers".  They  organized  to  have  the  legislative  inde- 
pendence of  the  country  established  as  a  distinct  kingdom  from  England ;  to 
reform  many  abuses  in  connection  with  the  Irish  Parliament,  which  had  be- 
come corrupt  under  the  close-borough  system.  Few  of  the  members  were 
elected,  but  were  appointed  by  individuals,  and  they  voted  as  directed,  so  that 
it  was  possible  to  carry  any  measure  by  gaining  the  influence  of  three  or  four 
persons.  A  general  reform  was  needed  throughout  the  country  among  those 
holding  office.  None  but  those  who  conformed  to  the  English  Church,  "as  by 
law  established",  and  in  the  proportion  of  one  out  of  six  or  seven  of  the 
total  Irish  population,  had  a  legal  existence,  or  could  hold  any  posi- 
tion or  exercise  any  privilege.  The  minority  formed  the  English  garrison  in 
Ireland  and  did  so  as  a  privileged  class.  They  advocated  under  all  circum- 
stances "a  Protestant  King,  a  Protestant  Parliament,  a  Protestant  hierarchy, 
and  Protestant  electors,  and  a  government  in  connection  with  the  Protestant 
realm  of  England".  Until  within  a  comparatively  late  period  those  of  the 
Established  Church  alone  claimed  to  be  the  Protestants,  while  the  Presbyter- 
ians were  termed  "Dissenters",  and  were  allowed  to  exist  in  the  land  only  under 
many  restrictions;  while  the  Catholics  forming  the  great  majority  of  the 
population,  during  over  two  hundred  years  under  the  penal  laws,  had  no  legal 
existence  in  Ireland,  and  during  many  years  if  they  ventured  within  the  Pale, 
could  be  shot  down  on  sight  without  question. 

These  men,  working  for  their  own  benefit  alone  as  members  of  a  privileged 
class,  included  some  of  Ireland's  most  noted  men,  Flood,  Grattan,  Lord 
Charlemont  and  many  others  who  were  never  interested  in  any  move  for  the 
advantage  of  the  Irish  people  at  large  and  who  never  seemed  to  realize  that 
any  effort  should  be  made  for  their  betterment.  These  leaders  in  the  end 
accomplished  nothing  for  the  advance  of  Ireland's  prosperity.  Yet,  the  "Grat- 
tan Parliament"  is  being  constantly  quoted  in  evidence  of  what  Ireland  could 
accomplish  if  she  had  the  management  of  her  own  affairs;  while  there  prob- 
ably never  existed  throughout  that  period  an  executive  body  more  corrupt,  or 


224 


"Golden  Age"  of  Ireland 


one  in  which  the  people  of  a  country  had  so  little  influence.  Every  move  was 
directed  by  English  influence.  To  prove  the  necessity  for  parliamentary  re- 
form, Grattan,  himself  behind  the  scenes  at  the  time,  held  that:  "The  viceroy 
and  the  majority  of  this  House  [Irish  House  of  Commons]  are  the  worst 
subjects  the  King  has  !" 

Throughout  this  imaginary  "Golden  Age",  which  was  one  of  bribery,  the 
majority  of  the  leaders  and  Grattan's  contemporaries,  were  man  of  remark- 
able ability  and  of  wonderful  eloquence.  Their  purpose  and  promise  of 
bringing  about  great  reform  was  ever  before  them,  in  appearance  fair-looking 
and  irridescent  as  a  soap-bubble;  yet  in  the  end  Ireland  gained  no  permanent 
benefit.  If  it  ever  were  possible  for  one  in  Irish  sympathy  to  joke  on  so 
serious  a  condition,  we  could  show  how  Pitt,  concealing  himself  and  his  pur- 
poses, and  acting  as  wire-puller,  during  nearly  a  generation,  kept  going  well  to 
the  front — a  species  of  Punch-and-Judy  show,  for  the  amusement  of  Grattan 
and  his  associates  in  the  Irish  Parliament  House.  When  a  change  suited  his 
purpose,  as  if  with  the  sudden  issue  of  a  bolt  from  the  heavens,  every  individ- 
ual in  the  land  was  punished  by  the  agents  of  irresponsibility,  until  Ireland 
was  in  extremis  and  accepted  the  Union  with  England  as  a  merciful  respite. 

For  a  time  Ireland  prospered  greatly,  in  consequence  of  the  promises  made 
and  the  seeming  absence  of  English  domination,  but  it  was  due  chiefly  to  the 
efforts  of  the  Dissenters,  in  whose  hands  was  held  the  trade  of  the  country, 
and  for  the  first  time  their  prospects  brightened. 

This  period  of  being  diverted  by  Pitt's  "puppet-show"  was  time  lost  to 
Ireland.  The  British  Government  was  being  too  sorely  pressed  with  troubles 
at  home  and  by  its  enemies  abroad  to  give  any  attention  to  Ireland.  She 
therefore  granted  without  hesitation  everything  wanted  by  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment, but  in  words  only,  or  with  the  usual  mental  reservation.  Irrespective 
of  rank  there  are  doubtless  as  many  honorable  and  truthful  individuals  to  be 
found  among  the  English  as  elsewhere;  but  the  statecraft  of  the  country  has 
been  from  the  earliest  day  a  lying  fraud,  in  every  relation  with  Ireland,  and 
no  milder  designation  would  be  consistent  with  the  truth.  Ireland  under 
Grattan's  influence  thus  rested  for  a  generation  in  a  state  of  false  security,  on 
this  pledge  of  the  English  government.  The  declaration  of  the  English  Par- 
liament affirmed  that  Ireland's  relation  with  England  was  that  of  a  sovereign 
state  with  her  own  separate  king,  to  be,  in  the  management  of  her  own  affairs, 
entirely  free  from  all  English  rule.  This  was  accepted  by  Ireland  in  good 
faith  until  too  late  to  correct  existing  abuses  and  to  strengthen  her  position 
before  England  repudiated  and  disarmed  her.    May  not  history  repeat  itself? 

Little  more  need  be  stated  as  to  the  action  of  the  Presbyterians  of  the 
North  and  these  not  in  accord  with  the  Anglo-Irish  leaders.  But  the  fol- 
lowing taken  from  Taylor's  "Life  of  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,"  a  recently 
published  work  in  this  country,  is  worthy  of  the  reader's  attention : 

There  is  something  tragic,  which  leaves  no  room  for  reproach,  even  if  it  is 
impossible  not  to  see  in  it  cause  for  regret,  in  the  attitude  of  the  men  of  whom  Grattan 
was  the  most  distinguished  representative.   Loyal,  true,  and  upright,  they  had  given  their 


Deceived  by  English  Promises 


225 


lives  and  had  given  them  in  vain,  to  further  what  they  conceived  to  be  the  best  interest 
of  their  country.  Now  defeated  on  all  hands,  they  were  forced  to  look  on,  an  isolated 
and  helpless  group,  and  to  watch  the  people  they  had  done  their  best  to  serve  led,  as  they 
believed,  to  destruction  by  other  and  less  experienced  guides. 

"Alas,  all  the  world  is  mad",  wrote  Lord  Charlemont  about  this  very  time,  "and 
unfortunately  strait-waistcoats  are  not  yet  in  fashion".  And  again :  "My  advice  has 
been  lavished  on  both  parties  with  equally  ill  success.  .  .  .  Would  to  Heaven  it  had 
been  otherwise;  but  spurred  on  by  destiny,  we  seem  on  all  hands  to  run  a  rapid  course 
towards  a  frightful  precipice.  But  it  is  criminal  to  despair  of  one's  country.  I  will 
endeavor  yet  to  hope". 

It  is  but  a  feeble  hope  which  is  kept  alive  by  the  consciousness  that  despair 
is  a  crime. 

The  view  he  imagined  his  father  would  have  taken  of  the  United  Irishmen, 
is  summarized,  a  little  brutally,  by  Grattan's  son — namely,  that  they  were  a 
pack  of  blockheads,  who  would  surely  get  themselves  hanged,  and  should 
be  all  put  in  the  pillory  for  their  mischief  and  nonsense.  Grattan  knew  but 
little  of  the  individuals  who  composed  the  party  and  of  some  of  them  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  might  have  modified  the  rough-and-ready  judgment  at- 
tributed to  him.  He  did  not  associate  with  them,  says  the  same  authority; 
"they  kept  clear  of  him — they  feared  him  and  certainly  did  not  like  him.  .  .  . 
He  considered  their  proceedings  not  only  mischevious  but  ridiculous". 

Grattan  held  in  after  life: 

We  did  not  approve  of  the  conduct  of  the  United  men,  and  we  could  not  approve 
of  the  conduct  of  the  government,  and  feared  to  encourage  the  former  by  making 
speeches  against  the  latter.  It  was  not  necessary  .  .  .  for  me  to  apologize  for  not 
having  joined  them.  I  would  do  neither.  The  one  was  a  rebel  to  his  king,  the  other  to 
his  country.  In  the  conscientious  sense  of  the  word  rebel,  there  should  have  been  a 
gallows  for  the  rebel  and  there  should  have  been  a  gallows  for  the  minister.  Men  will 
be  more  blamed  in  history  for  having  joined  the  government  than  they  would  if  they 
had  joined  the  rebels.  The  question  men  should  have  asked  was  not  "Why  was  Mr. 
Sheares  on  the  gallows"? — but,  "Why  was  not  Lord  Clare  along  with  him"? 

The  Irish  leaders  of  Grattan's  day  allowed  themselves  to  be  disarmed  when 
they  had  fully  one  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  Volunteer  organization,  well- 
armed,  under  the  command  of  Lord  Charlemont,  who  weakened  in  his  sym- 
pathy for  the  condition  of  his  native  country  disbanded  his  troops,  trust- 
ing to  English  promises.  England  now  resorted  to  her  usual  tactics  in  bring- 
ing about  religious  dissension,  and  in  Ulster  she  was  entirely  responsible  for 
the  contention,  crime  and  suffering  resulting  from  the  contest  between  the 
Protestant  Peep-O'-Day  Boys  and  the  Catholic  Defenders. 

In  the  autumn  of  1791,  Theobald  Wolfe  Tone  came  into  notoriety  when 
he  took  a  prominent  part  with  Neilson,  Russell,  Fitzgerald,  Hope  and  others 
in  organizing  (October  12th)  the  first  branch  of  the  United  Irishmen,  with 
the  objects  of  uniting  the  Catholics  and  Protestants  and  of  bringing  about 
parliamentary  reform,  although  Tone  and  others  already  held  the  view  that 
there  was  no  hope  for  Ireland's  prosperity  until  a  separation  from  England 
had  been  brought  about,  and  the  Catholics  had  been  emancipated  with  full 
rights  of  citizenship.    He  wrote  : 


226     Tone  Secretary  of  the  Catholic  Committee 


To  subvert  the  tyranny  of  our  execrable  government,  to  break  the  connection 
with  England,  the  never-failing  source  of  our  political  evils,  and  to  assert  the  inde- 
pendence of  my  country — these  were  my  objects.  To  unite  the  whole  people  of  Ireland, 
to  abolish  the  memory  of  our  past  dissensions,  and  to  substitute  the  common  name  of 
Irishmen  in  place  of  the  denomination  of  Protestant,  Catholic,  and  Dissenter, — these 
were  my  means. 

In  November,  1791,  Tone  returned  to  Dublin  and  on  November  ninth,  the 
first  branch  of  the  United  Irishmen  was  formed  in  Dublin,  chiefly  through 
his  efforts.  In  Belfast  Catholic  Emancipation  with  equal  rights  received  early 
attention,  and  a  Catholic  Committee  was  formed  for  petitioning  the  King  and 
Parliament,  and  Tone  acted  as  secretary. 

A  committee  was  sent  to  present  the  petition  to  the  king  in  person  and  in 
consequence  of  the  active  interest  taken  in  the  subject  by  many  of  the  Pres- 
byterians and  Protestants  in  Ireland,  the  British  Government  was  forced, 
against  their  secret  wishes,  to  have  a  Bill  for  Catholic  Relief  introduced  into 
the  Irish  Parliament.  The  Earl  Fitzwilliam  was  appointed  viceroy,  with  full 
power  to  speedily  grant  relief  to  the  demands  of  the  people,  and  to  reform 
the  many  abuses  claimed  to  exist.  But  within  a  few  weeks  England  changed 
her  policy,  Fitzwilliam  was  recalled,  and  a  reign  of  terror  was  estab- 
lished. 

Moore,  when  treating  of  the  sudden  removal  of  Earl  Fitzwilliam, 
who  was  doing  so  much  for  the  advance  and  prosperity  of  Ireland,  and  the 
appointment  of  "The  cold-hearted  and  cruel  Camden  as  Viceroy",  wrote : 

Its  natural  effect  was  to  reinforce  instantly  the  ranks  of  the  United  Irishmen  with  all 
that  mass  of  discontent  generated  by  such  a  defiance  of  the  public  will,  and  we  have  it 
on  the  authority  of  the  chief  leaders  themselves,  that  out  of  the  despair  and  disgust  of 
this  moment  arose  immediately  an  immense  accession  of  strength  to  their  cause. 

It  is  stated  in  "Cloncurry  and  His  Times"  (p.  85)  : 

The  spirit  of  faction  never  raged  with  greater  fury  than  in  1795,  when  Camden, 
scourge  in  hand,  assumed  the  reins  of  government.  The  burning,  pitch-torturing,  half- 
hangings,  picketing,  tarring  and  scourging  to  which  the  unhappy  people  were  subjected 
for  long  anterior  to  the  rising  of  '98  must  be  recollected  by  every  well-read  Irishman. 
The  goading  system  was  daily  in  requisition,  forcing  discontent  into  rage  and  provoking 
rage  to  retaliation.  The  people,  driven  from  their  homes,  were  hunted  as  wild  beasts, 
slaughtered  sometimes,  tortured  always.  Whatever  little  property  they  possessed  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  despoiler.  Fencibles,  Hessians,  and  Ancient  Britons  (so  many  monsters 
in  human  form),  were  turned  by  their  officers  loose  upon  the  wives  and  daughters  of  a 
virtuous  peasantry,  incited  to  the  practice  of  every  infamy  and  outrage,  and  commanded 
to  pitch-cap,  flog  and  torture  with  gunpowder  and  fire  those  husbands,  fathers,  sons  or 
brothers,  who  ventured  to  raise  feeble  voices  in  opposition  to  the  system.  Government 
afforded  the  people  no  protection  and  there  was  not  one  solitary  magistrate — with  per- 
haps a  single  exception — who  would  take  a  deposition  against  any  of  the  licenced  perse- 
cutors. 

Lord  Cloncurry  was  a  personal  friend  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  at  the 
time  when  they  both  entered  public  life,  and  in  "His  Times",  from  which  we 
have  been  quoting,  it  is  stated : — 

Up  to  this  period  neither  Macneven,  Fitzgerald,  Emmet,  nor  O'Connor  had  joined 

the  ranks  of  the  United  Irishmen. 


Rebellion  of  1798  Forced  by  Government 


The  Union  with  England  was  of  course  the  ultimate  object  of  this  policy.  .  .  . 
The  Ministerial  scheme,  which  was  wily  and  deep-laid,  may  thus  be  epitomised.  In 
secret  conference  it  was  arranged  to  filch  from  poor  Ireland  the  very  moment  when  she 
would  be  found  prostrated  and  exhausted  from  a  series  of  ineffectual  struggles  for  free- 
dom—when too  much  stricken  down  to  entertain  one  atom  of  hope  for  future  regenera- 
tion—when so  miserably  debilitated  from  loss  of  blood  to  be  unable  to  offer  any  resistance 
to  the  outrage — it  was  then,  we  say,  proposed  to  filch,  with  characteristic  treachery  from 
the  breast  of  Ireland,  her  brightest  and  most  valuable  gem— the  possession  of  her  parlia- 
ment. 

"Sir",  exclaimed  Lord  Castlereagh,  in  an  unusual  burst  of  candor  during  Macneven's 
examination  before  the  Secret  Committee,  "means  were  taken  to  make  the  United  Irish 
system  explode" ;  a  truer  sentence  never  emanated  from  his  lips. 

In  order  to  bring  about  the  Union  measure  it  was  necessary  that  the  flame  of  re- 
bellion should  be  fed ;  and  that  Government  were  not  backward  in  acting  so,  will  we  think, 
be  tolerably  evident  to  any  person  who  takes  the  trouble  of  reading  those  books  of 
Madden  and  Moore  which  treat  more  particularly  of  that  eventful  period  of  Irish 
history. 

In  a  footnote  is  given: 

The  Secret  Committee's  Report  for  1798  contains,  amongst  others,  the  following 
pregnant  passage: — "It  appears  from  a  variety  of  evidence  laid  before  your  committee, 
that  the  rebellion  would  not  have  broken  out  so  soon  as  it  did,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
well-timed  measures  adapted  by  the  government,  &c." 

It  will  be  shown  hereafter  by  Mr.  Emmet's  examination  before  the  Secret 
Committee  that  he  stated  under  oath,  that  in  his  opinion  and  judgment,  there 
would  have  been  no  Rebellion  if  the  government  had  not  forced  the  outbreak. 

In  asserting  that  the  people  were  driven  into  insurrection  by  a  system 
of  persecution  encouraged  by  Government,  it  is  possible  we  may  be  accused  by 
some  of  partiality,  and  by  others  with  a  wanton  exaggeration  of  facts.  Even 
though  you  may  produce  authorities,  some  critics  may  possibly  exclaim,  it 
will  be  found  that  they  are  Irish  ones,  and  doubtless  partisans.  It  is  with  no 
small  satisfaction  that  we  can  in  reply  refer  such  persons  to  the  recorded  senti- 
ments of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  cabinet  ministers  of  England, 
amongst  whom  the  late  Lord  Holland  and  the  late  Lord  John  Russell  must  not 
be  overlooked. 

"The  fact",  writes  Lord  Holland,  "is  incontrovertible  that  the  people  of  Ireland  were 
driven  to  resistance  by  the  free,  quarters  and  excesses  of  the  soldiery,  which  were  such 
as  are  not  permitted  in  civilized  warfare,  even  in  an  enemy's  country". 

In  a  footnote  an  extract  is  given  from  "Memoirs  of  the  Whig  Party  during 
my  Time,  by  the  late  Edward.  Lord  Holland,  1853" : 

Trials,  if  they  must  be  so  called,  were  carried  on  without  number,  under  martial 
law,  etc.  .  .  .  Floggings,  picketings,  death,  were  the  usual  sentences;  and  these  were 
sometimes  commuted  into  banishment,  serving  in  the  fleet,  or  transference  to  a  foreign 
service,  &c.  .  .  .  Dr.  Dickson  [Bishop  of  Down]  assured  me  that  he  had  seen  fam- 
ilies returning  peaceably  from  Mass  assailed  without  provocation  by  drunken  troops  and 
yeomanry  and  the  wives  and  daughters  exposed  to  every  species  of  indignity,  brutality, 
and  outrage,  from  which  neither  his  remonstrance  nor  those  of  other  Protestant  gentle- 
men, could  rescue  them. 


Emmet  becomes  a  United  Irishman 


Lord  John  Russell,  shortly  before  his  death,  observed  in  reference  to  the 
Rebellion,  that  it  was  wickedly  provoked,  rashly  begun,  and  cruelly  crushed. 

Long  before  Pitt  as  British  Minister  let  it  be  known  what  his  future  policy 
would  be  to  bring  about  the  Union,  he  showed  in  the  heat  of  debate  what  the 
government  policy  was  to  Ireland  in  relation  to  her  prosperity. 

In  "Ireland  Under  English  Rule"  (2nd  ed.,  Vol.  II,  p.  40),  it  is  stated: 

The  charge  has  been  made  frequently,  and  the  evidence  has  never  been  wanting,  that 
England  from  the  beginning  even  to  our  day  has  followed  a  settled  purpose  in  her  de- 
termination that  the  Irish  people  and  Ireland  should  never  prosper.  The  writer,  how- 
ever, is  not  aware  that  any  of  her  statesmen  have  been  as  outspoken  as  the  younger  Pitt, 
while  debating  the  Irish  commercial  proposition  on  the  22nd  of  February,  1785.  He 
spoke  as  follows:* 

"The  species  of  policy  which  had  been  exercised  by  the  Government  of  England  in 
regard  to  Ireland  had  for  its  object  to  debar  the  latter  from  the  enjoyment  of  her  own 
resources,  and  to  make  her  completely  subservient  to  the  opulence  and  interest  of  Eng- 
land ;  that  she  had  not  been  suffered  to  share  in  the  bounties  of  nature  or  the  industries 
of  its  citizens ! ! !"   Comment  is  unnecessary. 

Madden  in  "Pieces  of  Irish  History"  writes  concerning  this  subject: 

So  little  was  the  policy  of  the  British  Cabinet  on  this  subject,  a  secret  even  out  of 
Ireland  that  the  director  Carnot  told  Dr.  Macneven  [in  Paris]  in  August,  1798,  that  a 
union  was  Mr.  Pitt's  object  in  his  vexatious  treatment  of  Ireland  and  it  behoved  the 
United  Irishmen  to  be  aware  of  his  schemes. 

In  September,  1793,  Mr.  Emmet  became  conspicuous  by  his  defence  of 
O'Driscoll,  who  was  put  on  trial  for  sedition  at  Cork.  Mr.  Emmet  was 
soon  recognized  through  his  eloquence  and  learning  as  the  leading  Irish  Na- 
tionalist barrister,  and  by  1795,  when  he  took  the  oath  of  the  United  Irishmen 
in  open  court,  his  position  was  firmly  established.  In  this  year  he  was  elected 
secretary  of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen,  and  in  1797  he  succeeded  Roger 
O'Connor  as  a  member  of  the  directory.  In  this  position  it  is  said  he  showed 
more  prudence  than  his  colleagues,  in  opposing  with  the  aid  of  McCormick  and 
Macneven,  a  resort  to  arms  and  seeking  aid  from  France,  unless  an  outbreak 
had  to  be  resorted  to  as  an  extreme  measure.  Until  Mr.  Emmet  joined  in  the 
management  of  the  organization  of  the  United  Irishmen,  it  was  not  known  to 
his  friends  that  he  was  interested  in  the  movement.  Nevertheless  he  had  been 
actively  engaged  for  several  years  in  the  organization  throughout  the  country. 
This  he  had  been  able  to  do  with  the  aid  of  a  number  of  individuals,  while  on 
circuit  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

J.  J.  Reynolds,  in  his  "Footprints  of  Emmet",  writes : 

Of  the  celebrated  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  the  head-piece  and  chief  organizer  of  the 
United  Irishmen,  little  need  be  said.  He  may  be  described  as  the  mind  of  the  or- 
ganization. 

The  Countess  d'Haussonville,  in  her  life  of  Robert  Emmet  states : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  one  of  the  principal  actors  in  the  Rebellion  of  1798. 
He  entered  into  the  association  of  the  United  Irishmen  in  1796,  and  directed  it  by  the 


•See  Debret's  "Parliamentary  Register", 


Emmet  and  the  Rebellion 


229 


wisdom  of  his  counsel  more  than  by  any  active  part  which  he  took  in  the  Insurrec- 
tion. Naturally  proud,  reserved,  and  silent,  though  ardent,  with  a  broad  intelligence  and 
a  kind  heart,  but  governed  by  inflexible  principles  and  ready  to  make  every  sacrifice  for 
the  cause,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  had  several  of  the  qualities  necessary  for  the  chief  of  a 
party.  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  [the  Irish  used  to  say]  was  the  most  amiable,  noble- 
minded,  and  the  best  of  men,  but  he  was  not  the  man  to  conduct  a  revolution  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue;  the  man  we  wanted  was  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

"Of  the  United  Irishmen",  says  Lord  Holland  ,  in  his  "Memoirs",  "the  man  of  great- 
est ability  and  capacity  was  Thomas  Addis  Emmet" ;  again — "he  is  always  said  to  have 
been  the  ablest  man  among  the  Irish  conspirators".* 

Madden  wrote : 

In  men  who  are  "fit  for  treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils",  the  passions  and  mental 
qualities  we  expect  to  find  are  ambition,  vanity,  malignity,  restlessness,  or  seclusiveness  of 
mind.  Were  these  the  characteristics  of  T.  A.  Emmet?  The  question,  with  perfect  safety  to 
the  memory  of  Emmet,  might  be  put  to  any  surviving  political  opponent  of  his  of  com- 
mon honesty,  who  was  acquainted  with  those  times,  and  the  men  who  were  prominent 
actors  in  them  .  .  .  No  man  could  say  of  Emmet,  as  Gregory  of  Nazianzen  did  of 
Julian,  his  fellow-student,  "that  he  prognosticated  evil  of  him  from  the  restlessness  of 
his  regard,  the  wandering  of  his  eyes,  and  the  unsteadiness  of  his  nature". + 

The  charge  of  recklessness  or  unscrupulousness  of  conduct  never  has  been  brought 
against  Emmet.  Then,  under  what  circumstances  or  impelled  by  what  motive,  did  such  a 
person  become  a  rebel?  A  man  of  moderate  independence,  of  rising  prospects  at  the 
Bar,  devoted  to  his  family,  his  chief  happiness  in  its  circle  of  domestic  habits,  of  irre- 
proachable character ;  who  had  "given  hostages  to  fortune",  and  had  a  father's  interest 
in  the  preservation  of  peace  and  quiet ;  who  had  a  stake  in  the  soil,  and  being  connected 
with  it  by  other  ties  besides  those  of  love,  was  necessarily  opposed  to  measures  which 
imperilled  property  and  the  privileges  of  its  owners.  If  the  reader  would  know  the  cause, 
he  will  find  it  in  every  page  of  Irish  history  that  is  devoted  to  the  illustration  of  this 
period,  and  it  may  be  comprised  in  a  single  sentence :  The  cruel  policy  of  ruling  the 
country  by  means  of  the  disunion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  abandonment  of  the  power 
and  functions  of  government  to  a  faction,  whose  interests  and  passions  were  arrayed 
in  deadly  hostility  against  the  great  body  of  the  people. 

♦The  Whig  Party  During  My  Time  (London,  1852),  V.  II,  p.  106. 
fGregory  of  Nazianzen,  Orat.  IV.  in  Julian.,  p.  122. 


Had  Ireland,  breasting  the  Atlantic,  been  left  to  the  fortune  of  her  native  independence, 
unassaited  by  foreign  ambition,  she  might  in  progress  of  time  have  composed  a  mari- 
time potver  capable  of  maintaining  itself  forever  against  England  and  preventing  the 
growth  of  that  inordinate  domination  vohich  has  oppressed  <with  its  crimes  the  East 
and  the  West,  the  African  and  the  Hindoo. 

77.  A.  Emmet. 


This  unnatural  and  miserable  state  of  religious  animosity  and  civil  disunion,  by  ivhich 
the  great  majority  of  the  people  tvas  thrust  out  of  the  pale  of  the  body  politic  and  the 
nation  tvas  enslaved,  arose  not  from  any  appropriate  characteristic  of  the  Irish  mind, 
from  any  peculiar  defect  of  intellect  or  depravity  of  disposition  It  was  the  inevi- 
table consequence  of  British  conquest  and  British  policy. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  VIII 

Suppression  by  the  Government  of  "The  Northern  Star"  of  Belfast — "The  Press" 
of  Dublin  then  the  organ  of  the  United  Irishmen — Samuel  Neilson — The  men  now  known 
to  have  written  for  "The  Press" — Thomas  Addis  Emmet  as  "Montanus"  the  most  volu- 
minous writer  and  at  times  acting  editor — The  Government's  efforts  to  ascertain  the 
names  of  the  writer  of  the  "Montanus"  letters  fruitless — The  Government  ignorant  that 
Arthur  O'Connor  was  the  chief  owner,  for  a  long  period  the  editor,  and  was  a  frequent 
contributor. 


O  agent,  while  it  lasts,  is  more  irrepressible  for  secret 
political  work  in  Ireland  than  an  official  paper,  which 
existing  only  from  day  to  day  as  a  free  lance  can  be  all  the 
more  outspoken  in  reaching  the  greater  number  of  persons 
before  it  is  possible  to  suppress  the  whole  of  any  one 
issue. 

The  chief  organs  of  the  "United  Irishmen"  [according  to 
Savage  in  his  work  "Ninety-eight  and  Forty-eight",  p.  200]  were 
"The  Northern  Star"  and  "The  Press".  The  former  was  estab- 
lished in  Belfast,  January  fourth,  1792.  The  chief  owner  and  editor  was  Samuel 
Neilson  .  .  .  The  success  of  its  teaching  may  be  inferred  from  the  persecution  it 
received  from  the  government  ...  He  [Neilson]  is  generally  looked  upon  as  the 
originator  of  the  Society  [United  Irishmen]  into  which  Tone  breathed  an  actual 
being;  and  was  one  of  the  most  active,  undeviating,  and  sincere  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Union. 

Neilson  was  long  imprisoned  and  when  brought  into  court,  heavily  chained, 
was  called  on  "to  plead".  He  answered  in  a  stentorian  voice:  "No,  I  have 
been  robbed  of  everything;  I  could  not  fee  a  counsel ;  my  property,  everything, 
has  been  taken  from  me".  He  then  retired,  but  immediately  returning  to  the 
dock,  exclaimed:  "For  myself  I  have  nothing  to  say:  I  scorn  your  power, 
and  despise  that  authority  that  it  shall  ever  be  my  pride  to  have  opposed". 

His  refusal  to  engage  counsel  saved  his  life  by  the  delay,  as  he  was  in- 
cluded in  the  negotiation  with  the  Government.  He  was  imprisoned  with 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  in  Dublin,  and  afterward  at  Fort  George,  being 
throughout  his  political  career  a  devoted  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet.  Mr.  Neilson 
died  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  in  1803.    The  writer,  having  learned  by 

230 


Contributors  to  the  Press 


231 


accident  of  the  condition  of  Neilson's  almost  forgotten  grave,  called  the  mat- 
ter to  the  special  attention  of  those  present  at  a  dinner  of  the  American 
Irish  Historical  Society  held  in  New  York,  and  urged  those  who  were  in  a 
position  to  do  so  to  take  steps  towards  having  the  grave  reclaimed  and  put 
in  order  for  future  identification.  This  was  promptly  done,  and  the  local 
branch  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  erected  a  handsome  granite  monu- 
ment over  Samuel  Neilson's  grave  after  it  had  been  fully  identified. 
Savage  records : 

The  first  number  of  "The  Press"  was  issued  in  Dublin,  September  28th,  1797 ; 
the  last,  March  3rd  of  the  following  year,  running  sixty-seven  numbers;  besides 
two,  which  were  suppressed  by  the  government.  The  writers  in  it  were,  as  far 
as  known,  Arthur  O'Connor,  Dean  Swift  ("Marcus")  ;  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  ("Mon- 
tanus")  ;  Wm.  Preston,  a  distinguished  scholar  of  Trinity  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy;  William  Sampson  (supposed  to  be  "Fortesque")  ;  Dr.  Drennan, 
Roger  O'Connor,  and  other  able  men  under  the  signatures  of  "William  Caxton,"  "An 
Irishman,"  "Sarsfield,"  "Euergetes,"  "Dion,"  "Scarvola,"  "Bolingbroke,"  "A  Militia  Of- 
ficer," "Vincent"  and  others. 

In  the  eleventh  number  there  is  a  clever,  though  not  a  remarkable  piece 
of  verse,  entitled  "The  London  Pride  and  Shamrock,  a  Fable", 
signed  "Trebor";  which  Dr.  Madden  believes  was  written  by  Robert  Emmet, 
the  signature,  when  read  backwards,  spelling  his  Christian  name.  Thomas 
Moore  tells  us  that  he  wrote  something  for  "The  Press",  and  that  it  was 
included  in  the  secret  report  of  The  Committee  of  the  House.  His  contribu- 
tions were  of  no  moment,  however. 

Both  friend  and  foe  seem  to  have  contributed  to  "The  Press".  It  has  been 
stated  on  good  authority  that  after  the  paper  had  been  suppressed  it  was 
found  that  one  of  the  frequent  contributors  was  a  regular  informer  of  Major 
Sirr's  Battalion  in  1 798,  whose  name  was  Brennan ! 

The  writer  having  gone  carefully  through  the  whole  issue  of  "The  Press", 
found  "The  London  Pride  and  Shamrock",  an  accepted  production  by  Robert 
Emmet,  but  there  was  no  other  contribution  in  his  judgment  likely  to  have 
been  written  by  him.  Yet  there  was  found  a  letter  in  the  issue  of  Decem- 
ber 2nd,  1797,  addressed:  "To  the  students  of  Trinity  College",  and  signed 
"Sophister",  which  was  in  a  general  way  suggestive  of  his  style.  If  Emmet 
wrote  the  letter  he  might  also  have  written  several  others,  where  the  identity 
of  authorship  was  unknown,  and  there  also  existed  in  some  other  contribu- 
tions a  similiarity  of  expression,  showing  at  least  that  Emmet  and  the  author 
were  close  friends.  It  is  not  likely  that  Robert  Emmet  was  the  author  of 
these  doubtful  letters,  although  written  in  so  natural  a  style.  Had  he  been 
the  author  and  from  their  value,  already  so  well  known,  this  circumstance 
would  have  caused  this  connection  to  be  remembered. 

Savage  further  states : 

Those  writings,  however,  which  seemed  to  have  created  the  most  noise,  and  with 
some  justice,  were  written  by  Dean  Swift,  "Marcus",  who  is  described  by  Barrington 
as  tall,  thin,  and  gentlemanly,  but  withal  an  unqualified  reformer  and  revolutionist; 
also  Addis  Emmet's  "Montanus"  letters,  and  John  Sheares'  "Dion"  letter  to  "The  Author 


232 


Arthur  O'Connor 


of  Coercion"  [Lord  Clare],  which,  some  rumor  of  its  embryo  existence  getting  out, 
caused  the  seizure  of  the  68th  number  of  the  paper,  when  all  ready  for  publication. 
Thus  the  67th  number  was  the  last  published ;  but  in  a  collection  of  the  chief  articles 
and  letters  issued  soon  after,  to  fan,  says  Musgrave,  the  seemingly  smothered  flame 
of  rebellion,  the  68th  number  is  restored,  as  well  as  an  intended  69th,  being  "The  Ap- 
peal of  the  People  of  Ulster  to  their  Countrymen,  and  the  empire  at  large". 

In  a  footnote  of  Savage's  work  it  is  stated : 

An  American  reprint  is  now  before  me;  the  title  runs  "Extracts  from  the  Press;  a 
Newspaper  published  in  the  Capital  of  Ireland  during  part  of  the  years  1797  and  1798, 
including  numbers  sixty-eight  and  sixty-nine,  which  were  suppressed  by  order  of  the 
Irish  Government,  before  the  usual  time  of  publication,  Philadelphia;  printed  by  William 
Duane,  Aurora  Office,  1802". 

In  connection  with  the  leaders  who  wrote  for  "The  Press",  Savage  ex- 
presses the  opinion : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  precisely  such  a  man  as  might,  had  not  many  occur- 
rences combined  against  the  party  to  which  he  belonged,  have  led  the  Irish  Revolution 
to  a  successful  issue.  In  1797  he  was  decidedly  the  ablest,  though  not  the  leading  man 
in  Ireland. 

The  writer  can  not  allow  this  last  statement  to  pass  unchallenged,  while 
he  would  have  hesitated  as  to  the  question  of  ability.  Arthur  O'Connor, 
Mr.  Emmet's  chief  rival  in  both  respects,  was  a  man  of  phenomenal  ability 
in  early  life,  when  he  could  be  gotten  to  exercise  it  in  some  other  line  than 
a  defence  of  an  assumed  grievance  or  of  his  inordinate  self-conceit.  He  cer- 
tainly was  a  very  prominent  man,  if  not  the  most  so  of  all  the  Irish  leaders, 
and  to  hold  the  position  he  was  at  all  times  seeking  to  gain  the  attention  of 
the  public.  But  at  no  time  in  his  career  was  he  considered  a  reliable  man 
except  by  a  few  individuals,  themselves  of  no  influence  save  one  of  detri- 
ment, but  who  evidently  prospered  through  their  connection  with  him.  Mr. 
Emmet,  on  the  contrary,  avoided  publicity,  and  as  a  consequence  his  service 
as  a  leader  was  never  known  or  fully  appreciated.  Fitzpatrick  in  his  work 
has  made  the  following  statement,  based  on  a  knowledge  of  the  views  of 
Lord  Cloncurry,  a  life-long  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet.  The  bearing  of  the  quota- 
tion is  rather  incidental,  its  importance  consisting  in  its  demonstration  of 
Mr.  Emmet's  purpose  as  a  United  Irishman,  and  is  therefore  of  more  value  to 
the  reader  if  given  as  a  whole.   Fitzpatrick  wrote : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  a  member  of  the  Executive  Directory  [United  Irishmen] 
and  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  Irish  bar  was  interrogated  rigidly  by  the 
Secret  Committee  in  1798.  There  were  few  voices  more  influential  in  the  national  coun- 
cils than  that  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet.  Humane,  disinterested,  warm-hearted,  zealous, 
he  glided  through  the  meetings  of  the  Irish  Union,  remonstrating  with  some,  suggesting 
to  others,  and  advising  all.  In  the  course  of  his  examination,  he  observed,  parenthetically 
in  reference  to  some  questions  from  Lord  Clare — "Will  you  permit  me  to  add,  upon  my 
oath,  that  it  was  my  intention  to  have  proposed  to  the  Executive,  and  I  am  sure  it 
would  have  been  carried,  had  there  existed  any  reasonable  hope  of  reform,  to  send  a 
messenger  to  France  to  apprise  the  Council  of  the  difference  between  the  people 
and  the  government  having  been  adjusted  and  not  to  attempt  a  second  invasion".  England, 
however,  had  a  deeper  game  to  play  than  the  bloodless  suppression  of  Irish  disaffection. 


Emmet's  Restraining  Influence 


233 


It  knew  a  trick  worth  two  of  that  and  therefore  resumed  the  work  of  torture  with  re- 
doubled rigour. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  with  a  fact  so  easily  proved,  no  his- 
torical writer  has  expressly  shown  that  through  Mr.  Emmet's  personal  in- 
fluence alone  several  hundred  thousand  enrolled  members,  of  the  United 
Irishmen  or  Union  organization  were  restrained  from  outbreak  during  the 
eighteen  months  previous  to  his  arrest,  during  which  time  he  directed  the 
policy  of  that  organization.  And  this  was  done  at  a  time  when  a  majority  of 
both  the  leaders  and  members  were  in  their  individual  judgment  impressed 
as  to  the  advisability  of  following  the  opposite  course.  He  certainly  defeated 
all  of  O'Connor's  intrigues  to  undermine  his  influence  and  even  persuaded 
Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,  in  command  of  the  military  department,  to  inaction, 
and  in  opposition  to  his  own  judgment  and  wishes.  As  leader,  Mr.  Emmet  only 
yielded  to  a  compromise  after  it  was  shown  that  the  English  Government  could 
not  be  trusted,  and  would  make  no  reforms  on  any  terms.  The  English  Gov- 
ernment was  fully  informed  through  her  spies  as  to  the  situation.  With  every 
desire  to  get  Mr.  Emmet  out  of  the  way,  yet,  with  no  evidence  against  him 
and  everything  to  prove  his  course  had  been  consistent  and  unquestionably 
loyal  to  the  Government,  the  authorities  did  not  dare  bring  him  to  trial  on 
the  plea  of  a  "devil's  brief",  or  on  any  evidence  to  be  supplied  by  the  "Bat- 
talion of  Testimony";  but  in  a  spirit  of  spiteful  vindictiveness,  since  he  was 
a  man  of  too  much  influence  to  be  hanged  as  many  thousands  had  been,  with- 
out the  slightest  justification  and  without  even  that  of  legal  murder  with  a 
packed  jury,  he  was  imprisoned  for  over  four  years  and  at  times  was  subjected 
to  the  greatest  cruelty.  The  writer,  therefore,  on  the  facts  of  the  case,  does 
not  hesitate  to  claim  that  no  leader  during  the  troubles  of  '98  held  and 
exercised  a  greater  influence  both  by  pen  and  example  than  Mr.  Emmet  did 
during  the  time  he  could  exercise  it,  and  no  other  leader  showed  greater  and 
more  unflinching  courage  than  Mr.  Emmet  did  in  his  course,  notwithstanding 
the  misrepresentation  and  intrigue  to  which  he  was  subjected,  without  im- 
pairment to  his  teaching  even  to  the  present  day,  as  that  teaching  is  shown 
by  his  writings,  although  the  source  has  been  forgotten. 

The  following  letter  was  published  in  "The  Press"  (October  3,  1797), 
and  accompanied  the  first  letter  written  by  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  signed 
"Montanus".*  It  was  held  at  the  time  these  letters  were  published  in  "The 
Press"  that  no  other  Irish  leader  contributed  so  much  to  direct  public  opinion 
and  to  the  spread  of  the  organization  of  the  United  Irishmen  as  the  author 
of  these  letters. 

To  the  Conductors  of  the  Press  : 
Gentlemen, 

I  have  read  with  much  pleasure,  the  Prospectus  of  your  paper.  If  you  adhere  to 
your  promise  of  conveying  to  your  countrymen,  without  prejudice,  and  without  weak- 
ness, just  views  of  persons  and  things  you  will  render  an  essential  service  to  Ireland. 

•Madden,  in  the  second  series  of  his  work,  p.  253,  writes  in  relation  to  the  writers  in  "The 
Press": — "Those  under  the  signature  of  Montanus,  eleven  in  number,  are  written  with  great  power, 
and  bear  evident  mark  of  a  mind  deeply  imbued  with  political  and  legal  knowledge,  and  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  character  and  condition  of  the  people.    The  spirit  which  breathes  in  these 


234  Letters  from  the  Mountains 


The  want  of  some  sure  vehicle  of  interesting  truths,  has  been  severely  felt,  at  this 
juncture — never  was  there  a  period  when  it  was  more  necessary  to  enlighten  the  public 
mind ;  for  never  was  there  a  period  in  which  the  people  have  been  placed  in  circum- 
stances of  greater  delicacy  and  difficulty.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  who  wishes  well 
to  his  country,  to  contribute  according  to  the  measure  of  his  information  and  talents, 
to  the  work  of  public  instruction.  Imprest  with  this  idea  I  send  you  copies  of  some 
letters  which  have  fallen  into  my  hands  on  the  subject  of  the  present  discontent  in 
Ireland.  They  were  written  by  an  old  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance  to  a  young  friend, 
who  had  requested  his  advice  as  a  guide  for  his  political  conduct.  If  you  think  them 
worth  insertion  in  your  paper,  they  are  at  your  service;  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  have 
contributed,  in  its  infancy  (when  even  mean  assistance  may  be  useful)  to  a  laudable 
undertaking. 

Agricola. 


Letters  from  the  Mountains 


Being  a  series  of  Letters  from  an  old  Man  in  the  Country  to  a  young  Man  in  Dublin; 

issued  by  The  Press. 

October  3,  1797. 

My  dear  Friend, 

You  require  my  sentiments  on  the  situation  of  public  affairs,  at  this  juncture,  and 
my  advice,  as  a  guide  for  your  conduct,  in  this  critical  emergency.  My  advanced  age, 
and  my  sincere  affection  for  you,  might  well  give  me  the  privilege,  did  I  possess  the 
capacity  of  advising  and  most  ready,  indeed,  should  I  be  to  offer,  nay,  to  obtrude  my 
counsels  on  you,  could  I  be  convinced  of  their  producing  a  salutary  effect;  but,  my  dear 
friend,  it  is  now  a  most  awful  task  to  determine  for  oneself,  still  more  awful  it  is  to 
determine  for  another,  on  a  point  which  involves  the  safety  or  perdition  of  every  object 
which  can  be  dear  to  man. 

The  situation  of  Ireland  is  become  critical  in  the  extreme.  The  dreadful  forms  of 
public  disturbance  have  stolen  upon  us,  like  a  thief  in  the  night.  The  horizon  is  blackened 
around  us;  the  island  is  shaken  to  its  centre;  and  fathomless  abysses  seem  hourly  to 
yawn  with  destruction  beneath  our  feet.  At  such  a  season  it  will  be  difficult — difficult 
did  I  say;  it  will  be  impossible  for  any  man  to  remain  neuter — he  must  put  his  hand  to 
the  plough,  and  having  done  it,  he  must  not  look  back.  On  this  choice  of  party,  to  which 
(I  foresee  it)  we  shall  ultimately  be  driven,  will  depend  the  fate  of  the  individual;  and 
on  the  choice  of  the  majority  of  the  people  will  depend  the  fate  of  the  country.  That  you 
may  be  found  among  the  saviours  of  Ireland,  is  the  earnest  wish  of  your  friend.  Con- 
sider the  situation  of  this  kingdom,  the  circumstances  of  other  countries,  and  the  temper 
and  spirit  of  the  times.  Decide  for  yourself  with  all  the  calmness  and  deliberation  that 
the  tempestuous  season  allows;  and  may  God  Almighty  lead  you  to  a  life  of  happiness, 
or  a  death  of  honour. 

While  I  profess  myself  unable  to  give  you  directions  for  the  regulation  of  your 
political  conduct,  you  have  a  right  to  command  my  sentiments  on  the  situation  of  public 
affairs — as  far  as  it  is  safe  or  prudent  to  communicate  an  opinion  on  the  subject.  I  give 
you,  believe  me,  no  small  proof  of  my  friendship,  in  the  dwelling,  for  your  sake,  on  a 
contemplation  so  painful  as  that  of  Irish  affairs.  The  present  harrows  up  the  feelings  of 
a  man  who  loves  his  country;  and  as  to  the  future,  it  requires  no  common  fortitude  to 
meet,  with  eyes  unmoved,  the  long  dreadful  perspective  before  us.  I  shall  be  well  satis- 
fied, however,  to  punish  myself,  if  I  can  be  useful  to  you.    I  shall  give  you  my  thoughts 

letters  is  that  of  a  calm  determination,  an  imperturable  disposition,  a  nature  softened  by  philosophy, 
insensible  to  fear  and  influenced  by  no  sordid  or  selfish  motive.  The  author  of  these  letters  on 
authority  of  the  late  Dr.  McNeven  in  a  statement  to  the  author  (who  ought  to  have  known  the 
person  he  believes  to  have  been  the  writer  of  them  better  than  anybody  else)  was  Thomas  Addis 

Emmet". 


THE  PRE 


Puce  2  d  J 


DUBLIN,  TUESDAT,  OCTOBER  3,  1797. 


[No.  3. 


TO  TH£  CONDUCTORS  OF  THE  PXZS3.  , 

Gt'TLtMtN, 

1  HAVE  rrod  with,  mu>.h  pVaunt,  ll*  Pro! 
ipridi  1  /a..r  f<^e;.  If  yutj  aJhrrr.  10  "utrr 
^lem^-,   uf  conveying  10    y<.ur,  t^dryintn, 

prajudic*,  arid  without 
aSftjaof  wrt.iu  and  ihrrgte,  yp-j  pHl  reiajpeuj* 
rxeeHlfl  aervktlo  /re»W.  T«>w»f^« 
Ofl*»  V#M*  of  intefttli»f  truths,  has  hern  ie- 
V»re»  (fit*  ji  if.'-  junelufj— r*«tr  was  thtiejA 

-'  ppntftl  ~ncn  M  was  more  rvccestJr)  lo  eoliajMcn 
the  public  mind  for  tvei  was  theft  a  period 
in  a I  ■  .'  in*  r     - '■■  1  J     been  i 1  iced  m  cm.  urn 

»«tenuu  d  v        >''^-;  -'-J  Q.ff'u.^/.  ll  !■ 

ir".t        ,  ."''■>-■')  ir.Hi    whoWlthtl  WtU  l»  li-t 

ee«Aii->,  (jtuntnlfurT^corJt.niiouSaiii^^reU 
hit  imVinaiiiMiusri  MHWf.  t«  (he  work  of  public 
InaWuctior)  imprest  with  ihit  idea  t :««d  you 
oapieaof  -  '  !■  ■•>'''  n  hart  fallen  into  my 
Hands,  an  me  jubj*c't  of  fhr  present  discontent! 
jn/VrW  The,  wem wrftlervby  Jn  old  aende- 
Itun  gl  myacouainlanee,  lo  a  young  friend.  who 
■  had  refueled  hit  advice  as  a  guide  for  Mi  poli- 
tical conduit  If  you  think  them  wonh  tDtertion 
re  your  paper,  they  ore  at  your  terrier  1  awl  T 
•hall  be  happy  to  nam-  comrifeutad,  in  in  infancy, 
(whan  even  mean  Aitiilance  may  be  uieful)  ton 
laudable  undertaking. 

AG1UC0LA. 


I^TTt      7KOM  THE  WOIWTaINS. 
jV*/a  recess  *f  Utttri  fttm  «  tU  M*h  im  ih 
C*  - 1  n ;    '0  *  /»«*/  *-'*  *  '*  Duklin. 

LKTTtfR  L 
rL-w  Fr.<»J, 

'    Yij>i  rMlltne  my  urnfirrrnts  «a  (He  tieuatton  nf 

pUolK  St    ■  ii  I  ■     t,    ,-v.rJ  r,,_,  .  4*111, 

•  >  e-iitie  f>r  .  ...  -  ...  .  i  11 in  this  rntieal  emer- 
rwt,    M)  adrao  cd  age.  a  d  my  tintre  arTcc- 

■  eject  tV  yon,  mi*ht  *vclf  give  me  the  privilege, 
i ■■'  I  pnasen  the  capaeirs;  of  adriting-^nd  most 
rejtdy   inderd.  should  *t>e  tojtfre,  nay.  to  ob- 

•trooV  mr«ouoarh  o*  yo«,  woW.l  br  cooe:ncrf  of 
llHiVjpr^uciq^vfl  taWrUry  rffcifl  i  bui',  my  dtar 
1  -  t>  h  -  v  a  ittoM  »Mrfnl  Utk  to  deleft rftn- 
f.n-  -If, '«  .ii  iTi-.rr  awful  u  it  to  determine  btr 
arvtfrtr*.  00  a  point  which  r.s  >'.ci  the  safety  or 
penj;(«n  of  e\efy  object  mhicb  an  be  dear  i-> 

TKa  1.'  ■■<<•■■  *  of  /«W  u  becorot  critical  in 
tnee*l"fe*ne  J^r  rltr.  diul  f«ros  of  public  d.i- 
tuHMnot  hat*  tmlrn  upon  ft,  HJui  a  tbjvf  tn  *hf 
h.ght— Th-  Loruof,  ii  b!ackc3c4  iiouadas— Tre 
r>  i"i  I  'A  lhaken  to  irs  ccivrt  1  a«d  Cuhomless 
abyucs  teem  hoarty  iy  w,ih  dcstTinfttoa 

bvreath  our  be*  At  iucb .« k**o«  ■"M  be 
uuiKul^-d'rTK-Li.i  /id  Iryrf  t*»^  b»iru^*wVa 
for  any  tnsn  >>>  njhwU'nautea^Jia  matt  pilf  bts 
.'.-.•!  m  z1/  ,<■:.'. i  on3  bahng  dojst  aot;  hi  ru^st 
nor  look  bick.  On'thfi  iW«jf  p*"y.  10  *hich 
(i  famare  it1  »e  thai:  ulumtraHy  be  dVrrcn.  *W 
depend  the  fate  of  tbe  individual  t  «ad  on  tke 
choWof  rbr  majority  of  the  ptopW  will  depend 
the  fcfaoftb*  country.  That  v«o  mjy  be  found 
antongthctarioun  of/rr/caa*.  Kibeaarmat  wish 
mf  your  friend  Consider  the  situation  of  this, 
kingdom,  rha  circumstances,  of  other  •ountrief, 
andrfce  temper  and  spirit  of  Ihr  nmei  Decide 
foryountfff.  with  all  the  calmDen  and  deliberaH- 
on  th»r  the  tempettuoui  season  alii 
God  Almighty  lead  you  to  a  life  of"  happiocas,  or 

■  death  of  bonoar. 
While  I'  profett  myself. unahk  to  giee  you  di 

tertians,  for  the  re»JulaHoaaof  your  political  con- 
duct, you  haw  a  right  tp  Ootornoisd  my  tm' 
mentt  un  rbc  s»taar>ion«f  pobtic  affair*— m  far  1 
i  'u  jjfe  oe^mudVstt  tn  communicate  an  opinlou 
on  the  jubjeCl  (  *  you,  bsrlieva>riar,  no  small 
proof  of  my  fnendshjp.  In  the  dwajKng  fcr  your 
aake.  on  a  contemplation  to  painful  at  lhar  of 
Irish  affairs  The  present  h»rrov*i  up  ihr  ferl 
inft  of  a  man  who  loves  his  country  j  and  as  lo 
Ike  future,  it  requires  no  common  fortitude  to 
meet  «i«h  eyes  unmoved  the  Long  dreadful  per- 
tpective before  ut  1  ihalj  be  wdlsatiiitcd,  ho«a>- 
ever,  to  psrflsh  myaHf,  If  tcsyn  be  useful  10  yon. 
Ithall  give  you  my  thoogbtt  On  ike  tttuatioa  of 
the  couwry,  whhoor  pasakwi  and  wMbotn  preju- 
dioti  and  it  it  from  |och  eievitof  tbe  situation  of 
the  country,  taken  at  different  poinU  of  obaervati- 
on.^Tnd  by  different  observer*,  thai  a  considerate 
irui  will  lea/a,  to  rkw  bit  p**t),  and  es*»Wivh 
the  rote  of  bu  poUtifl  cossdott- 

Tnefintremar*  wMch4  would  tuggaat'(t>  yto-i- 
b  ostib*  aatorutbiag  stupor  and  inattention  which 
teem  to  ha««  possati  iha  govemmmu  of  £aropa, 
with  few  exceptions,  and  permeated  tfaem  si.-enj- 
|«sg  to  the  great  rvvol u non .  vrhici:  has  been 
wroofhi  is  tbe  human  character.  .  A  mighty 
tptrtl  n  awakened— tba  teniiii  of  ntiiansi  enquiry 
has  gone  abroad  will)  giant  stfickfrr-ete  ntasches, 

■  ssfirl)  fitwben  In  hit  train,  to  the  cada  of  the 
cas-ttj  Tbii  ts  no  lima  for  ihc  powerful  fnr  to 
wrap  tbensseJvet  up  m  a  false, security,  and 
despise  the  erics,  arid  insult  ibe  fecHngt  of  the 
oppress  and  tujunjd  m*v  Thi*  \  0°  time  to 
bug  m  the  boaom  inveicnta  abuae*  and  nM<nl 
error:  (  to  hoid  eo*c (.mestt.  And  thane  who  ad 
rmn.iierit.  at  Jt  im  df,  the  paeak  govar»ed  at 
awaVag.  The  maxims  of  policy,  woscb  proved 
Bufficient  for  iha  imperfect  lights  of  peat  limes, 
will  be  found  d*lua>?  guides  at  ibis  day.  The 
notiooa.  iha  rnsmssjrt,  tba  koowsedge,  th*  pu 
auirt,  aud  cletnt*  of  men,  has*  tjasaaaatom 
great  and  rapid  cWafti  anal  stupid,  indeed, 
mutt  be  the  admirtittnttiott  whkii  dot*  swat  ada^t 
ill  msMnu  to  the  gnat  rcvelolioo  m  ibe  cbstac 
ters.  reaources.  and  Stan  paw  of  ma*.  This 
proudly  wwak  iisslfisjltoss  lo  ike  cirxuvwaare*  of 
thettmea  has  been  peculiarly  naaervabw.  and  pe- 

t  wfco  * 


cvliarl 


iy  mm 

of  t;o*enjmc^ffU>nd, 


I  have  had  the  care 


aha.  that  aNhoufh  Ireland  is 
digau/ied  with  the  ■aakeof  independw  kingdneo, 

anal  bonuund  byQmtt  Btuaia,  •itktWappello- 


t'wn  of  sislar  country — a  distinction  tee  which,  I 
God  knows,  the  pays  deari*.  mlbe  maintenance 
of  a  luxurious  Court,  and  a  cumbrous  establish 
mcnt,  yet  Ireland,  in  the  opinion  of  many  acute 
obsaewfo,   is.  to  all  iplenia  and  purposes,  m  a 
le  of  provincial  dependence.   }  will  not  pte- 
tend  to  decide  the  question  with  reiped  to  IreUoH, 
>V  fettar  lo  you  should  come  into  the  courfj 
of  justice,  and      pmneuBoad  a  seditioui  libet  by 
Judge  (  but  I  am  tokl  I  may  as  yet  enquire, 
wilnoul  offence  to  the  powers  thai  be.  or  danger 
of  the  tfUer.  what  is  the  difference  b.-.wctn  1 
unlry  ■-../:,  ,  -c,;  -Jcr.i.  nod  •  /rwara. 
In  *  country  ratylla  ttwessendent,  the  laws  and 
pel  1 1  >  originate  witmn  its  own  bo:orn,  and  arc 
calcotated  to  exteod  the  advantages  of  the  staled 
ashether  naroral  or  actjuired,  and  10  recover  Hi 
defedt.    The  system  and  maxim*,  of  govern- 
ment msucb  a  country,  cnniequeinly  ante  frwn 
peculiar  intetntt-    Thjs  is  tht  situation  of  a 
truly  independe-it  Country,  - 

In  a  are**/*'/  the  medal  it  rctfntd — the  rrue 
uteresis  of  t  provincial couatrry  are  perpetually  ta- 
rificed  in  the  mreiexrt,  tic  pnde,  tbe  mean, 
nd  neotha  caprket  of  the  country  cm  which  it 
is  dependent-  The  people  are  supposed  rn cherish 
a  secret  detire  of  f  ■ .  td..m — jr.d  thit  it  imputed  to 
licm  os  (tuilt  To  counteract  the  criminal  Urne- 
ng  after  ancient  independence,  onthepttrtof  the 
>t,verned,  jorernmem  adopu  a  system  nf  arnwrd 
suspicion  and  coisoralcd  liostilil^— efsweV  anat  tub 
>in  a  favouiile  maxim  r  senalny  and 
corruption  ate  induittiously  diffoteej  through  eve- 
ry depanmentof  thcitale,  and  erery  ra-nji  of  to- 
ciety.  and  ore  openly  protested  and  defetided,  at 
the  neoetsary  enginea  or  supports  cf  jrcrvernment. 
Meantime,  a  despotic  oppression  of  ibe  people 
prevail)  1  the  freeborn  and  adrettturous  spirit  it 
banished  1  the  virtuoui  sentiment  it  proscribed, 
and  the  voice  of  truth  rs  silent  t  or,  if  It  should 
bunt  forth,  from  the  )ipi  r»f  rtsdifrsant  nilt«ryt  it 
is  severely  chaslucd,  under  the  dcncolimarion  of 
a  sedMtous  ipirit  .  and  all  tltescrigotirt,  by  wkrch 
the  people  m re  trampled  down  to  the  dutvare, 
justified  on  the  prusciplr  of  expediency,  and  en- 
nobled w  ith  the  pUutsble  oanics  of  O/wravl  mt*- 

It  too  frequently  happens  Jo  dependent  pro- 
vinces, that  the  insolence  and  oppression  of  inctr 
gorenunCnt  growa  to  tach  a  pitch,  as  leareVtov 
the  people  rxo  rEiddla  coursr.betweenabaoluieand' 
miserabU  ilatery  ou  .ihe  one  hand,  openrcsttr- 
■i>cr.  on  the  other.  1  should  be-  *my  <adrcd.  try 
think  thet  such  was  the  smation  of  ;■■!*»  J  — 
H tea  sit  a*«rr  tuch  4  calamitous  state  of  Ihlneit 
hot  the  connexion  bettvaan  G***i- Britain  and  Irt- 
UmJ,  u  a  tie  of  peculiar  dy-oacy;  and  rcoutrea 
w *t  ■  and  1cn*nu  maiuigentrtNt;  it  Utonld  nafer 
be  strained,  wilh  a  rode  unskilful  hand,  least  if 
ifiould  (Welly  pecuon-he  ««xw.  heart  of  InkmJ. 
chill,  aiad  ba^suinb  the  energy  of  her  aiiachmefK 
m  Sriufw,  and  stcrp  rhccirtutaiionof  those  vttal 
principlex,  which  diffutet  health  and  animation, 
thro'  thepoltrieal  franxe.  I  sear- the  fi-  ca- 
binet hat  loo  often  been  led.  soadopr  a  tery  dtf- 
feretr  polity.  «*nta>*  has  been  taught  by  srlfitm 
and  swtrow  connncicial  notions,  to  consider  Ay- 
land,  not  at  the  companion  ofher  protpeHty.  antt 
tbr  pillar  of  her  strength,  but  at  the  rival  of  her 
inclotiry*  and  the  imaderof  her  opulence.  It 
much  10  be  lamented,  tW  .thc.govetntstenrt.'eaT 
tint  roontty,  in  a  long  suck  est  ion,  and  wilh  tew 

?<>-,  rr-..  Ii  iw:  br~.a  i».;",  lv  tiXdi  H  ihrm 
uUt\  idra<  ot  a  certain  foeaigrj  iatntju.  supertaf 
torhat  of  the  counttjtheyare  afipo^pgaifct 
rern.  incompatible  wnf>  \t,  and  iff*  prosecution  of 
whirh,  at  ibey  think,  ought  lone  the  ultttnare' 
object  of  theiradmirttiraiion  Br.r ■■>  t  sc  '.-dui  • 
r  goHtirel  arithmtttc.  -ai^  ihr  only  integral 
figure  or  the  BrimH  empW  ,  trtJaU  ihej'  ccs-' 
title*  at  a  taeret^pfcey,  or  rren  ou  snrne  occa* 
tiom  at  a  negative  qoenniy,  and  oil  rhese  drin- 

ptat  they  htve  conduced  theniselvri  lie  I 
aulted  gartiton,  with'  difficulnr  utain>awniu}  ha 
ttnttoo,  sat)  aupponiaf  istdf  "oy  inroaJi  and.de- 
twedations,  tn  a  hottuV  and  uhaustad  coutV 
"7- 

Whether  each  a  tytsem  prevails  at  triit  cjny. 
it  b  not  for  ro*  'lovoVentiiae,  when  v>c  have 
taken  a  titw  of  iha  thutslton  f  the  country,  yoa 
may  judgt  ^yiwjiaelf  Thorit  formerly  r imed 
appears  from  thr  letlert  of  Parnate  HoeWejj 
tvnouj  mooumeni  of  ihr  r.-irrapt  and  inklalien 
^rrariarernenr,  which  hat  been  crjnsidrrrd 
sound  policy  for  ih^meridain  of  J't/rJ,  and 
athicb  rmnkvO  [W 'ut  a  key  to  the  sef rehj  csf 
Our  prtsoa  hoii«e  Twie  h4tsrrt  potrtica)  brtlate, 
ia  his  cxMetpeeafeacg  wish  thr  Brilish  f^Dbm^r, 
it  fall  of  (omptainV  that  prefermenft  art)  bestuwed 
ost  the  tttatWa.  thai  ibe  vietanre  of  :  '■■■■■■;'<*  lrtv 
bod  ib  neglarted  CeAsram  and  t i e ; f -j r  •  mOQrd, 
•ire  hit  it^'rrtxlamtions  '  f  the  necestiry  of  bt-tioV* 
»t  ibe  presenavnts  of  the  country,  ecde 
judicial  and  military,  on  aliens,  in  order  to  kerb 
up  the  pndorninaaey  of  the  English  rtterttt  k 
wat  then  supposed,  that  a  system  of  gruci-inner* 
tmtttieal  t»  the  peopie,  cosjld  be  managed  only 
mrough  the  hstmention  of  Pore igne*r  Miajalm 
pntitkiasnf  who  thus  thought  f  tr  has  been  dit< 
soeered.  in  nor  more  rnl innrened  dayt, 
ansong  the  rrfdett,  a  tenegado  it  tbe  moat  active 
persecsslor  nf  those  who  had  beer  his  brethren 
fjnh t  an  the  ttnee,t<do  and  perverted"  tnM*rw 
tjecoawes  the  mov  cruel  foe  10  the  Iflieretc  nf  b 
tstfier Bnuntry,  ihe  meat  otmageoutsupporterjof 
w hat  ia, imptvvtcriy  telhrd  ihe  fmgSiA  Interetr  ' 

¥  ram  the  at^lkattonof  thb  pemiciout  rsrle>nf 
-c1?e«wr<waft^%rretfti^trurimrnsinreVif  on  Fn£$tA 
mercery  peer  reded  that  misrhrrtout  ac^hrhy* 
which  has  tssthaetnty  Uiy<ured,  and  oftrn  tpo 
Eoctrtrfully  to  mdaroc  the  tptrir  nf  pany  rag* 
•ad  rdtgauus  aturnotiry,  nbicb  hat  added  ao 
liulc  pa|nancy  to  the  acute  tervte  of-  other  evils, 
that  terr  veaed  and  consorned  this  deene;!  n-«p- 
Iry.  frntcttant  wat  artfully  infUmerl  against 
Catholic,  Catholic  against  Protestant ,  Dirterrtert 


agaitttt  both,  and  they  against  Dissenter*.  The 
Protestant  «/rre«WBaet  became  *  kind  of  rallying 
phi  ear,  a  signal,  le  call  together  the  staunch 
ad  ha  raw  tt  cf  tbe  goeernrnent  patty,  aqd  thote 
hoosn:  but  blgolted  iodividuala,  whs*  attached 
themselves  lo  their  standard  from  dstioicrestcdj 


might  etlsbUh  Ibe  ttoMtsoak  thaw  ike  govern- 
t  of  ihi*  country  has  atnaaat  unlsWrly  pro* 
the  oltitnareand  6f  ill  pot'Cy. 


molivet 
Imifhl 

meot  of  this  country  has  atrnoar  uniformly 
posed  so  ilseif, 

he  maintemncc  ok  an  EtigtiA  Interest  as  «j  ^- 
tly  conlr»^iSJioj[tushfa,  fWacn  the  m.te-rttt  rf 
IrJand,  bya  multirudaof examples,  fTornantwiu 

rrvctdefM  /r>i4  history  ;  bit  the  Otfli_  would'VSi— 
reed  the  cotnpata  of  awr  a>rr»wonndVssce.  .  I  ahelT 
myadf  to  the  p^rind.  'lermg  tthich  Mr. 
r.n  hat  ruled  the  helm  of  the  Atrial  Etnpti  e,— a 
eeriod  Which  will  bediitirseutshe-J  id  the  nnrtsls 
or  mank;nd,  ta  the  rod  of  tine,'  foe  the  tw 

ir.--,v.  .     ttWi  and  gi/amV  rCTolurSOBS  which 

it  Has  produced  1  feaa*  I  Vase  tireVi  you  *»i:h 
tUt  long  lecture.  1  thall' ibr  the  pnsenl  con- 
clude *ai  tuLacA&d  lnytetf,  yeevrs, 

MONTANL5. 


70  THE  EDtrORS  OF  THE  FRESS 

TAKFcnreof  introducing  ao  arlstocmcy  'mo 
r  republic  of  Ltiuri.    Uo  t»r  authutiie  any 
ttindtlon  of  rsmk.  or  any"  ojigyirchy  of  tntlhoc- 
tfiip  in  rhe  mode  of  publication.  Make  oar  of  the 
ryar  -.f  equality    Batiolt'lyand  Ecpiiryaresynuni- 
mouf  terms.    Let  the   compositor*   for  public 
iptstinft  dWrod  i"n»  rha  arena  of  the  press,  in 
the  setf-tame  uriififm  of  typography,  nor  do  yon 
pnte  the jiiaj»nsesK  of  that  public 
by  any  lofinuarlofi  of  the  bJatK  art,  that  here 
.pita!  production,  bur  ihe*e  fcllowtune 
ofiest  comparative  value.    It  ts  901  alwa>*s  tear 
of  Lrturi  ifbtt  vt  ill  be  the  man  of  the  people, 
pt  inter*!  type.U  net'ibe  type  of  good  v/finns;, 
for  he  ran  only  cut  capers  in  MpiraJt,  aod  tnsdea- 
eosrrhy  leaning  letters  to  make  mntsetsst)  frn 
phattcal,    Tbe  jqdicJgnteye'of  the  pdbliC  vj»ill  • 
'  iseirfesujrtjTecngohieiftiai^tmatii  it  Wantt 
nf-^in-ition  from  'he  eompoaitario  tee  vrr<  ;-ih 
add  line*  .n  Sarsfidd.  *0  descry  «  fteaier 
pen  id  hit  friend,  nor  does  H I  rteutre  rtn.it  ii  Jtaa 
no;  wired,  udiicnsee  tn  'b#  letter  of  a  faw.yee 
of  ihe  cVarercof  hoad*,,  one  of  that  bast  of 
besits.    The  manner  declares  ihe  man.  Pursy 
on  r.^iuf  .to  \  eraauUet  diamd  m  the  pUinesi 
nner,  had.  all  h£t  aircndaoft  arnarDtwcd  wijf 
gold  face  and  cut  tcW.    He  appettretJ  the  ma;- 
ffr,  tr.i  ihc  whottl  CQOSt  bis  itrx.ins  vFa-ewei; 
Urine  -I  iyi.fc  yoj  «*"U  du>  the  pnben:  >Ct, 
Uni7^7tsen3,.  \>  t  C  A.  ' 


Odtlo/y 


maiimit  more  rrW  than  this,  ■  Thit  no 
Librrty  cm  tamrr-nhe  Liberty  of  rhePrejaj'  st 
breaihea  a  twul  treo  rhebrSdy^nf  a  people  1  ■tr 
frrm*  their  manners,  oad  by  tea -h  ;  them  thiffr 
dutie;  and  their  right!,'  ami  stan^baatg  thtstt  •.w:h 
the  settiosetta  of  vtroacand  roytUrr,  by-'whltuj 
both  are  moeeofinred,  tnrrnducestheerspirc  yf 
ifnon  pi  im*  flttirfTte  1  It  it  the  vests!  fit*,  up^ 
•he  ptjeseriaui^n  of  «  htch.  the  fa.e  of  tftfiosn  ie- 
pencli  *  and  rbtmrst  pifrehsadl.  ctffciatirg;  for 
the  wfctvleecrnrmiulry,  iftouW  ts  -.r -  -I .  *t.- 
ployed  in sVepla.?  u  tjii'r.  Eat  «  n»V*'  ^  mc" 
kno\-.'er3g*it  ihat  by,*  *>irvey*anJlry  of  Late,  the 
Praat  jn  tint  ha^B0*satl  csuianTyliaebeen  eithe-  ru> 
f'.-rent  (!.-  .i--,rj-' ;  it  hot  be*n  a  cenrlnel  a-'leep 
oft  In  post;  or,  aa  open  drsentr,  aclire  xgaintt' 
tl^peopic'arid  thritcaiK,  in  iheserrktfoflvBich 
st  assVctes}  to  tmlistjteer.  To  ftattW  smd  betray, 
has  beeatttsanfitn'ilie  ytJQirir dfihotc  »Mhnt 
tAn"xriT*pr,prilar  conRflerfte--  Jtr.ney.itid  r»v  ptin- 
ciplry,  km  [Jiev  <>y*\ (  and  n  it, ,  fsot  tcrprni— , 
if  1*  what  v.jis  tcrdi'l  ".t-'j  rnrri-'.-ru'-y  In  the  bt-' 
f  mnittg.  fhonjJd,  Irs  1  he  end,  be  j-ertldinai  .md  r- 
r  ,  \-j  9h  mr  nv  Bst^to  (Id  Vint  beta  tht  «pr«ia- 
ciet*  w  hrOi  haxr  iaaetl  putCt^up  iht|  rt*|t0t%  thar 
c^sccpticitanthuanxluattrtg  trad  dett*;a terry  to  the 
ttsfK  crssraittr  hnt  trcttf;ne>>,  -and  the  best  dispoacjl 
fairn.  vfjth  gnrt'r  rr  j,  w befn  fed'  10  diwbt 
the  cxitreme  rf  a  )Jiar  p.i iriotisriv  unalloyed  by 
any  mixture  of  thar  sdfi£h  pat  noes  1  they  have 
•ex^thri^cuiracooSiCe^t^  irrsill  ihe  cHarms 
of  a  tirttjout  M.rgie*  (bunly  dcgaastntjnj'nnd  no- 
ceUe*fhe^;rivpu;  crti^rt  erf  uSe  eoulitier  befiind 
the  cu(m  iy—  .-  pel.  uSa  isolder  part  of  a  putjlitT 
,  pMStau'e", 

It  ii  oor.r  priipeard  to  esrabllth  1  Ne^i-papn, 
n>  5e  Qefy  korl  unslierably VcwMtd  to  the  penpla  . 
of  IttUaslajU  iht'i  liucii-:t,  under  tht)  nppe!|a- 
rioAol* 

1      * '       THE  PRlJSCr 

t'ot,  uV rentont  befme  toned,  IroOWtreJ  thar 
ntitow  vn:-»-  1..  .!  .••in.i  rj  p...-fers:ov  ^  the 
pcbhxj- 0»avd  he  uTierred,  b-jr  rather,  ituit  tht 
cnldjnDi  of  mt  rtf  si  ftooJd  uemV«ftd  tolpeth 
fcmtbjobxtovaftd  the  print  let  to  ItnW  d«  by 
thtsiaaTBafkeTTrhich  they  ihottld  ntrfold'j  yei  the 
pohsse  t-AHjCttta  mly  0  right  to  be  <«ju  a  1  ru  ed  » 1 1  h 
rbe  irtouwdi  upon  whkb  their  appfobati'>fs  «  t.i- 
Ijched,  ftnd  tsbah  shall  bcsia*ed  in  alt*  wcrrda  ; 


Tu  rrt.rtgu'jh  pa.-ty  jdtuiiintt'Ms  and  inlnaaaKw 
a  crwdial  TJaaoa  of^tk  the  at>«ii.a  »n  ttw  I1.1t, .1 
ol'tohTs<vawa^reaa<Bnwvrwv<ii»fC,  asm  ta  '«  pef« 
mstry  duty,  tss  it  ^thalt  be  the  muevial  tlitnol 
t  m  t^fjiai'to  caff  itttoa^titHi  ail  that  11  n,in*r 
ail  grnerout  in  the  m.ndi  M  Ii^-.mj  1  iiKllv.dii- 
a.iy,  as  a  euro  manna  of  rt^erhstr  ihtnn  colle\v- 
tiiicisr-«  rreatwivt  hhnpr  noiwm  ;  to  cotrimalr  Ihc* 
seecssrfemof  fieroitrh  nod  industry,  which  sire? 
iohenrVtfl  IrteTrVindt,  shall  be  chief  object  ef 
-t*tf  ajnae«lna>*b»stsnTOe^(haae-see:la  lie  plent;- 
ftilty  awtf  deep  in  thar  y,ooS\o\ t  mi.l  lie  it  ifw  lar 
hoe  of  mi  r«»t*\>  ctilthnta  them  tint  it  rhaf 
tfToot  fiirth  moll  ihe  glory  nf  ill  tit  1  art  MM  %  ' 
(v  c^jry  ircbnsl  on  the  teaJr  nf  NDt'.-.n«.  lire!  t» 
^veheran  Impertal  afar  illth#mtrp  cf  £tmi;xri 
m  asam  and  nbmm  her  ii-nn  e;;  *l  I'phts,  *o 
f^srrtlnly  eT|1CTl^c^d'oJ^  bj  Brwtvh  rtsnnoytttv  1 
to  i aculeate  ih  »*  rutxima  nf  eorimMnv  mtu  II-  ■ 
beny.  wtthnaa-«hi<  h  no  nkti'm^nh  bt  o;mrid  n-» 
ropt^ohrt-  wnj  atf  i*te  rtutuVV  Tur  im'uBwiin 
and  the  empToy  M  riur  pc  .pte  in  murn'fv'Li:it..ti' 
and  in cotPinerxe.  m  i>ur  hshrtna  -n-  .  ...  oJv.'V 
Heriet,  those  mines  of  wfmih  c*i  "fnit^iuHw 
pb'cocertthet'-r'— nr  raiher  rtt'.-tn-ja  muvuN 
a^doflmed  tn  cuntinfte  ua*tty^edt;  |e.itiijiin>ii|t"" 
/font  .d" pure  mwnj^iry  ™-wl»-  sinng.  ttprrati"". 
and  n>  rec-  m  erKl _,  r.  «fitlWt>t.ar»**> »  eniisf  vir 
1  ics  '»l  religtnn,  ui  fS^rtwe-**  nfu-h  i  v  itu  fnii» 
3rr  a  mocttery  ewr«ui>  tin  yiM..>(.u«-*' '  [>,•■>■ 
lie  happioett  a  y  rtpMiia  incWfiuV  y<l  "  * 
that,  next  tn  a  lor*  «<l  Ge*i&tvt*4e4t>  of  "Co  ,r  -7 
ahrmM  -traea  a  -phust  in  Aelttitfi  "n  f*cj\*  ai.c1 
finally,  i(  -r  be  «  -t  loo  pr^urrmw  iui.  vt  u  iieo- 
jefl  utiarly,  unptr.dicali[e.  tt  proctitr^  re-hie1* 
in  tfWabujtjiof  goremm»t  t,  athi*h  prtr  crying 
and  manifold :  there  ore  ttreVrcftPtJi  011  winch 
mr  r.i  «  K,\wi'-  cnr/iit(rnct>--.-;fliitM>t.j#  a  lair 
t'tal,  "  .  i  in*;  t!  e  osociejot  of  ha  dVfetftinn,  bt 
the  Itsi.crfitiaautetSTe.'*  A  sjsrem,  ctsch  at  no 
Newt-paper  hat  gone  to  the  expjrrtce  oT-  heretr> 
fo.-r,  hart  beert  adViptcdj  to' procuring  t^e  earliest 
imelhgeoce,"  which  thall  he  tmnortiBlly  gi**n  * 
apankular  aiteminn  shsUl  be  paid  w»  tltedemil  nf 
^domeand  oceuTTtuKaV  tu3Cf*a  fairhfnf  repnrr  given 
c1^e*T*n.*j jt  CprftografVatt^  t-aaporratiimsartd 
eTtcsnjiVnaa,  w^hoiii  the  J»i#Ttetvtsi»n  of  jtsdge  or 
jury,  .Tt  diferrify  scene*  tn  di  me!,  we  jhall 
glea  n  whareeff  marf  be  rr  rer  isBrn  -A  fee  and  omup- 
injr_  in  the  B*fU?  tttffri  j  [bent  vr til  bt  ihe  mote 
re'-Tr:  f-:  -Jii*  gra'itu  Btion  of  our  rode;!  in  the 
rfoivst  of  titapprrfichintr  saitver,  at  thcre  M  00 
ptobtsWttwr  tffltry  dehsrrtr  m  the  Hot-*  r.f  C<t>- 
sst>t^/a«6f  that  hnnnurnWe  Hnure_  it  r..L.  Se 
IvSttertt  tn  trate  the  cr^menr  of  new  petfl  »-a- 
tgresviaj»ctu>d  there  be  trnyy  Hstf  tbfdr*  Mtfl 
the  taaottnt  of  the  nete  twrt,  of  ivhu  h  ire  are 
po«(tvtnTi«re  arft  he  0M  a  fc  - . 

HSR tjeja'^  *rr  ttjvt^triloattod-rheif  tJMt>c- 
t«r>l«J *sVltt  PRf?S  I'fii.hMinVen  'nfftirdit- 
cusslcfl  tjh" Public  StiSJet'lt,'— It  ;will  ouidain  tt» 
dhrrl  8^hw;V  lesVr  ga  ,  e!  *Scu^i.»ty  arc*. 
d/tirrj«icn  tao  per  or  be  odmirted  st  al'ln  m  n: 
came  t  pntaipchatricler  tf«w>r the.  pttteiotia. 
of  civrftnrtery,  wh^^.'^  rn  be  h<d  *.5CT*d  ( 
to  Wlotr  a  man  into  the^clrcle  of"  private  Uro# 
stiuld  be  a  very  unfairand  lWir-MO'^a*!  i'if  tbera> 
are  refxrlla atruxttftx  u»,  rbd'Pt'blic  hnv^  ihn  l.  b- 
toarvirtla-pertf*^'''".  "  That  ihe  m.th?  it|\t-ich 
they'  Cta''],  already  begias;  j^jtT\ffrt)  aboot 
them  j  h  will  fiat  deprive  ■hera-«f  ttinri  »n— 
",t)ica  ■  f  lufe,  ami  the  nex'  galj  dik^ivTaV  my 
'  ttraep  tliem  twny  with  tht  dust' In  vVbVcl/  tiit  y 
1  peroticd" 


f 


•  ts«  tVrtWr*  sajr,  pu  b-  mi-iarr  mfctrt 
1 1  k  ■   ^ -*  v  •  bt  ia  leaanUr  wrw-a. 


A  LETTER  mom  tAKiyijjk  ''. 
th  Antitcr'to  a  Pamphlet  ■.  -p-  o^m  u  bo  written 

Mf  OmUi  FrntO-Stfrhi/m,  f  * 
ComnininfcObtenarions  oh  iheFa^walAd^Uefsof 
7,'t  P.  ±1:  A'*-,  H.  * iG-urtb. 
ll  this  Day  pub! 'tn^d  at  ^o.  4,  Ch urbane, 
"  '  Cillege  peesj  ... 


By  j.  MU0k£.  C  : I-  c. 
THOl  GHT&' 

"    ttOjt uifto  y, 

CREAT-BRlTAtN  nam  rgt-tANQ^ 
aVtsit  tVarstwu  U  natrtt'  #»  tsset '  itrtrr  i 


f  A  M  I  L  V   H  R-K  W.tftVt-V 

tVV  i^ft**/#>a«r.  ■ 

TfiitM  OAltntyis,  ...,,f, .  1.  ijhilu  rha  timr  ti  tn 
rtuvlllMIArl'V'lt    M.-.iti'K'i  AtV\ T  «*•»!  «9 

U'tlAH  Alt.  sua  T#tV.»  ttxritct  *M.IV^^.itfiT  - 
fci,tir«a)>liav  MCvmmOthint  autksnull  raJii,-  trt  i-aViil 

atW«M  itlO«rJ  l.i  ^  aU  r  »jh    l  -r.  t>    «trr— ll- 


a^wtJtCajua.  *> 

at  I*  COAL  OFt'l 

r- r  At.  cn«u.  ■«.- 


■>«■•!.  "'It  r,- '       (.■■"*»  ft  ;  ■ 

Xi»±  Wh.\t*r,  .1  nr.  'M.r.***. 
w  a»kt»  |a|    t  i»  tf  T,  1       .  (    .  Ctaat 

■kajta 


*7  ■ 


The  gre*t«t  inie'eit*  ol  Europe  are  af  rbis  day 
g      agitated   *i  Italy.    W  listevcr  tersca  tu  IMM 
*       Known  (inly,  and  the  men  who  at*  acting  a 
conspicuous  parr  three,  should  be  sought  for 
and  recorded.    A  French  jaunts',  primed  at 
Milan,  entitled  •*  tntmr  wtv*4  ay  fttt  */ 
At/a,'  funrnhc.  us  with  an  article  takulateU 
to  make  ut  berter  acquainted  bath  with  the 
pret-ni  situation  of  Venice,,  ami  the  genius  of 
th*  hero  who  h*s  :tuj      \  Bar  twatiiaat  ■Pw 
iijflhj  ot*  thu  city  h.id  dispatched  M 
Btlonapane,  einirn  Daiaiak.    the  lolbwtog  n 
the  acconm  winch  Oa.HMo  gave  to  the  nw.ii- 
cipulity  of  one  of  his  tmerviewj  with  the  de 
li.enrr  of  Italy.  .  - 

"  lipoke  10  tin?  0<AeralcoDCevt>»(  iba  UHapi- 
if''*  ■  l  of  ibie  sorts  of  iimrxrdestiiwa  rbr 

rtic  service  of  the  navy  He  dutpproved  of  thai 
practice,  (ratified  much  tanirest  nttperitag  th* 
subject,  and  assured  me  i  u  as  Uduwi  he  would 
give  ordtxs  "ds/th  thauld  be»rupuWJyru[MC«- 

-v-   I:,,:    !  i.-.r  Ujilt-rjifK'ni    I  iki.iWjU.i 

tae  saoject 

"  1  spoke  to  hloa  *f  AoVan,  vehtdi  ha»  inr 
fevm  considered  a*  *n  wearal  ■  oars  oTihe  4t- 
:  Y"  '-  3  -  ^'r--''1  1 J  >J-'1  J  :i"  d»- 
prfrtroeat  of  Padua  Ht  tr^ihsdj  his  jiurprwc  at 
this,  *iiv:vj  Central  Borj^ucy  -l  '■'  ■ 
decided  jui  it  bAuuld  be  aimed  to  oua~  <Je- 
part .-.  er_  J  "J 

"  1  submitted  to.  niro^h*  invpus.lbilii/  wa 
were  anoor  o*  atming  wtrJi  frreugua*.  as  he  had 
ternjtrad,  rhe  five  amp*  wibtth  we  ure  ra  furnish 
him.  Ha  cantoned  that  they  should  be  armed 
Italy  v  . ..  im  gens,  aod  ••*«■  then  anruincot 
should  Be  uropk  -d  ->uji  twuaaouea. 

**  1  aaked  htm,  wtth  the  {raaifcncss  of  •  Re- 
BMbsMa  speaking  to  a  RcpubTrcaa.  whether  the 
(  3ireeier/  hadiuojanted  ut dvr  otxupyin*  -if  Ijjoj 
and  Daimaru  3y  the  A*.un.  He  J 
ma,  m  i  aad  sal  imuted  on  this  point,  he  t- 
?eaued  «  la  me  so  possnvely  tint  1  mm  caauaj  j-rr- 
fUtawd.  He  i|  -«atto<nrd  rat  lorxeioiiij;  the  faff 
rsjrirson  i  those  provinces,  the  faculty  of  i  j-  ; 
Xuaby  a  !anJsnj,  sud  told  im  to  brin*,  huu  cm. 
'  «a»o\;raari>eul  aupe  ot  the  ooootry. 

'•  I  vt/araoad  Cot)  ilsaa  Use  people  of  lt:tia 
were  vary  ardent  to  be  Irtr.  aad  . .  -  ■  -.cd  ■.  r 
'Vaaacti  -h-  ScKs*oaiaea  oJ  the  c>«itti  were 
very  diaaaaaarred  «'-ft  tha  Aastriajn.  aad  ifaaM 
dt*  oj'iu  utnuai  of  the  Albucie  ^oitid  repel 
Our  enemy  nrkna^l  ua  /wee. 

■•  1  did  nor  C>rgei  to  ipcoJt  n  him  corawtming 
Ae  mu:3jets  oi  »h*.'hour  Naiifwl  Uoards  are 
'»'.r  tie  aw.\ersd  asa,  tnat  Venice  waa 
toe-juip  wrtii  a  )  spetd  thfee  bwialioaa  of  the 
"■" .  to  cnrnpiefe  the  eiyhteeo,  oc  tfaeieabou'S, 
to  be  lumished  by  our  Oreihrea  of  Italy  ,  tnat 
irmer  thousand  tu  >^  ut  arPAawcMldbe  te*pinnc 
/wilt*  p-jtpo*i,  uTvlt.iat  we  im&Ui  Ueesy  dis- 
pOK  of  ■  .i-  Tctaouider. 

"  1  spclte  to  him  of  the  foajbewMW  amooua- 
Ctd  b,  out  co«njnisst>n  a^raimi  •onar  K«ii'y  prr- 
soet,  and  wfc>  h  meer  wuh  oVtticiaiuB  i«  IMtif 
*aKM«N  Ob  the  part  ai  the  eaajauiaian  wsotii^ 
of  tlic  other  aaajsnrrw aff-w*'  rhe>  Bf-*n*y  a 
csmmmar,  cottipotrd  ol  alt  CH>  ckauim 
*  ea*  rhcex  VeemkM  We.  to.isn.te  m  ddserefsttJe- 
Mmrsenn,  to  i  nwldy  a  rStiuiand  evils,  a.<d  nf> 
loTtB  a  MsaaVr  «r  particisUr  adroiotvrrations, 
•rh«e  opera  ttom  are  *e*yv»p#7>uTt,  and  ot  little 
utility.  Hea»-.ar*d  m*  •!  hh  enorr  t».  anu  to 
all  t£es»  caearam,  ar»d  « rv.r  in  a  tew  days  i 
abocsd  re*  tfte  wbolapui  uiejoreutioti. 

"  f  msenaatd  htm  of  ds»  us*  w*  had  sstaaW  of 
.  the  rron  mical.  poliucat  aasd  auewawai  il  picture 
of  Venice,  t  j)t  happy  rnuli  tabids  il  offartd,  aod 
ihe  publication  tv»  «eeff  goissfl  to  fHaw  al  b>— 
Hm  incmed^asety  ashed  me  tor  a  cap/  ot  h,  assd 
pronkised  me  to- read  it  wkh  fsaat  iitssalajsj. 

- ;  His  tar  ruga  waa  ready  i  bv  east  fvMSa;  to  art 
out.  when,  after  >a*inj  rtxnened  •*  aowr  aatj 
a  half,  ho  tjueariuestd  rac  t|aio  coaceraiag  the 
pucrue  t)i*rK  whsch  prrraiSad  as  Vrskt.  4  pa- 
mor.x  axurry,'  w«4l  lOtrnOo/tad,  tsad  diftuatrc 
Fc^iM.-nrc-*^)--*  Ctvk  tAearra.  w«U«jar.*d. 
rrrspirinjU'TrnocraiK  twtsTsanta-  uasjir  the  rax  at 
pWun — one  puuUt  liirtags  daily 
the  aeoptr  for : hrtr  tnas Tv**r*4U,  ttur'^^zrv  *» 
am  mart:  us  nlt^^bti^  aasd  i,  a  whar  fatably  o> 
Tthset thrcotanmr,  andtrnewaiuc  MilWtdaya 
est  m   (  I-).-  p 

Al/i^.V,  Sift.  8- 
The  pcctpleof  UCOa,  i.r-dnj  iJ>*t  tbe  Tmndt 
I  UJ]UlliOa»JU  had  rropoaed  a.  melsary  Coarfl- 
l>v"  'i,  4&od  thrsa  w dab  (Key  war*  aos  ssbuj  to 
pa  .  aetu  dep-mri  to  audte  rrpresevtaj  i-o  ul  ia«v 
CaKtoltaOsuparie.  The  frtxrJ  advises)  rtiera 
as>»nl  aha  ptrtirrty  wfV|K  Ch  jrrh,  a.td  upplj  it  so 
tike  .'n  .  ,r  .f  iiv  f,M';i,u„w  '*  Jiiu,"  otV 
aertvd  ibc  oepunc-  ••  who  *dl  vrnrare  ao  parr- 
ejwat  f<i  pr>)<r>jl  thi  protisjutul  aami. 

aiatlaaon  -J^e  upo^  rt>*ra<<l>*i  K>  preuOe  ji  that 
e*g  •aeatsreje  jrs  ralK^ry ..»  —  «• 
,U>tr*u~  Said  BuosBparro,  -  /  >_  tw$mUf 
WaaissV /Va»."*  i  be  iaierree.  freao  tbaa  as- 

tmsn  c,  tbW  th«  r  n-B^i  ^narnjneTar  has  dnrr- 
mjaed  or*t  tetcrdo  any  part  uf  jtV  arnra  hrsssa  of 
Venue  *>  the  tr  "-CAiasaa^and  rhat  trafrt> 
torr  rhe  ra-eornmrrv  /tnent  ot  h  a1U1t.es  is  inevi- 
table, .if  the  cabinet  of  Victual  persiua  ia  its 
oaisaa, 

A  rraodatlonrif  laW  "Wott  rtf  the>  riiiaert  S«i 
reillrere  Lepeaox.  oil  '  liberty  of  vronhip,  hal 
juat  been  p.b,uh#d  aero.,  A  -wVTBlari'<n  of  T. 
Paim'i  r.  -aa  ■■  ■■■    if-    Both  ibeae) 

-  ,rii  ■■  arad  with  gtant  alvidiry  by  aU  the 
frirnda  of  liberty  and  aoanu  phitoaopliy. 

Tie  Ctiolptr.?  rvptWtc'  bf  jiro  to  es read  in  po- 
»litic.-.l  real  from  be  vend,  iealjt,. .  Oar  direc't'rry 
haveV4pp->irtT  d-niitfn  CaVMio,  of  Berpmo, 
admirer  <o  tne  court  ot  Spata, 

Tbe «d<*  '  -  Cja*awi  _  a  aa>  htaa  as aecratary 
of  (t,-  eenbrii)'  Ano:ner  ad*o^t*  Macjrani  is 
aprrtiajed  rriiniaoei  pl^tpotctttiaryco'tha  coarr  '6T 
Tttacaoy.  It  is  no:  a^rpnsiasthar  in  n«r  rcpubivC 
tha  adtnejtas  perform  a  pViiicipaJ  fart,  borh  la 
far  in-erv-rarid  in  forei^a  trutanaw.  Ihisclaisis 
ner*.  aj  rn  asmt  orlier  t  warMt,  compnat  j  of  it- 
pint!  enligjucned  fitKr,*  Tbey  ««<j  that  first 
and  the  mm'  ardct  pt«pe?j, of  ih«  laTll1uiiu 
u:   pnixiplci  ianhidtucsro  icdirbtod  tor  daa 


rn,*-  -  -  eve,    Tfttay  lata,  rWctVx,  tla  aaV 

ngh"  10  our  cmfidcn.t. 

FSRRMR4,  Accuit  19, 

Before  Gerarral  Hu  asapane  soi  otf  far  Udica, 
he  voncd  the  Uiracloty  of  o»r  tpoNic  at  Mibn. 
to  idfona  theta  ed  tb«  objaA  of  im  joutney.  and 
t  <  n^ccMnitsrsd  the  inatrests  of  the  Couarry  10 
tKeir  c^iBkdarsnoa.  Wc  uidaracaad  that  'he 
mernbei  of  Ose  diredtory  wart  *«ry  w«tl  satijiad 
vtirh  th*  aaaiteauta  whsah  taa  comrnauleT  in 
chief  made  to  ih*-n  ;  but  we  have  sot  laamed, 
that  \c  said  any  ibing  pnutiie  apirm  the  «aaa- 
auance  of  the  war. 

We  ate  assured  that  the  temtttie*  of  Bretrino 
and  Mantua,  are  to  or  depart. of  the  Cisal- 
pine rcpnblic.  We  also  cpcH  that  Venice  will 
be  -i  .-it  1  3  -rr-  ro  the  wnhea  of  its 
iithabirarrrs.  We  entertain  no  fear*  with  regard 
to  ihe  comeetoencrs  of  ihe  hosttlifea  which  sorer 
evpert  will  recornmeace  1'br  Kmx-b  army  is 
rs  ihr  best  pnu.ble  eonditlnn.  and  iratlistxtirinai 
are  inoar  ror.^ntc.  If  ne.Trasry,  it  will  b; 
|»md  by  10.000  V'c-lin  ,n  . 4 &jo Genoese,  aad 
locsoo  Ctsatptars,  all  newly  raised  troops,  bat 
full  of  ardaHii  aid  outage 

The  ex  Jeauir;  have  brnn  all  proeisioml:y  do- 
pnted  of  their  pemNxu.  They  arc  etmoesled 
toapprar  bdorethc  -najisira'rt.  and  (ire  in'thrir 
oamrs,  ibriraeent  and thair emploj-ment* 

TJse  directory  hr»fe  raquinrO  an  c»a-"t  asxauui 
of  All  the  mooas  tad  aaaa,  a  ad  even  tie  tnullrtr 
batienca-i  It  appeors  that  all  the  capeenr  and 
pru-ipally  thaec  of  the  Men  tcants,  are  ui<on  the 
e .*  of  j  re •  Jutk'"  :  and  nsaay  toandeatf /  ttaie, 
that  befoa;  the  cad  of  OAaber,  all  these  etta«Jwh. 
t  ■  r-  wilr  '  j  •    -ir.  [OCXitr. 

The  wtshaa  of  people  here,  relative  so  peaee, 
are  divided  aceordatg  to  tk«r  pointcal  tentirrtean. 
It  who  parfcr  rheir  ow  a  tranquillity  to  the 
cttablishovent  ->f  the  a'e  carmt  m  wish- 

ing that  the  war  sliauld  reaae  .  but  its  catrinua- 
laM  is  dViirrd  by  all  time  whn  tk  it  nr. rasa ry 
t0((h4  cneuolidai nu  of  our  republic,  to  git*  it  a 

i»  t-  ■  ■  r  ■  c.1,10  ,  ■>!  tcrriaary,  and  to  streagtb- 
en  the  public  mind. 

HQME.  Avcorr  16. 

The  trials  of  the  c wt j>i rators  ptoCaed  wry 
•tnwly.    More  .1  arearraatad,  but  1  hey  arc 

nor  treated  with  [he  rigour  whsch  ourgu«ernment 
has  been  a_  .  ■ .  '  \t  praclkw  ia  inm-i-  casat 
When  General  "..  ■■<  amvrd.  it  was  eapertrd 
that  Buonaparte  had  taat  him  tu  deinsiad  the  n. 
brrty  of  all  the  pruuatrt.  The  C*ai'.  how«ict, 
hat  ■■■■  -  "■'•■'C  th-4  coajatflure.  The nrrd'i- 
rtonists  of  rhrt  city,  cemplam  that  tha  FrnxS 
miQaaerCacauit  d>d  not  tatmeda  uataalf  favuor , 

but  the  frieeda  of  the  ij  am  ant  axrol  hi*  coa- 

do/l,  aod  fear  1>e  will  am  be  raptaccd  by  a  pe*v  a 
to  moch  ro  their  likitur.  He  hat  bata  presented 
with  a  fine  Macaw  nchint,  which  hauurnda  to 
•end  to  the  Municipality  of  Ntarx. 


L  O  N  D  O   V— »i » 


1  J> 


the  : 


9r.rn*  V  the  morausj;  papers  have  _ 
rhat  Mr.  Vic*  was  vent  box*,  frcm  Fritter  with 
aa  Intimavlaa,  that  the  awieay  of  the  Frrsvh 
CCTTteaaasiirirra  or  the  rfiracVry  so  ike  darpa ichei 
ivah  wfuch  earr  aaeaaeeayrr  wx§  charged,  ataald 
be  am  ro  Oaear  by  a  Krewh  caorler.  We  oe- 
lirve  r«  the  contrary ,>>4t  the  aiitaantji  «rh*rb  ap- 
peared ia  the  Ccauirr  of  jreaserday,  erat  prrfceeli/ 
t'cvaart,  aad  that  the  dat.attrtc  asstm  at  of  ti>- 
Frerxh  coznanUaasMaeaa  Isaaaht  ro  cowa  by  air. 
Vkk*  frare,  that  saw  mi  el  asm  co«M  antyaa 
apcard  tu  the  9aab  af  a  retdearieaj  «sf  all  caar 
QaCKs.  A  1  rjr.n-u  1  ion  «n  thi*  astbftcH,  sac  aa> 
cterttand,  aria  >  pabiahed  ettbar  ta*usorr^w  at 
ao  Morday. 

The  Ssoeln.  natch  seoo  sf.c  tha  ecarolag  af 
yaaiuaay.  stU  one  per  caat  exsv- 
beiorf  the  dm*,  a  sadden  row,  aad 
rhe  3  par  caat.  Consols  left  off  at  49.4  iyr  ihe 
LX.i<xjrr  actnuof  Tha  morning.  h  >-t>er.  thry 
agaaakU  The  prks,  sraea tisw  paaer  was  pea 
so  paau,  was  «l  - 

Wc  Ttened  tSu  morniot,  the  Bruaaab  paptn 
af.hraj.b-aa.nl.  ^ 
IntaeGaartaso/  that  j6uS.  anotKaTuHrn.lv 
the  Right  Hoa.  Maavy  t\4disajtoa,  .prUar  or  ah* 
hoaac  of  t'ltaiiia,  ra  psrasaaca  .4  an  a  ft  af 
tha  but  msana  at  pnrlaasssasa,  thru  the  Dirtflac* 
af  rise  Bast*  -  *aaaa  aj  l| T  ajj  If  caia  w  aW 
aaaaoaxa  af  1  he  dona  m  naw  at  ritr^jhr  10a,  and 
ahacb  ha««  petnstamard  a:  the  Tower.* 

CWoarai  La  Fayene  oad  h«j  taraparar^aa  waa* 
rtCenacd  from  ooarionnean  eo  she  i7tb  of  a\*£ast. 
—Tauae  diredtor>,  aarl  cH-efly  n  a  Wner  tram 
Bsaaaan  aoocurparrr  ihe  tr^jd  N  rodrbted  t#> 
ah*  ijiaiaaj  ashidh  have  rwteited  uataa  ralUoi 
aaaa  ftaaa  aha  r»  aaatrwaf  QJasarj. 

A  hvrav  flues  Saahn,  ef  'he  is>  bara  nsaar  ca* 
fa>  tstraoidhsavy  eataaa  of  a  Nrapil.tan  r>a7.n«. 
af  jt  guaa,  h*orn  tr*«  Taamaa  e^Urvs.  off  the 
bsVad  vf  hardinu,  as,  under  fcvoor  of  a  brew, 
and  by  a  sodden  sa*4  caaae  by  she  litgaac  at  the 
tratarn  tae  gaJleys  warm  earning  djcr*n  a>oaafd 
h»r,  ihey  «rt  tbraatas  aaaa  po«b  eatnhaaayn.  that 
aary  awrof  .hem  smn*|  ante  wlay  akhgide  ihe 
(rigate,  the  rough  rrea-oscaa-  it  •aorivad  irtduatd 
the  ca  to  .ibaiasaan  tha  tanrpssaa.  afntr  loaing  1 
a  mber  at  men,  aaanajj  the  hm  raury  in  rha 
baCreU  rf  the  Neapajnaaa. 

1  ha  Dutch  troops,  tfriitaa bathed  from  ih*  rr»m- 
pati«  s*  tha  Texai.  are  oat  seat  aach  ra  tha  ca-- 
Htoos,  but  dijrrtbutad  rn  caitroarncn  1  rn  Ttitm- 
land.  Ac 

The  ships  which  rhe  Sun'ards  expected  from 
South  Arnrrka  and  the  rh<  tpp.nt  Islands,  wwh 
1  Is. rnaiooaa  of  paaatraa  on  beard,  are  ajrtivrd  at 
Tenetifft.  Adm  N<-isr.r>  1  squadron,  if  4  added, 
an?  gone  to  Gibraltar  t<v  refi' 

r-ats-ooTK,  i.v  m.— Sailed  rifts .dar,  the 
Scraa  Pareil,  to  ja-n  ihe  flan  of  Lord  Bridport  1 
but  there  bnng  Utiles  or  aw  abad.  ahr  it  cartiiaf 
iniaSt.  Helen \  in  bnng'up  Re  the  d^ftt.  The 
"ronipta  Ingare,  and  the  fleet  ander  her  cor.voy, 
thisthiy  (rrt  under  "eijb  froen  Bpu Sead,  Srokev- 
b3y,*c.  aajrld-opt  dm*n  ro  Sr  Heira  t 

Hj--.it'-  Lhtii  Srpt  1-  —  Lrsr  rfeaing  a-* 
nvad  the  Sm»  of  it  jwn*.  C-pt.Vr.iSK,  asch  a 
Dntch  tbip  iitsdrr  French  coh>'jr\  Irosh  Atru'rr- 
datn,  b.ni nd  to  Brest,  ladrfi  «  ufa  ima.  naej.  ba'- 
trr.  cheese,  Ore  Arr.iad  alanine  IV  abiiir  href  -f 
14  guest.  Cap*  James  Draw.  w«d>a  tosaay  tor 
tl»t  AVettward,  Sailed  the  O-spmari  tsf  14  gwtu, 
Capt,  Keen,  wnh  a  cccvo)-  for  M.ilntd.  e  :^  ih  s 
day,    !-(,   ■■  ^  gyns,  C-ptttti  Bytg.Huad 

Sas«»i  II,  Ctpt.  VorVe. 


TeTft-mNCH  RmTSLlC 

t  V  <tfc-tt 4rry     thi  Arm;  ,f  «A|  JaauVr  tni  Afraw, 

se  the  £**fuirw  Dirtdifj 
lla^-ekartanat  VTcuii*,,  ^r-,  an  ,,»,_ (  a  m 
Cmsrm  D tract orr.  _ 

The  oe-.vi-  vr toe h  1  bavre  to.  aatsoance  to  yaa 
raaat  affli ''  tvefy  fnend  10  the  ret^ibuc.  Gtttnrl 
H-Khr.  Wuose  health  hat  for  some  rime  bean  in> 
jired  by  farig^eand  labotjr,- expired  in  my  ante 
alter  a  crisis  of  six  hours.  This  iiaaxpathed  -lean 
sitp-i-ei  C'*rrorner.:  of  one  ot  its  max  eaasous 
datrnders,  at|d  Uaves  tbe  amy  saiihoot  a  com- 
-^a  .■-*.  Until  you  shall  have  given  orders  re»- 
pecling  hb  successoi'.  General  Leiabvre,  the  asOH 
anriem  General  of  Oitiston,  will  rake  rhr  CTSfo- 
mind.  tdy  pen  refajes  ro  writo  any  snore.  4 
mourn  tor  him  ai  a  brother  end.  a  friends  the 
cewntry  oughr  to  mourn  for  him  at  oar  of  hi  rcow 
firm  supporters. 

fS'g*rdJ  DFRBU-C, 

tt$    C»-*taJrr  rr    Ck  tf  »/  ih,    ArHMr-J  ./  ttr 

Army  ,f  ,K  aaw^rt  end  /araw,  U  tftt  ' 
Oil*  Aon, 


I 


1  this 


d  End 


msdtt  of  a  family  in  afllirer  >n.  und  .  tuuld  there- 
fore gt'C  you  no  acroeuv.  >f  tha  nrcumstaa>ea 
<*bieh,ha*e^lflprived       r.  ■      wh-m  rtWhi 

Gifted  wnh-a  strong      !  t  -i 

thna;h  wish  ao  earraordiaary  trmibtHty  of  aarrrs\ 
iwneral  Hochreatprricaced  omy  lively  md  ardrtw 
seoamons  The  least  senttrneoi  erftftlrd  aim  be 
yonde.prrision:  rhe  teaaiui ion  only  srrved  fodia* 
puyv  this  dnposuioa  to  a  grealer  vartettton 

Thrown  oa-a  wide  ihraire,  Hoehe  has  enji- 
rjtoyed  all  h<s  faculties  in  fill  with  dignity  the  part 
Arfnch  he  was  to  play,  and  he  employed  rhrm  ro 
the  Dtrrvsw  #a»rnt  The  miifonunss  «|<K  ha 
evrwrianoad  ditting  has  n  .r.tonwent  undar  the 
retgo  of  Robaip<erre(  'br  rxnaardtan^  fctigaei 
whtchlwtoohrnthrdepartmant'of  the  West,  ia 
pacify  chat  on*  wry  t  the  bad  tucern  lure/ 
Dcdrtwa  agaimr  Iresaad.  and  the  dangm  rvKkh 
ae  ran  by  ara  i  crsttacrasatton  brought  sgatrat  ama 
issthe  nati-eial  rnoursf  by  ibe  tale  toripfratprs, 
the  srdawr  wrrh  which  he  ORrmpted  to  overt hr->w 
rhjowMllrhrsr  r<rrAitrann^crenbined,eai|atiaTed 
b«  smanfih,  aod  abour  a  mnaih  agn revived,  with 
dtrmuq  lymamrru  a  cold,  and  l  catnttrnm:  in 
<  a  breaor.  wh«  h  ht  '  ad  il  1  J/  n^rt  rud  at 
Bam.  but  rvhwb  he  ^  !  to  ■  m>».h  ner  'afl*d.  All 
•he  a»  La  sb*  nf  an  wa  » In-fle^oa,  to  sare  him. 

For  te-en  ur  aurbt  dsh'i  lie  exptv.ni  ed  from 
tirrw  to  rnrr  fin  of  s^Vwatioa,  which  parsad  uaT 
wrfc  czcaading  drnaTok  tod  onfloQinsoo  agony  1 
rastmalletr  motl  at  produrrdihtae  nr»  VVftet- 
day.  about  ten  in  rha  ctanowg.  ■*>#»  having  nasied 
a  rosorabhr  cahn  day,  aad  haviaf  etm  apulird  ro 
awnabus'av-a,  his  i" fterragv  went  red.  bird,  a 
drttadfal  fit  nf  auftocatioss  fioh  from  bins  the  oaa 
of  haaeawas,  aad  after  lixboanof  iadesmbable 
agony,  he  oepired  ta  my  arms.  Ho  body  *  LU 
ha-t  sjavd  »o  aansanw.  ia  order  to  dm  my  there- 
port  eg  r>rtswartoa\  nf  ha  V'***  br*»  ajostowed 
Ossrheday  a  her  leHsarsw,  hr  thaH  be  wrv  iWan 
Wecalaar  -eh  art  due  awraa.  sa  ae  carrfrd  to 
Cobwrax,  nhaaa  ha  wOlba  hssvitad  by  fhe  side 
Of  Gan.  aaawrtjsw  m  rha  tort  of  fllliliish. 
hWabhawu  raspar, 

TVlWrlW,,  hsiita«d  ,f  sfW  dea.h 
^  Grnenvl  fineaw.  O  audit  did?  af  rha 
vrvawv  of  ehs  1 1  aal  '1  and  Mraatr,  aad]  af  if* 
BaWand  aaaa***.  who  died  Weatawr*.  ,h* 
aaeh  taat  as  iba  sash  year«f  hts  saw-,  order  rhw 
rhere  ihall  he  a  taavrfaf  cswtaawy  :c  the  LhauvO 
da  Mars  oa  Daeaav  mtp. 

Tha  Miasssar  of  Warsndaf  the  la-rtior  ssWl 
entajahasl  "ha  maaasf  at  camrajg  ipirsaeneisxa< 
laaa,  aarl  srauj  preset*  this  plan  u>  «hd  Dhar  ory. 

Tha  parsaat  order  aholl  be  primed  aad  pcatad 


ra/aWty 
Tha  taao'fhrr  r>tajAory  orders.  tk«t  Antrrrac, 
Osuxads  al  Uaas»a\  la  apparrrd  <  ornmaaoV  ia 
Chat  af  Uw  awaas  af  she  Kansa  -ni  t.soaaile,  and 


TnaMllsaiil  of  War  is  ■rasnm.a'ur.ed  to  exa 
assaj  ajaj  prasa^t  order,  wha.!i  ihaJ. or  print rej 
CSurmd) 

R  LEPWLX  Pns4eat. 
JUOABflt .  arc.  U-n 

MiH  hahoajio  \ 

Tha  tutSoua  ar  «sr  4  takaa  roeat  die  ttepLOiscaia 

CraacvMs  1 

Clsusaa Carfcrjanm,  Hydraulic  La^m**-,  wrote, 
anrne  moot  In  ago,  ihe  lolUw  ing  i»"t  r  so  GeswaJ 
rjitooaparw  —The  auiL>r  davaaas  us  ro  putt  ah 
h  1  and  nw  a»  of  opiatoo  that  J  wsll  faesstsarm 
eacaa  mneh  arriosjiy 

**  Ta  Ctctaaa  4m  saSar sr.  CaaaW  ia  Ct-/  »/  aaV 
M**j»f  a*a> 
•  Civt.-t  m  outlast,; 

**  Your  giarin's  eompaigna,  dire^ed  by  the 
new  gote^auarru  of  >svi  a**tavah  ftepwolk,  have 
at  wngih  ipraad  ih*  dawn  A  a  geaeral  peace  owar 
our  Com  water. 

"  'I  lw  only  enemy  "fcwh  rarnauas  far  you  to 
crjnsbst,  daafavtwed  Iratn  ua  by  inaara.  risstsss, 
in  'he  wise  naan.  ea  which  ynd  hare  btgaa, 
ihe  v  jrh  of  a  Gun  rienat  .pea^r  ,  and  then  cuasv* 
Jtvl  repose  yourself  saw  Stir  atnxMig  us-  uasaer  your 
lai  taw.  \w  -ifiW+w.*  wt«n  paaswa rhe Km- 
ruraraj  state  ot  the  ana,  ir>ssdl  yon  hav*  the- 
rtOttd  from  your  ushsney',  and  of  which  ynu  are 
a  r.all  brhwed  popil.  Yoar  aauUipiied  corsasirwi 
r  1  nexoverrd,  thnn  It  m  that  abyaa  into  whkh 
dr-^iurtite  trstf  hsal  plunged  ihfea.  The  Mm 
who  addretaea  y<io,  hlled  artth  the  rauat  tnaty 
Cradudr.  wffl  ertd,  if  tbe  rnrnas  ol  eaax-.tion 
Ea  wtewM  him.  a  aaaj  o,  whrnce,  at  the 
cendiuston  of  hit  ■  --■  ■>  taetr  will  aaatf  an 
teasel,  cipnole  of  trirrytfif  up  with  you 
moor  thao  two  hundred  ptriacri,  aad  tvhich  1  ay 
br  dirrrteri  to  any  pornt  of  the  corapoas.  1  my* 
sell  iv  ■  Oe  your  pum  Vou  can  tbaa,  wirhnuc 
any  tVnper.  h..trr  -bo»e  ibc  fleets  of  ena.i.iat 
jmlocs  -if  our  ha;-;.. :■  1  asd  tiwndar  ftgainrt 
•Sem  lire  a  saar.  JiffsisvA  tnrraly  by  throwing 
p?rponcUrolar!y  downward^  fiie-brandsmade  ot  a 
lubt-ame  vh.^h  vOl  W.ndi-ot-v  by  the  contact 
m.  [arcu'.sraii  as  tha  rnr!  nf  th)  CtU,  bur  arhtrb  it 
h  id  be  1  1  nsstnMe  iu  r*t:n*u:aS  -  at  ptdupa  yoo 
r,  ay  >h.rV  ii  mote  prutirnt  r»  b*g\r.  tt  oner  by 
ffcang  tS?  B/iiuh  Caiiinrt  kvWpirujarr,  ahioh 
you  irsp)  caadj  d", 


mens)  town  rtf  tnglcnri.  sSotftTba 
I  hate  made,  1  ana  conusant  tha? 
a.hine,  you  naa.go  fronTlSrai  j* 
d  return  o*  k  again  .0  Paris,  ha  aW  | 


po-.-er  to  tit  n^aa  tit  caty  of  tr)t>e>am,  of  to 

oi  'he  narrmcntf 

colrolarl  ins  I 
wirh  ihutrui 
L  indno,  and 

■BO-irt,  ^virhuu^^eWtJdlng. 

The  prrvad  of  tins  err^fprise.  if  ray  hv^bU- 
vraac  caa  >  bea/d.  it  aot  tar  Ci-.raat.  A  iZww' 
caarpai^n  stcmid  basuhVirnr  to  reastsa  abe  wfcrin 
of  my  pl>a.  Deign,  then,  rO.^Btraota  its  ataa. 
eution,  b/-ywreari*wrJenra;  wia>  rha  Kmr*- 
r r.e  O.re.fnry  nf  tor  Fnaxli  reuedsltc  I  f  hr>* 
y«  n«c!r  sot  propyl  t-»  'he  Co  mxaw..ui,  g*, 
ca  etc  it  «  on  Id  rt  asire  oad  m '  I  If  >n  rg  catty  rfanaagea 
thtspr.  ,-ecH  edWlttelly.  and  the  e.peaon  of  raa 
\*ar  fia^e  hitiamo  t>vbe4  rbe  ^rfcotr  of  4»  r»». 
veooerot  Franre. 

"  Tbe  objed)  i  pr^m  at.  to  etaeUrsa,  hj  -h* 
grnr  ocr^n  ^1  the  artn^paart.  a  aaaatal  wrvi 
lion.  iarn  rr|y  most?  certain  and  snore adrawav^ 
ort  rh^n  mirmmt  rani^oti.*.  whir,  hst  tm 
d«*aro-d  tr-o  rr^Biuiiy  ut  frwasVin  % 
the  r»r.afl  l.V*ry  nf  enmmercr.  and  t*  go^-pea  . 
aad  happmrai  to  all  rha  nanoot  «f  rfu* 
and  un.tc  them  as  otselMnilr.  By  Kre,sr  :  ft,  a 
havrt.irnioaa'rd  tbe  trmlUpl>d  uU..ocaVa  arh_ a 
prwmed  me  Twrtr«  before  me  j  a  -d  „t 

h 


JT 


grmrvr;  dijco*rrtn  aat  deva^aped  in  a  aaHi 
I  itr  perpi nr^.  coovrfttng  of  a!ssaxt  400 
twt   UicWct  Mtto  fire  gam 


rrorh  aa  serrfd  leunstj 


fire  pa 

c  1  hara  the*, 
rtsrn  of  rhft  eapiml,'  The 

tSka    n:  .    pL.C  .      .  :  ..r    l.rUtO0  ( '  V» 

■/f  whsm  are  aaerriUr!  u  ,hr  HyMasdisBsi  gj_  , 
aad  farmed r  a»rr  tnemban  -of  the  AasCema 
have  |u«f  ■  J  apon  «ay  daaa,  ahldlrln.  ■ 

have  freipaently  rnmiard  ahhrhecraatm 
rioo .  v  lavf .  aher  a  kmc  w  n  of 
with  me.  rney  have  arsti/ied  rlieir  apewvu 
themosj  unanimous  and  mat  tamest  nas  .,. 

■  "  Cvrry  moi"rat  of  your  time,  ssrtwa)  Uear  r SL\ 
U  eeeirp'ted  by  your  art-nt.  a  ro  oayrlae  hat  ate, 
happintsa.    I  panaot  thro,'  aad, 
drnng  the  diets™  a  brravra  t-s. 


^ajarw 

»f*w  f 

i»ssnn  j  1 


ondaicivato  a 
outhr  oaf,  torsi 

aatf  fmring  >  -  eq>  i - •--  shnaid  fall  L 
ovs  h-iiKn,  --aaarTibeih,*  wool-  ot  m*,  jutirpor 
rn*  ha  sheen  mad  r  op  0  hjs-ib-r.  t 
piy  rartent  you  wtfli  ut>  attaadt  fiom  the 
part  of  it- 

Kttrsa  fnm  thr  ttrnthnm  9/  til  as;***, 
"  la  >ht  fittb  and  las:  vat:  of  rha  wo-tvtf  frfd 
dans  i  a  whir  b  the  aorhrir  had  prfjse-ar-dot>*w  <rrn 
opr-iTw»«  on  aavura.lgw  .  and  rr  htm  rksl 
tMBSrutt  bad)  hithtm-v  eraotwifjtd  eath-dil 
pr*ntwec- 1  "Vrt  b  h)o6«K)uscha(  Sarwrib  -m 
sod  bis  data  Carry  wrrh  taean  ail  Baa  e>a.ist»a 
tics  of  rcavm  sadrrarr 

-  Wt  la-dy  >ijaaaflsia>cr>aader  r»a^«»»-« 
rfam>t  winch  the  etsgiaer-  Casaprriaa,-  bai^SttT  I 
made,  w'nh  a  view  ro  'nrc9asstru.  -i>raof  ar-aVa-  1 
tk  mathsBBu,  and  <T;rrrliaa;  .ham  to  useful  -af. 
ptaset  W*  arr  coon  ocrd  aHth  hanv  as  *r  tuna 
alrrady  ooaertrd.  -Ju:  the  katgrr  rha  ae-sa^rtg 
B*»fhiori»r»  tnadev  the  e-Tfa  eaav  wfl  ;l4eeo 
ddotS  tf-im  b^^*jJrubr7  *****  aianm  ia  the  air 
lraa  ra'arirr  rasistaacwia  rautajisji!  rr^raV  r-ambet 
of  tnea  rney  may  carry,  end  oocuorJswsrly  ^osvrsy 

«hsd,  aasd  submit  the  power  of  both  to  ctkulaL 
tian.  It  vrill  be  tern  tbv  th-forcaaf  the  rtf*  rift 
tw  aJ#W,  iraVsor  :?  rhat  oftU  vrf»±  '  iv  t-» 
>w*tro,-T  cetwrnrrd.  that  it  weeutfV'httrU  edw 
vMreras*  ft.gdt*  GtitmCirr,pr»u»  ituo  :»*  «cal 
tauhfal  en>-eaB»ra-rinyecraaauv  him  it  taa  coos' -uo> 
rktoof  tbUiiBKhlae.  If  we  r>«ytid^  >*rfeari»-lr 
the  imtnarna  crratures  whkOitncHt:rar  nari*  ■  in 
aovrba,  there  is  nVRhiag  earrara^:  at 
hag  rltar  thta  ot  loar  nn'l  1031  rrugar  c 
r*  aaraaajrv.  to  rraiisr  an  a  Temp-.  ih»  aborts  a. 
wh.cb  maui  add  to  the  aa»-.Laaa of* a'l  rhe  swr,  M 
af  isSrgVobt. 

•  Br  sdts,  awch  an  em-reiat.  if  wrtW-rriy 
atwrrd.  wonkl  nBord  a  d^ei  -  sx!4trra*7- ,  ft, 
c  u-  -y.  Tn>attildlatr  which  t,:  u-nC.  prtasa 
•btitb,  aod  whk.h  waybr  rtdsw 

rirTC 

i.^-t  ha  Df  *Va-«sJ, 
■nd  ail  rerasaavjirt  pi  'tsu.'utd  »rt*e^^j.^»rteas: 

•    c-  and  of  ctsufsr  csavntjbr  eibtj'*  0  in  bedj 
waamer.   This  auitutttg  u  tha  je--rrv  a**  m. 
air)  pom  and  »  rratli  may  be  A?  ^  t«»d  10 
entrust  aa  nrw  teste!*  are  c«aw rov'erL   *jS  \ 
taoeages  whwh  a  navlgaaion  of  thit  hsed  wutjU' 
sn'alib-y  p-J  >r,  te  to  amply  ekrntei otereaj 
■ht  w-.r*  of  Cm  n  Canja -as,  that  **  aha  a 
hraaoa*  m  recotnaasend  the  pteenpt  ckw  astson 
his  piaat." 

•sr.fJ  In  my  rrrattsr  >a  Ar*er*isa?  ~a.  |  aro- 
peer  rhei  rhr  caaual  city  -f  ettt,  csniaery  trail  , 
hare  a  dock  tor  rMuding;  Aenrl  rrt  tits  iH  aa 
aVerosraik  poet,  has  us;  a  00  TTOrr  of  wharft,  oa 
which  foreign  reasrls  tuy  at  dll  rinao  dr-rrad, 
and  rentals  without  danger  a  tadLcwsst  riaw  to  • 
tiaload.  rrBkrcn-nmrTcsaJ  rarhangrt,  atiia  mfnt  c,' 
ea^wrwa.  refit,  4c  Bat  ,  Inrie>  v,^. ■_  >tT 
oadw  sail,  the  rmallest  of  whid  will  cawy  mem 
thaa  two  h-odnrd  pervma,  tbey  tfli  have  no 
oooatson  dtveead  Sr-taepnrprxeof  tachaa^tasr 
ar  fninrhsrsiaf  cntarnodiries.  Tnr;r  v%  vsr  f 
dinWaaa.  by  whkn  thry  are  caaUrd  .  m«ar> 
wavi cgalaaa  the  stwjeryrn  w-ndj,  rill  erear  ro-' 
aruskr  tbem  aurad  or  drsrrnd,  or  rrrevia  fats— 
r'rejry  at  eary  hrighr  rrcjOTred.  Tiva  -  ■  ■  (J  * 
rtc  boors,  each  sarrrnnuorrd  wirb  a  %  -r.  r  .  -  ro 
an  uttd  oa  rate  nf  any  at^tdrnr.  mart  br  paved 
m  >ht  two  p'rTiorB  s.  •  .  r:  i-  c  ■  . ,.  *«rr- 

eairira  of  the  gallery  *>f  rtir  rrt-srl  ought  10  aar- 
■ninatr,  -nd  may  be  wt  d  >  r.  atd.  tskntt  c pat  the 
pttaiiute  u|  the  err  v,  with  aarw;  fitvisJeaa,  or 
amtkf  af  sn  kind  ■weessary  f .  a.sratav>nng  rbr 

aaaaaL 

"  finally,  easoibr-  nsl I  cjl'ndr 
b>  let  dr.r-a  f^.m  rhe  certe  pa' 
gallrfy  oeffit  10  ha,e  rlirrr  paw 
tatnila  serve  ro  rtc-  ve  "ntil  a  (D 
cann  I  (rmn  nf 


ttnre°rr1  in  the  CnerrTpBFJvtta*.  wo*-ld 
preaira  a  ranaw'tarwt  worrhy  f  rhe  R> 
la  i|  ■  I   h  -  c  »-c  feetfttw  t 


i  bun 


forrre-st,,  ttK , 


•1  poatv,  she 
beJenx  £4  10 

o  r  rnwir  v  rnemte:  it  -nf  reajc  to.*  b>io. 
rr.lt.bT  rrnr  to  rire  -ad  -e.-t  rt  iMetllgrnce.  either 
by  day  orn  gni  (t..r  :r  can  te  ilturrJs*ie3,  upon  a 
pl*n  prrr'oca.yo  nc*r**rd 

"  My  rr-f/r.  h-iidrj.  ■  -c-  -  rh*  deratul 
r#r-v-nry  .0  rjria  Kbsd  of  taiurg.  sart  *i  *  ata«- 
phet-.c  cide.  he  regi.«»i.*av  a*T  »vi  h..r  t'jf 
tlre^'tVl  rl  r  rraor  tad  -Jw  k  ppjaajsj  4  t4 

rhep*.-o:eoif  itocartsn  ' 

fCg^cdj   "  ,Jn.r;«i:,V^er.t(,-T  r#*.* 


The  Voice  of  Truth  is  Silent 


235 


on  the  situation  of  the  country,  without  passion  and  without  prejudice;  and  it  is  from 
such  views  of  the  situation  of  the  country,  taken  at  different  points  of  observation,  and 
by  different  observers,  that  a  considerate  man  will  learn,  to  chuse  his  party,  and  establish 
the  rule  of  his  political  conduct. 

The  first  remark  which  I  would  suggest  to  you,  is  on  the  astonishing  stupor  and  in- 
attention which  seem  to  have  possest  the  governments  of  Europe,  with  few  exceptions, 
and  prevented  them  attending  to  the  great  revolution  which  has  been  wrought  in  the 
human  character.  A  mighty  spirit  is  awakened ;  the  genius  of  rational  enquiry  has  gone 
abroad  in  giant  strides ;  he  marches,  with  freedom  in  his  train,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
This  is  no  time  for  the  powerful  few  to  wrap  themselves  up  in  a  false  security,  and  de- 
spise the  cries,  and  insult  the  feelings  of  the  opprest  and  injured  many.  This  is  no  time 
to  hug  to  the  bosoms  inveterate  abuses  and  ancient  errors;  to  hold  government,  and  those 
who  administer  it,  as  all  in  all;  the  people  governed  as  nothing.  The  maxims  of  policy, 
which  proved  sufficient  for  the  imperfect  light  of  past  times,  will  be  found  delusive  guides 
at  this  day.  The  notions,  the  manners,  the  knowledge,  the  pursuits  and  claims  of  men, 
have  undergone  a  great  and  rapid  change ;  and  stupid,  indeed,  must  be  the  administration 
which  does  not  adopt  its  maxims  to  the  great  revolution  in  the  characters,  resources, 
and  tempers  of  men.  This  proudly  weak  inattention  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times, 
has  been  peculiarly  observable,  and  peculiarly  injurious  in  those  who  have  had  the  care 
of  governing  Ireland. 

I  must  observe,  also,  that  although  Ireland  is  dignified  in  the  name  of  independent 
kingdom,  and  honored  by  Great  Britain  with  the  appellation  of  sister  country;  a  dis- 
tinction for  which,  God  knows,  she  pays  dearly,  in  the  maintenance  of  a  luxurious  Court, 
and  a  cumbrous  establishment ;  yet  Ireland,  in  the  opinion  of  many  acute  observers,  is,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  in  a  state  of  provincial  dependence.  I  will  not  pretend  to  decide 
the  question  with  respect  to  Ireland,  lest  my  letter  to  you  should  come  into  the  courts 
of  justice,  and  be  pronounced  a  seditious  libel  by  the  Judge;  but  I  am  told  I  may  as  yet 
enquire,  without  offense  to  the  powers  that  be,  or  danger  of  the  tender,  what  is  the 
difference  between  a  country  really  independent,  and  a  province. 

In  a  country  really  independent,  the  laws  and  polity  originate  within  its  own  bosom, 
and  are  calculated  to  extend  the  advantages  of  the  state,  whether  natural  or  acquired, 
and  to  recover  its  defects.  The  systems  and  maxims  of  government  in  such  a  country, 
consequently  arise  from  its  peculiar  interests.  This  is  the  situation  of  a  truly  inde- 
pendent country. 

In  a  province  the  medal  is  reversed — the  true  interests  of  a  provincial  country  are 
perpetually  sacrificed  to  the  interests,  the  pride,  the  means,  and  even  the  caprices  of 
the  country  on  which  it  is  dependent.  The  people  are  supposed  to  cherish  a  secret  desire 
of  freedom — and  this  is  imputed  to  them  as  guilt.  To  counteract  the  criminal  longing 
after  ancient  independence,  on  the  part  of  the  governed,  government  adopts  a  system  of 
avowed  suspicion  and  concealed  hostility;  divide  and  rule  is  with  them  a  favourite 
maxim;  venality  and  corruption  are  industriously  diffused  through  every  department  of 
the  state  and  every  rank  of  society,  and  are  openly  professed  and  defended,  as  the  neces- 
sary engines  or  supports  of  government.  Meantime  a  despotic  oppression  of  the  people 
prevails ;  the  free-born  and  adventurous  spirit  is  banished ;  the  virtuous  sentiment  is  pro- 
scribed, and  the  voice  of  truth  is  silent;  or,  if  it  should  burst  forth  from  the  lips  of 
indignant  misery,  it  is  severely  chastised,  under  the  denomination  of  a  seditious  spirit; 
and  all  these  rigours  by  which  the  people  are  trampled  down  to  the  dust,  are  justified  on 
the  principle  of  expediency,  and  ennobled  with  the  plausible  names  of  vigorous  meas- 
ures;— a  strong  administration. 

It  too  frequently  happens  in  dependent  provinces,  that  the  insolence  and  oppression 
of  their  government  grows  to  such  a  pitch,  as  leaves  to  the  people  no  middle  course 
between  absolute  and  miserable  slavery  on  the  one  hand,  and  open  resistance  on  the  other ; 
I  should  be  sorry  indeed,  to  think  that  such  was  the  situation  of  Ireland.  Heaven  avert 
such  a  calamitous  state  of  things!  but  the  connexion  between  Great-Britain  and  Ireland, 


Protestant  Ascendancy  a  Rallying  Phrase 


is  a  tie  of  peculiar  delicacy,  and  requires  wise  and  lenient  management,*  it  should  never 
be  strained,  with  a  rude  unskilful  hand,  lest  it  should  fatally  press  on  the  very 
heart  of  Ireland,  chill,  and  benumb  the  energy  of  her  attachment  to  Britain,  and  stop  the 
circulation  of  those  vital  principles,  which  diffuse  health  and  animation  through  the 
political  frame.  I  fear,  the  British  Cabinet  has  too  often  been  led,  to  adopt  a  very  dif- 
ferent policy.  Britain  has  been  taught  by  selfish  and  narrow  commercial  notions,  to 
consider  Ireland,  not  as  the  companion  of  her  prosperity,  and  the  pillar  of  her  strength, 
but  as  the  rival  of  her  industry  and  the  invader  of  her  opulence.  It  is  much  to  be 
lamented,  that  the  governments  of  this  country,  in  a  long  succession,  and  with  few 
exceptions,  have  been  too  apt,  to  form  to  themselves  ideas  of  a  certain  foreign  interest, 
superior  to  that  of  the  country  they  are  appointed  to  govern,  incompatible  with  it,  and 
the  prosecution  of  which,  as  they  think,  ought  to  be  the  ultimate  object  of  their  ad- 
ministration, Britain  according  to  their  political  arithmetic,  is  the  only  integral  figure  of 
the  British  empire ;  Ireland  they  consider  as  a  mere  cypher,  or  even  on  some  occasions 
as  a  negative  quantity,  and  on  these  principles  they  have  conducted  themselves  like  an 
insulted  garrison,  with  difficulty  maintaining  its  station,  and  supporting  itself  by  inroads 
and  depredations,  in  a  hostile  and  exhausted  country. 

Whether  such  a  system  prevails  at  this  day,  it  is  not  for  me  to  determine,  when  we 
have  taken  a  view  of  the  situation  of  the  country,  you  may  judge  for  yourself.  That  it 
formerly  existed  appears  from  the  letters  of  Primate  Boulter,  a  curious  monument  of 
corrupt  and  mistaken  management,  which  has  been  considered  as  sound  policy  for  the 
meridian  of  Ireland;  and  which  may  still  give  us  a  key  to  the  secrets  of  our  prison-house. 
This  honest  political  prelate,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  British  Cabinet,  is  full  of 
complaints,  that  preferments  are  bestowed  on  the  natives,  that  the  balance  of  power  in 
Ireland  is  neglected.  Constant  and  vigilant  indeed,  are  his  representations  of  the  neces- 
sity of  bestowing  the  preferments  of  the  country,  ecclesiastical,  judicial  and  military, 
on  aliens,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  predominancy  of  the  English  interest.  It  was  then 
supposed,  that  a  system  of  government  inimical  to  the  people,  could  be  managed  only 
through  the  intervention  of  Foreigners.  Mistaken  politicians :  who  thus  thought !  it  has 
been  discovered,  in  our  more  enlightened  days,  that  as  among  the  infidels,  a  renegado  is 
the  most  active  persecutor  of  those  who  had  been  his  brethren  in  faith ;  so  the  renegado 
and  perverted  Irishman,  becomes  the  most  cruel  foe  to  the  interests  of  his  native  country, 
the  most  outrageous  supporter  of  what  is  improperly  called  the  English  interest. 

From  the  application  of  this  pernicious  rule  of  divide  and  govern  to  the  maintenance 
of  an  English  interest,  proceeded  the  mischievous  activity  which  has  uniformly  laboured, 
and  often  too  successfully,  to  inflame  the  spirit  of  party  rage  and  religious  animosity, 
which  has  added  no  little  poignancy  to  the  acute  sense  of  other  evils,  that  have  vexed 
and  consumed  this  devoted  country.  Protestant  was  artfully  inflamed  against  Catholic; 
Catholic  against  Protestant;  Dissenters  against  both,  and  they  against  Dissenters.  The 
Protestant  ascendancy  became  a  kind  of  rallying  phrase,  a  signal,  to  call  together  the 
staunch  adherents  of  the  government  party,  and  those  honest  but  bigotted  individuals, 
who  attached  themselves  to  their  standard  from  disinterested  motives. 

I  might  establish  the  position  that  the  government  of  this  country  has  almost  uni- 
formly proposed  to  itself,  as  the  ultimate  end  of  its  policy,  the  maintenance  of  an  English 
interest  as  erroneously  contradistinguished  from  the  interests  of  Ireland,  by  a  multitude 
of  examples,  from  ancient  and  modern  Irish  history;  but  the  task  would  exceed  the  com- 
pass of  our  correspondence.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  period  during  which  Mr.  Pitt 
has  ruled  the  helm  of  the  British  Empire — a  period  which  will  be  distinguished  in  the 
annals  of  mankind  to  the  end  of  time,  for  the  momentous  events  and  gigantic  revolu- 
tions which  it  produced.  I  fear  I  have  tried  you  with  this  long  lecture.  '  I  shall  for  the 
present  conclude,  and  subscribe  myself,  yours,  Montanus. 

•This  sentence  is  given  as  it  appears  in  the  original  copy  of  "The  Press"  newspaper  of  October 
3,  1797,  and  in  a  London  work  published  in  1S80,  with  the  title  of  "The  Beauties  of  The  Presf.  In 
a  like  reprint  published  by  Duane  in  Philadelphia,  with  the  title  of  "Extracts  from  the  Press",  1802; 
it  reads — "and  under  a  wise  and  lenient  management."    The  editor's  name  is  not  given. 


Identity  of  "Montanus" 


237 


The  English  Government  was  so  desirous  of  obtaining  the  name  of  the 
author  of  these  letters  that,  after  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  the  publisher 
or  printer,  the  seizure  and  suppression  of  the  paper  were  delayed  many  months 
with  the  hope  of  obtaining  this  information.  It  could  never  be  secured,  how- 
ever, nor  was  the  Government  then  informed  of  Arthur  O'Connor's  connec- 
tion as  the  owner,  the  efficient  editor  and  frequent  contributor. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  letters  of  "Montanus"  and  other  material  relating 
to  them  see  Appendix,  Note  VII.  As  a  copy  of  "The  Press"  is  a  rarity  the 
first  "Montanus"  letter  has  been  reproduced  in  facsimile  together  with  the 
second  page  of  the  paper  which  contains  a  remarkable  letter  addressed  to 
Napoleon  and  giving  an  account  of  an  "air  ship"  just  invented,  which  is  of 
great  interest  in  connection  with  the  efforts  now  being  made  to  perfect  this 
invention  for  war  purposes. 


They  [the  Volunteers]  did  not  rescue  their  country  from  tyranny,  but  they  rescued  her 
from  the  calumnies  of  her  oppressors.  In  their  virtue  they  illustrated  her  title  to 
liberty;  in  their  errors  and  misfortune  they  demonstrated  the  causes  of  their  debase- 
ment. They  have  left  to  posterity  an  illustrious  example  in  victory  and  a  miserable 
lesson  in  defeat. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


On  investigating  the  political  relation  between  England  and  Ireland  toe  must  not  be  led 
&<way  by  any  formal  grants  of  liberty,  by  any  formal  conveyances  of  constitution,  by 
any  pompous  claims  of  rights,  by  any  solemn  protest  against  wrong.  A  country 
always  suffering,  though  always  complaining  and  deprecating  its  sufferings,  affords 
but  an  odd  idea  of  independence. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  IX 


A  letter  from  "The  Press",  "Montanus"  (Thomas  Addis  Emmet),  addressed  to 
"Satanides"  (the  British  commander  in  chief  in  Ireland, — the  Earl  of  Carhampton)  with 
his  epitaph — An  article  by  an  unknown  writer  on  the  condition  of  Ireland;  attributed 
by  many  to  Mr.  Emmet,  as  it  was  generally  held  that  no  other  man  in  public  life  at  that 
time  in  Ireland,  had  a  more  profound  knowledge  of  the  economic  condition  of  the 
country — Possibly  written  at  his  dictation,  as  the  article  expresses  fully  the  well  known 
views  held  by  Mr.  Emmet. 


"Montanus"  to  "Satanides" 


NEVER  supposed  you  would  have  become  the  object  of  a  public 
address  unless  the  muse  of  satire,  who  flies  at  all  game,  had 
strength  fit  to  publish  a  continuation  of  the  "Diaboliad".  I  never 
supposed  that  you  would  have  arrived  at  the  bad  eminence  of 
becoming  an  object  for  the  justice  of  your  country.  I  did  even 
suppose,  from  my  knowledge  of  your  propensities  and  habits  of 
life,  that  you  might  be  fated  to  perish  by  the  hands  of  some  Bravo 
in  a  Brothel,  or  to  consume  away,  by  the  noisome  effects  of  low 
and  vulgar  debauchery.  An  untimely  end  might  seem,  by  a  just 
dispensation,  an  appropriate  attendant  on  your  house;  yet  your 
Father,  to  the  inconceivable  regret  and  sorrow  of  his  pious  heir, 
attained  a  sound,  if  not  a  good  old  age ;  and  died  in  quiet,  notwithstanding  your  daily 
and  hourly  maledictions  on  his  head.  This  old  gentleman  hated  you  most  cordially;  for 
he  was  shrewd  and  sensible  and  knew  you  well ;  it  is  probable  he  marked  the  dawning 
of  all  these  talents  which  have  now  reached  their  meridian.  He  saw  in  you  the  worthy 
representative  of  a  name  immortalized  in  the  black  catalogue  of  traitors,  and  destined 
to  furnish  a  parricidal  race,  for  the  affliction  and  slavery  of  their  native  land.  How 
must  the  spirit  of  your  Sire  exult,  if  he  can  gain  a  moment's  respite  from  his  prison- 
house,  to  look  abroad  on  the  affairs  of  men.  How  must  he  rejoice  to  see  the  Son,  whom 
he  detested  and  despised,  running  the  rapid  race  of  infamy  and  earning  for  himself 
an  untimely  end;  even  now  he  anticipates  the  moment,  when  no  acts  of  indemnity  shall 
avail,  to  screen  the  criminal ;  he  sees  you  gathered  to  your  forefathers  in  the  place 
allotted  for  the  shades  of  a  Tristan  1'Ermite,  a  Borgia,  an  Alva  or  a  Kirk. 

Your  name  was  heretofore  borne  by  a  numerous  clan  in  this  country;  when  your 
notorious  ancestor  perpetrated  the  deed  of  treachery;  the  honesty  of  his  humble  con- 
nections execrated  the  treason,  disclaimed  the  traitor,  and  renounced  their  family  name, 
as  contaminated.  The  name  has  continued  to  be  a  term  of  reproach,  a  designation  of 
perfidy;  not  even  the  ennobling  hand  of  Majesty  could  restore  it  to  good  order;  it  has 

238 


"Montanus"  to  "Satanides" 


269 


lost  no  portion  of  infamy;  in  your  keeping  it  may  soon  perish  wholly  from  among  men, 
to  be  no  more  remembered  or  remembered  only  as  a  word  of  reproach  and  reprobation. 

Yet,  do  not  flatter  yourself,  that  you  shall  be  consigned  to  oblivion.  You  shall  be 
remembered  and  recorded  in  the  annals  of  this  country  as  an  apostle  of  atrocity,  a  founder 
of  the  system  of  terror.  To  you  may  be  traced  back  the  reign  of  outrage  and  brutality; 
a  reign  under  which  your  feelings  and  your  talents  qualify  you  to  be  an  ingenious 
minister  in  the  cabinet,  an  active  agent  in  the  field.  You  dared  by  your  single  authority 
to  supersede  all  the  dearest  rights  of  the  people;  you  trampled  on  the  then  existing 
laws;  you  dared  on  mere  suspicion  and  surmise  to  depopulate  whole  districts.  You 
have  introduced  the  precedent  of  grievous  punishment,  without  form  of  trial,  or  proof  of 
guilt;  and  what  punishment!  what  must  be  the  heart  of  the  savage  wretch  who  delivered 
it?  the  youth,  the  stay  and  comfort  of  their  drooping  age,  was  torn  from  his  infirm  and 
decrepit  parents;  the  affectionate  husband  was  torn  from  his  shrieking  and  disconsolate 
wife;  the  laborious  and  protecting  father,  from  his  famishing  and  helpless  infants;  the 
simple  peasant  or  the  sober  citizen  was  torn  from  his  cottage,  the  abode  of  industry 
and  peace,  and  cast  among  the  sweepings  of  gaols — the  refuse  of  mankind  among  felons 
and  malefactors  of  every  description ;  here,  while  nothing  but  execrations  and  blasphemy ; 
while  all  the  expressions  of  blasted  depravity  stunned  his  ears,  he  remained  weary 
months  secluded  from  the  air  and  light  of  heaven,  in  the  narrow  compass  of  his  watery 
dungeon ;  and  this  situation,  which  a  negro  slave  might  pity,  he  exchanged  only  to 
remove  to  pestilential  climates,  where  with  every  breath  he  drew  he  inhaled  perdition. 

The  most  dreadful  exhibitions  lose  much  of  their  horror  by  frequency;  the  system 
of  arbitrary  imprisonment  in  marine  dungeons  is  become  both  the  law  of  the  land  and 
the  order  of  the  day.  We  are  familiarised  to  it  by  use;  but  it  cannot,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten,  that  you  were  the  inventor  of  the  system ;  that  to  terrify  into  silent  submission 
an  opprest  and  injured  people  you  first  introduced  a  new  species  of  punishment,  even 
worse  than  death. 

The  learned  judge  who  passed  in  circuit  through  the  province  immediately  after 
your  merciful  exploits  of  pacification,  not  only  viewed  them  with  indignation,  as  a  sound 
Lawyer,  and  friend  to  the  Constitution,  but  also  as  a  good  citizen  and  discerning  politician, 
foresaw  the  fatal  tendency  of  your  ferocities  and  the  spirit  which  they  tended  to  excite ; 
and  with  great  propriety,  called  on  the  grand  jury  of  the  county,  which  was  the  chief 
scene  of  your  enormities  to  find  bills  of  indictment  against  you.  Had  these  people  whom 
he  addresst  possessed  good  sense  and  spirit  and  pursued  the  directions  of  the  upright 
magistrate,  you  had  stood  your  trial,  as  an  atonement  to  the  wounded  constitution,  and 
outraged  justice  of  the  land.  In  that  case,  what  evils  might  have  been  averted !  instead 
of  a  prosecution,  a  bill  of  indemnity  followed  your  acts.  Your  invention  was  applauded, 
and  past  into  law.  The  cruelty  of  the  tyger,  the  barbarity  of  the  negro-driver,  became 
the  principles  of  legislation.  "To  you  then,  as  the  author  and  inventor  of  new  and 
hitherto  unknown  ferocities,  the  first  assailants  in  the  war  of  extermination  against  the 
friends  of  liberty,  must  be  ascribed  all  the  subsequent  outrage  and  calamity,  the  dreadful 
exhibitions  of  horrors  of  which  Ireland  has  been  made,  and  I  fear  must  fatally  continue, 
the  bloody  theatre. 

Were  you  not  the  inventor,  the  projector  and  prototype  of  cruelty?  have  you  not 
avowed  a  responsibility?  Have  you  not  taken  on  yourself  the  completion  of  what  you 
first  planned?  have  you  not  realized  your  own  ideas  of  coercion?  To  you  doubtless  we 
must  attribute  the  precision  and  promptitude,  with  which  all  the  measures  of  imprison- 
ment, banishment,  witchery,  and  conflagation  have  been  executed,  by  that  power,  which 
now  expounds  the  law,  and  administers  the  police  of  this  country. 

From  their  chief  or  commander  proceeds  the  conduct  of  the  soldiery.  The  army 
has  of  late  been  too  often  stained  with  innocent  blood ;  should  we  inquire  the  cause 
which  has  made  the  troops  in  this  country  the  organs  (I  hope  the  reluctant  organs) 
of  barbarities  disgraceful  to  human  nature — will  it  not  be  found  Thou  Art  The  Man? 

Few  times,  or  emergencies,  could  have  rendered  your  vices  or  ill  qualities  an  object 


240 


Epitaph  for  the  Earl  of  Carhampton 


of  notice,  and  terrific  regard  to  the  public,  or  given  you  an  opportunity  of  doing  much 
public  mischief,  and  earning  much  public  odium.  It  required  the  prevalence  of  an  ad- 
ministration, shallow,  weak,  atrocious  and  actuated  by  a  determined  enmity  to  this 
country,  to  snatch  talents  like  yours  from  obscurity,  and  give  them  a  mischievous  ac- 
tivity. The  attention  of  such  rulers  was  naturally  turned  toward  you  by  a  recollection 
of  your  early  fame,  for  intrepidity  in  wrong,  when  a  neighbouring  kingdom  saw  in  you  the 
officious  instrument,  in  a  violation  of  the  sacred  rights  of  election.  This  early  transac- 
tion showed  a  meddling,  adventurous  spirit,  supported,  I  will  admit  by  some  address 
and  courage,  and  unmixed  with  deep  reflection  or  solid  judgment  to  make  you  appre- 
hensive of  consequences.  For  these  qualities  were  you  selected  to  superintend  the 
crusade  against  the  peasantry  of  Ireland;  to  mature  the  establishment  of  martial  law; 
perhaps  to  complete  the  annexation  of  this  island  to  Great  Britain,  as  a  conquered  and 
enslaved  province,  under  the  plausible  name  and  form  of  an  Union. 

Your  life  it  seems  has  been  menaced.  I  do  not  wonder  that  when  the  whole  private 
and  public  existence  of  nearly  half  a  century  have  been  employed  to  the  detriment  of 
society,  the  death  of  such  a  person  should  appear  more  beneficial  to  his  country  than 
his  life.  You  may  exult  in  the  triumph  over  two  miserable  wretches ;  you  may  call  the 
yeomanry  of  the  metropolis  to  witness  your  victory;  you  may  degrade  them  into  the 
co-mates,  or  rather  the  satellites  of  the  executioner,  but  shall  this  secure  you  from  the 
claims  of  justice  and  the  fears  of  death?  The  grand  jury  of  a  servile  country  might 
refuse  to  find  bills  of  indictment  against  you ;  but  should  the  blood  of  slaughtered 
thousands  arise  against  you ;  should  the  cries  of  suffering  myriads  at  length  be  heard ; 
should  you  be  presented,  by  the  grand  inquests  of  public  opinion,  as  the  occult  cause  of 
civil  sedition,  the  prime  mover  of  national  calamity,  the  determined  foe  of  human  nature, 
what  protection  will  you  find  in  the  system  of  terror,  and  the  power  of  the  sword?  An 
dnknown  hand  smote  your  ancestor  in  the  face  of  day,  in  the  crowded  streets  of  the 
metropolis.  It  is  truly  said  that  the  man  who  holds  cheap  his  own  life,  has  in  his 
power  the  existence  of  any  other  person;  but  it  were,  indeed,  to  be  lamented  that  you 
should  perish  by  the  stroke  of  private  justice,  and  defraud  the  executioner  of  his  right, 
and  the  nation  of  her  example.  Were  you  this  moment  surrounded  by  the  justly  en- 
raged populace ;  were  their  arms  raised  to  inflict  the  deserved  doom,  I  would  throw 
myself  among  their  ponyards — I  would  place  myself  at  your  side — I  would  intercede  for 
your  hated  life — I  would  say,  "Suffer  him  to  pollute  the  air  a  little  longer;  degrade  not 
the  majestic  exertions  of  the  people  by  employing  them  on  so  base  an  object.  The  day 
comes  when  justice  shall  prevail;  when  Ireland  shall  raise  her  head  from  the  dust, 
and  perform  a  solemn  sacrifice  to  the  constitution.  On  that  awful  day  of  rejoicing  to 
the  good  and  terror  to  the  wicked,  a  few  victims  may  be  required,  and  this  wretch  may 
be  included  in  the  number,  and  meet  the  ignominious  doom  of  a  traitor".  Then,  perhaps, 
should  the  public  erect  a  monument  near  the  place  of  execution  to  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  your  infamy  and  punishment;  it  may  bear  an  inscription  of  the  following  tenor. 


EPITAPH 


This  narrow  space, 
Beneath  the  gibbet  on  which  he  died, 
Confines  the  body  of  Satanides 
A  man  of  colour, 
Whose  injuries  to  his  country  were  most  extensive, 
Whose  infamy  was  unbounded. 
In  his  earlier  days 
He  was  notorious  for  want  of  duty  to  his  natural  parents; 
Time  matured  his  ungrateful  and  unfilial  qualities, 


Execution  is  the  Order  of  the  Day 


241 


And  he  became  the  parricide  of  the  country  that  gave  him  birth. 
Having  exhausted  the  sink  of  private  vice, 
And  sounded  the  depths  of  political  depravity, 
It  became  doubtful 

Whether  his  private  or  his  public  life  were  the  most  odious  and  contemptible. 
The  disposition  of  a  traitor  he  inherited  by  descent; 
A  sovereign  contempt  of  honest  fame, 
And  a  rooted  abhorrence  of  every  virtue, 
He  acquired  by  his  own  industry. 
His  intellectual  powers  were  not  mean, 
But  being  joined  with  a  bad  heart 
They  served  only  to  render  his  vices  and  crimes  more  extensive  and  atrocious. 
He  possessed  a  considerable  share  of  courage ; 
But  this  being  accompanied  with  a  want  of  judgment, 
And  a  dereliction  of  principle, 
Became  political  rashness  and  desperate  perseverance  in  guilt. 
He  received  the  full  advantage  of  that  which  he  had  laboured  to  banish  from  Ireland, 

A  TRIAI,  BY  JURY  ; 

But  the  proofs  of  his  guilt  were  clear, 
Punishment  soon  followed, 
And  he  died  regretted  by  a  conquered  and  opprobrious  faction. 

reader, 

Think  not  the  life  and  death  of  this  man  unimportant  to  society; 
Providence  delights  to  bring  good  out  of  evil, 
And  acts  by  means  inscrutable  to  human  wisdom. 
The  meddling  atrocity  of  this  malefactor, 
And  the  blind  sanguinary  rage 
Of  the  weak  and  wicked  administration  that  employed  him, 
Were  powerfully  instrumental 
In  the  rousing  an  opprest  and  injured 

nation 
to  vindicate  its  freedom . 
Montanus. 

This  epitaph  is  suggested  for  the  Earl  of  Carhampton,  who  is  designated 
as  "Satanides". 

The  following  article  by  an  unknown  author,  appeared  in  "The  Press", 
November  23rd,  1797,  and  by  many  was  attributed  to  the  pen  of  Mr.  Emmet: 

The  lot  of  Ireland  is  cast — it  is  no  longer  a  secret — sentence  has  been  pronounced 
against  the  people,  and  execution  is  the  order  of  the  day. 

The  system  of  disarming  the  people,  of  forbidding  them  to  communicate  in  num- 
bers by  day,  and  imprisoning  them  within  their  houses  after  sunset,  now  assumes  a 
more  formidable  shape  and  hoists  its  real  colours,  and  marks  the  true  designs  of  the 
British  Cabinet  in  Ireland. 

It  is  impossible  for  the  people  to  doubt  any  longer  for  a  moment  the  destiny  ap- 
pointed them;  and  it  is  idle  and  ridiculous  nonsense  to  talk  any  more  about  British 
Constitution,  Irish  independence,  political  liberty,  or  civil  immunity;  those  may  have 
been  proper  topics  for  a  past  and  may  be  so  for  a  future  generation,  but  to  the  present 


242 


Hard  is  the  Lot  of  the  Loyal 


where  is  the  man  who  will  say  they  are  not  lost,  if  he  is  not  himself  lost  to  every  senti- 
ment of  shame,  of  truth,  of  common  sense. 

The  North ;  the  most  protestant,  the  most  free,  independent,  wealthy,  and  civilized 
quarter  of  Ireland ;  first  split  into  factions  by  ministerial  machinations,  then  disarmed 
and  over-run  by  military  forces,  persecuted  by  spies,  informers,  and  perjured  prosecu- 
tions, now  crouches  at  the  feet  of  a  British  soldier;  who  encouraged  and  set  on  by  those 
who  should  be  the  guardians  of  their  country,  exercises  with  relentless  hate  the  dominion 
of  fire,  sword  and  the  gibbet. 

To  the  southward,  if  we  turn  our  eyes,  similar  scenes  challenge  our  horror.  In  the 
county  Westmeath  upwards  of  three  hundred  houses  of  the  unfortunate  tenantry  were 
burned  within  the  last  six  months ;  and  their  miserable  inhabitants  bayoneted,  shot, 
hanged,  or  fled  by  the  light  of  their  blazing  cottages  from  the  fury  of  their  butchers, 
to  seek  asylum  among  the  beasts  of  the  field,  with  no  covering  but  the  vault  of  Heaven, 
and  robed  with  the  cold  earth. 

Similar  horrors  pervade  the  counties  of  Carlow  and  Wicklow;  fire  and  sword, 
slaughter  and  devastation,  rape,  massacre,  and  plunder  everywhere  stare  the  hapless 
peasantry  in  the  face. 

The  counties  not  yet  delivered  up  to  military  outrage  may  contemplate  tamely  if 
they  will  Veluti  in  Speculo  their  approaching  doom  in  that  of  the  counties  already 
consigned  for  destruction. 

What  course  then  is  left  for  the  people  of  this  devoted  country  to  steer?  Does 
loyalty  require  of  them  to  stand  while  their  last  means  of  defence  are  wrested  from 
them,  their  houses  burned,  their  wives  and  daughters  violated,  and  their  throats  cut? 
If  it  does,  hard  indeed  is  the  lot  of  the  loyal. 

Had  Hoche  and  his  ferocious  soldiers  landed  amongst  us  last  Christmas  and  prac- 
ticed such  outrages  without  resistance,  we  would  have  been  proclaimed  through  England 
and  through  Europe  as  a  nation  of  the  veriest  cowards  under  Heaven. 

Have  then  the  people  a  taste  and  fancy  to  gratify  in  chusing  the  nation  by  which 
they  are  to  be  cut  down?  Is  it  with  them  loyalty  and  national  spirit  to  resist  the  same 
conflagration  and  murder  at  the  hands  of  Frenchmen,  which  they  tamely  await  and  calmly 
submit  to  at  the  hands  of  a  Welshman  or  a  scat? 

Militia  men  of  Ireland,  some  of  you  have  been  persuaded  to  embrue  your  hands  in 
Irish  blood,  the  blood  of  your  kindred  and  countrymen.  It  was  against  the  enemies  of 
your  country,  and  in  defence  of  your  homes,  your  kindred,  your  wives,  and  children,  and 
your  liberties,  you  took  up  arms.  Are  you  sure  that  you  are  not  at  this  moment  sentenced 
for  transportation  to  another  country  and  condemned  to  abandon  your  own  to  its  worst 
and  most  barbarous  enemies?    Where  is  your  alternative? 

Yeomen  of  Ireland,  are  you  prepared  to  turn  your  arms  against  your  country,  or 
to  relinquish  these  arms  and  tamely  submit  to  slavery  or  massacre  the  moment  you  refuse? 

Besotted  indeed  must  you  be,  men  of  Ireland,  if  you  slumber  any  longer  in  a  false 
security,  or  hesitate  to  decide  on  what  conduct  to  adopt  against  the  enemies  of  your 
country,  and  the  most  fatal  and  inveterate  foes  of  your  king! 

No  one  could  read  closely  the  letter  of  "Montanus"  and  then  read  the  ar- 
ticle just  given  without  being  impressed  with  the  similarity  of  style.  Either 
Mr.  Emmet  was  the  author,  or  it  was  written  by  some  one  in  close  relation 
to  him  at  his  dictation. 

The  writer  is  fully  convinced  that  about  this  time  Pitt  and  Napoleon  had 
come  to  some  understanding  for  their  own  benefit  and  possibly  this  existed 
from  the  beginning.  During  1797,  and  after  the  mutiny  at  the  Nore,  England, 
was  so  paralysed  with  uncertainty  as  to  the  disloyal  condition  of  her  navy 
and  army,  and  with  other  troubles  at  home,  that  unless  Pitt  was  certain  that 
Napoleon  had  no  intention  of  aiding  the  Irish  people,  he  would  never  have 


The  Belfast  Resolutions 


243 


dared  to  institute  the  course  he  did  at  this  time  in  Ireland.  Of  all  people  hav- 
ing a  history,  the  English  are  the  most  quick-witted  and  unscrupulous  in 
state-craft,  and  Pitt  might  well  have  been  the  author  of  some  scheme  by  which 
it  was  agreed  that  Napoleon  would  not  invade  England,  or  afford  the  Irish 
any  material  help.  Had  Napoleon  been  in  earnest  with  a  purpose  of  conquer- 
ing England,  she  could  have  been  crushed  at  any  time  and  Ireland  given  a 
free  hand,  for  certainly  Napoleon  had  an  accurate  knowledge  of  England's 
helpless  condition. 

It  is  stated  in  Grattan's  "Memoirs",  written  by  his  son : 

Every  effort  in  Parliament  to  remedy  the  grievances  of  the  nation  was  useless,  and 
it  may  appear  singular  that  the  question  of  Parliamentary  reform  and  Catholic  emancipa- 
tion should  have  been  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Ponsonby.  The  circumstances  which  led 
to  this  were  as  follows: — In  December  1796  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  Belfast  and 
William  Sampson,  Arthur  O'Connor,  R.  Symes  and  Mr.  Tennent,  with  five  others,  all 
United  Irishmen,  were  appointed  to  draw  up  resolutions  to  be  laid  before  the  lord 
lieutenant.    They  set  forth: — 

"That  the  imperfect  state  of  the  representation  in  the  House  of  Commons  is  the 
primary  cause  of  the  discontent. 

"That  the  public  mind  would  be  restored  to  tranquillity  and  every  impending  danger 
averted  by  such  a  reform  as  would  secure  population  and  property  their  due  weight, 
without  distinction  on  account  of  religion. 

"That  a  declaration  fairly  manifested  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  to  comply  with 
the  just  desires  of  the  people,  would  produce  the  happiest  effects,  as  it  would  conciliate 
the  affections  of  the  people,  whose  object  was  reform  alone,  and  thus  bid  defiance  to 
foreign  and  domestic  enemies." 

These  resolutions  were  laid  before  the  lord  lieutenant,  and  if  they  had  met  with  a 
favourable  reception  and  had  been  promptly  acted  on  they  might  have  prevented  the 
catastrophe  that  followed,  and  there  would  have  been  neither  insurrection,  invasion,  nor 
Union,  and  the  breach  between  the  King  and  the  people  would  have  closed.  This  is  dis- 
tinctly set  forth  in  the  memoir  delivered  to  Government  by  O'Connor,  Emmet  and 
McNeven.  But  that  did  not  seem  to  be  the  object  of  the  Government  party;  they  wished 
to  carry  the  Legislative  Union;  and  accordingly  their  writers  assailed  these  resolutions 
and  their  authors  with  unmeasured  abuse,  and  poured  upon  both  all  their  indignation  and 
anger,  and  declared  that  no  terms  should  be  kept  with  such  men.  Thus  they  made  it 
appear  that  attachment  to  the  people  and  their  liberties  was  not  meant  to  imply  attach- 
ment to  the  Government,  but  that  loyalty  should  have  ulterior  views. 

Mr.  Grattan  had  alluded  to  a  Union  in  some  of  his  late  speeches;  and  it  now 
began  seriously  to  be  entertained  by  the  minister  in  Ireland.  It  had  long  since  been  enter- 
tained by  a  party  in  England,  as  appears  from  the  letters  of  Lord  Shelburne,  in  1782,  and 
from  UV  communications  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  although  less  distinctly,  in  1795.  With 
this  view  Parliamentary  reform  had  been  constantly  rejected;  these  wily  politicians  know- 
ing, that  if  the  abuse  of  the  institution  of  Parliament  rendered  the  body  little  valued  or 
respected  the  people  might  become  indifferent  whether  it  should  be  retained  or  lost,  and 
thus  their  project  of  Union  would  have  a  certain  and  easy  victory. 

The  leading  men  of  the  Opposition,  therefore,  attached  much  importance  to  the 
Belfast  resolutions,  and  before  Mr.  Ponsonby  brought  forward  his  plan  of  reform  in 
May  1747,  Emmet's  party  sought  to  open  a  communication  with  them.  Mr.  Ponsonby  sent 
for  Mr.  Grattan,  and  he,  Curran,  and  the  Ponsonbys  met  in  order  to  confer  on  the  pru- 
dence of  an  interview  with  Emmet  and  his  friends  [this  interview  was  refused  by  Grattan 
and  others,  as  has  been  shown  elsewhere].  They  wished  the  latter  to  join  on  the  question 
of  reform,  give  up  annual  elections  and  universal  suffrage  and  acquiesce  in  the  plan 
about  to  be  submitted  to  Parliament.  To  this  some  of  Emmet's  party  were  disposed ;  and 


244 


Failure  of  the  Reform  Bill 


Neilson,  who  was  one  of  them,  and  well  acquainted  with  the  people  of  the  North,  their 
feelings,  and  wishes,  was  understood  to  assent.  Mr.  Ponsonby  thought  it  would  con- 
siderably strengthen  his  case  if  he  was  authorized  to  declare  that  the  discontented  party 
had  offered  to  be  satisfied  and  to  withdraw  their  extravagant  demands  if  the  Government 
would  assent  to  the  proposed  reform.  Accordingly,  the  leaders  of  the  Opposition  dis- 
cussed the  point:  they  sat  late,  talked  a  good  deal  about  the  proposed  interview,  some 
doubting  the  wisdom  of  it,  and  they  broke  up  without  deciding  anything. 

However,  Mr.  Grattan,  on  his  return  home,  made  up  his  mind  not  to  hold  the 
meeting  and  sent  off  Mr.  Ponsonby,  advising  them  against  such  a  step,  as  it  probably 
would  lead  to  no  good,  and  might  place  them  in  an  embarrassing  situation.  He  very 
likely  thought  that  Government  would  not  yield  and  neither  party  listen  to  terms.  Cer- 
tainly, with  such  a  party  in  power  as  Lord  Camden  and  Lord  Clare,  this  conclusion  was 
right,  but  with  any  other  it  would  have  been  fatal ;  for  on  a  review  of  the  whole  case, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  United  Irishmen  were  sincere.  The  North  had  relaxed  its  efforts 
against  the  Government;  great  difficulties  were  placed  in  the  way  of  the  United  men; 
and  above  all,  they  found  that  they  could  not  depend  on  each  other ;  or  they  would  gladly 
have  listened  to  any  reasonable  terms  of  accommodation.  In  his  evidence  Emmet  says 
that  if  the  reform  had  been  adopted,  the  Executive  Directory  of  the  United  Irishmen 
would  have  sent  a  messenger  to  France  to  tell  them  "that  the  difference  between  the 
people  and  the  government  was  adjusted,  and  not  to  attempt  a  second  invasion". 

Thus  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  all  the  misfortunes  that  befell  the  country  were 
attributable  to  Lords  Camden  and  Clare ;  they  lost  the  opportunity  of  recalling  the  United 
Irishmen  to  a  sense  of  loyalty  and  of  duty.  This  proceeding  having  ended — and  from 
the  evidence  of  the  United  party,  it  appears  it  was  the  only  connexion  ever  subsisting 
between  them  and  the  members  of  the  Opposition — Mr.  Ponsonby  brought  forward  his 
motion  on  the  subject  of  reform,  but  he  could  only  muster  30  to  117;  thus  ended  this 
measure,  which  Mr.  Flood,  Mr.  Grattan,  Mr.  Ponsonby  and  all  the  leading  patriots  had 
so  long  abridged,  yet  even  at  this  late  period  the  United  men  declared  would  have  satisfied 
the  country.  The  Opposition  finding  their  labours  useless  and  the  task  of  opposing  the 
violent  measures  of  Government  hopeless,  formed  the  resolution  to  retire;  and  on  the 
debate  on  the  motion  of  reform,  Mr.  Grattan  declared  their  intention  no  longer  to  attend 
the  House  of  Commons.  His  advice  to  Government  and  his  remonstrance  with  them 
in  their  violent  conduct,  extorted  praise  even  from  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed;  and 
among  others  from  Lord  Castlereagh,  who  complimented  him  on  the  manner  and  temper 
with  which  he  had  treated  the  subject. 


The  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  not  exceeding  one  tenth  of  the  people,  possessed 
almost  the  whole  of  the  property  of  the  nation,  tvhich  they  inherited  by  odious  and 
polluted  titles.  For  a  century  they  had  nearly  engrossed  the  profits  and  patronage  of 
the  Church,  the  latv,  the  revenue,  the  army,  the  navy,  the  magistracy,  and  the  cor- 
porations of  Ireland. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


In  a  country  so  beggared  and  debilitated  by  a  foreign  parliament,  this  domestic  legislature 
[the  Irish  Parliament]  blinded  by  religious  bigotry,  or  moved  by  baser  self-interest, 
enacted  I  anus  ruinous  to  the  peace,  the  morals,  and  the  industry  of  its  people.  The 
Catholics,  instead  of  reposing  on  the  bosom  of  their  country,  'were  forced  to  cling  for 
safety  to  the  mercy  of  the  Croivn.  The  policy  of  disunion  became  completely  trium- 
phant. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  X 

A  large  majority  of  the  Irish  people  at  length  become  organized  as  United  Irishmen 
and,  to  a  great  extent,  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Emmet — Mr.  Emmet  becomes  the  chief 
leader — The  Irish  organization  unable  to  accomplish  its  purpose  in  consequence  of  the 
number  of  spies  and  informers  who  had  even  become  supposed  leaders  in  its  ranks — 
Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald — His  relations  with  Thomas  Reynolds — The  Government  at 
length  arrests  all  the  leaders,  but  without  legal  evidence  on  which  to  bring  Emmet  to  trial 
— His  imprisonment — Conditions  in  English  prisons — Death  of  Lord  Edward — Govern- 
ment negotiations  with  the  Irish  leaders. 


RO VOCATIONS,  one  after  another,  with  the  most  wanton 
cruelty  were  inflicted  by  the  representatives  of  the  Eng- 
lish government  in  Ireland,  on  individuals  and  communi- 
ties, as  law-abiding  as  in  any  portion  of  England.  For 
months  the  people  remained  quiet  and  patiently  suffering 
with  each  increasingly  severer  infliction.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  those  in  sympathy  with  England  or  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Government,  individuals  in  every  station  of 
life  were  made  to  suffer  until  all  were  roused  to  such  a 
condition  of  exasperation  that  it  became  most  difficult  for  the  leaders  of  the 
United  Irish  organization  to  keep  them  from  a  general  outbreak.  The  people 
were  at  length  united  to  a  degree  never  reached  before  nor  at  any  subsequent 
period  in  their  desire  for  a  total  separation  from  England. 

Under  these  conditions,  it  now  seems  that  had  any  decisive  action  been 
taken  by  the  United  Irishmen  during  1797,  Ireland  could  have  gained  her  in- 
dependence. The  people  would  have  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  all  the 
arms  they  needed,  and  in  strengthening  themselves  at  every  point,  so  that  shortly 
they  would  have  been  impregnable  against  any  attack,  as  England  during  that 
period  was  helpless.  The  Irishmen  in  her  army  and  navy  had  been  tampered 
with,  and  would  almost  to  a  man  have  joined  their  countrymen,  and  even  the 
officers  were  divided  in  their  sympathies.  Unfortunately,  it  was  impossible  to 
settle  upon  any  definite  course  acceptable  to  a  majority,  in  consequence  of  the 
existing  discord  and  diversity  of  opinion.  The  organization  was  paralyzed  in 
action,  owing  to  the  number  of  spies  in  important  positions,  who  were  unsus- 

245 


246 


Appointed  to  the  Directory 


pected  in  consequence  of  their  apparent  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  their  country. 
These  interlopers  took  so  active  a  part  and  were  so  well-represented  in  every 
committee,  that  they  were  able  to  prevent  any  compromise  being  made.  The 
Anglo-Irish  government  at  that  time  exercised  more  power  or  influence  in  di- 
recting the  affairs  of  the  United  Irishmen  than  those  who  represented  the  best 
interests  of  the  country. 

It  was  evident  to  Mr.  Emmet,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  organization,  that 
Pitt  had  determined  to  force  the  people  into  rebellion.  He  certainly  recog- 
nized it  to  be  a  sound  policy  to  act  contrary  to  the  course  wished  for  by  the 
Opposition,  and  was  able  by  his  personal  influence  to  hold  the  people  in  check 
for  nearly  eighteen  months,  but  he  was  unable  to  prevent  a  change  being  made 
in  the  organization  by  which  it  became  a  secret  society,  with  an  oath  on  initia- 
tion, while  some  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  military  organization.  As  it 
was  thought  that  these  changes  would  be  an  agency  for  accomplishing  Mr. 
Pitt's  purpose,  they  were  easily  made  with  the  aid  of  the  spies.  Thus  Mr. 
Emmet's  purpose  and  influence  were  greatly  weakened.  As  he  had  deceived 
himself  into  the  belief  that  the  necessary  reform  could  be  gained  by  constitu- 
tional measures,  he  had  been  able  to  direct  his  course  and  influence  with  the 
leaders  and  people,  in  punishment  of  which  the  Government  employed  the  most 
extreme  measures  they  were  able  to  use  against  him,  thus  satisfying  their  re- 
sentment at  their  failure  to  convict  him  of  treason. 

Webb  in  his  biographical  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet  states : 

Upon  [Arthur]  O'Connor's  arrest  in  1797  Emmet  took  his  place  on  the  Directory. 

This  is  an  error,  as  O'Connor,  Emmet  and  Macneven,  with  two  other  per- 
sons who  never  served,  were  appointed  to  the  Directory  at  the  same  time. 
O'Connor  took  no  part  in  the  work,  as  he  never  favored  any  action  unless  the 
proposal  originated  with  himself.  The  result  was  that  for  nearly  two  years 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  directed  the  affairs  of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen 
with  the  full  aid  and  concurrence  of  Dr.  Macneven,  who  was  a  devoted 
friend.  During  this  period  Mr.  Emmet  opposed  receiving  aid  from  France 
or  taking  an  armed  issue  with  England  until,  all  peaceful  measures  having 
failed,  he  became  reconciled  to  a  separation  from  England. 

The  position  taken  by  him  made  an  enemy  of  O'Connor,  who  afterwards 
denounced  Mr.  Emmet  as  a  coward.  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  was  the  only 
military  leader  in  the  organization,  although  O'Connor  considered  himself 
to  be  one,  and  for  months  before  the  leaders  of  the  United  Irishmen  were  ar- 
rested, Fitzgerald  and  O'Connor  were  the  only  leaders  who  were  in  favor  of 
forcing  the  issue  with  the  aid  of  France.  Yet  Fitzgerald,  by  nature  lacking  in 
decision  of  character,  did  not  fully  support  O'Connor,  the  reason  doubtless 
being  his  knowledge  that  the  organization  was  totally  unprepared  to  gain  their 
purposes  by  any  military  action.  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  was  a  man  respected 
by  every  one  and  beloved  by  all  with  whom  he  ever  had  any  personal  inter- 
course. He  was  the  soul  of  honor  and  appreciated  to  the  fullest  extent  the 
obligation  he  had  incurred  when  he  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  to  accept 


Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald 


247 


the  position  of  military  leader  of  the  movement.  He  knew  that  he  could  ac- 
complish nothing  if  called  on  to  act.  Fortunately  the  will  of  the  majority  of 
those  in  whom  he  had  confidence  were  in  favor  of  delay,  while  the  members 
were  greatly  divided  as  to  receiving  any  aid  from  France.  The  effect  was  to 
paralyze  all  efficiency  of  action.  Unfortunately  Fitzgerald,  being  no  judge 
of  men,  had  surrounded  himself  with  others  as  inefficient  as  himself ;  for 
though  he  had  the  opportunity  to  gain  a  practical  knowledge  of  his  profes- 
sion while  in  the  English  army,  he  was  always  too  busily  occupied  in  love- 
making  to  avail  himself  of  it.  Thus  the  Irish  people  drifted  through  the  year 
1797,  losing  an  opportunity  never  to  occur  again. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  accidently  met  a 
gentleman  by  position,  Mr.  Thomas  Reynolds,  with  whom  he  had  but  a  slight 
acquaintance,  although  he  was  a  distant  relative.  Reynolds  held  a  good  posi- 
tion in  the  social  life  of  Dublin,  he  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Catholic 
movement  and  was  a  United  Irishman,  although  he  had  had  no  share  in  the 
management  of  the  movement.  We  now  know  that  Reynolds  had,  from  the 
beginning  been  in  the  pay  of  the  English  government  as  a  spy,  but  it  had  been 
for  special  service.  The  meeting  with  this  man  was  the  turning-point  in  Lord 
Edward's  life,  and  the  information  given  by  him  to  Reynolds  enabled  the 
Government  to  wipe  out  in  one  morning  all  connection  between  Ireland  and 
Great  Britain.  Most  persons  would  have  been  somewhat  on  their  guard  in 
forming  an  intimacy  with  even  a  well-known  man,  who  for  some  reason  had 
continued  in  the  background.    Lord  Holland,  the  cousin  of  Fitzgerald  stated : 

I  could  never  find  that  there  was  a  single  man  against  whom  he  felt  the  slightest 
personal  animosity.  He  made  allowance  for  the  motives  and  even  temptations  of  those 
whose  action  he  detested. 

Fitzgerald  forced  an  intimacy  on  this  man,  and  on  his  endorsement  and  by 
his  influence,  he  became  a  prominent  leader.  Through  his  information  the 
English  troops  were  able  to  seize  nearly  all  the  arms  and  military  stores  which 
had  been  collected,  and  of  which  Lord  Fitzgerald  alone  had  any  knowledge 
as  to  details.  At  this  time  the  government  suddenly  decided  to  force  the 
United  Irishmen  to  open  rebellion  by  an  arrest  of  all  the  leaders  and  this  was 
easily  accomplished,  as  Reynolds  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  deputies 
from  different  parts  of  the  country  who  were  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Oliver 
Bond  in  Dublin  on  March  12th,  1798,  and  these  were  all  arrested  and  thrown 
into  prison.  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  happened  not  to  have  been  present, 
having  been  prevented  by  some  accidental  cause.  He  was  thus  able  to  escape 
and  was  in  hiding  for  some  time,  until  his  place  of  concealment  was  betrayed, 
when  on  his  arrest  he  was  wounded  and  died  in  Newgate  soon  after.  Rey- 
nolds was  of  course  absent,  but  at  the  time  he  was  in  attendance  at  another 
meeting  where  he  was  elected  with  absolute  trust  to  a  high  position. 

Webb  states : 

There  was  no  specific  charge  against  Emmet,  but  he  was  regarded  rightly  as  one  of 
the  most  formidable  opponents  of  the  government. 


248 


Arrest  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet 


He  was  not  present  at  the  meeting  held  at  Bond's,  but  was  arrested  that 
morning  at  his  own  residence.  Mr.  Emmet  acknowledged  that  dependence  to 
any  degree  on  French  assistance  would  be  ultimately  fatal,  and  that  Bonaparte 
was  the  worst  enemy  Ireland  ever  had.  After  his  arrest  he  was  taken  to  Kil- 
mainham,  and  shortly  after  to  Newgate.  Within  a  few  days  Mrs.  Macaubry, 
living  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  wrote  to  her  kinsman,  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  to 
ascertain  if  the  report  were  true  regarding  his  son's  arrest.  His  answer  makes 
it  evident  that  he  was  ignorant  at  least  of  the  extent  to  which  his  son  was  im- 
plicated.   He  wrote : — 

My  dear  Mrs.  Macoubry  : 

The  account  you  read  in  the  papers  of  my  son's  arrest  is  but  too  true !  He  is  com- 
mitted to  close  confinement,  nor  can  any  of  his  family  be  permitted  to  see  him. 

I  have  not,  however,  the  slightest  apprehension  as  to  his  conduct :  so  that  a  short  time 
will  terminate  matters  I  hope  to  his  honour  and  enlargement.  I  thank  you  for  your 
friendly  feeling  for  him,  and  am  your  affectionate  kinsman, 

Robert  Emmet. 

Dublin,  March  27th,  1798. 

As  a  matter  of  record,  Mr.  Emmet  was  not  arrested  by  the  sheriff  as  the 
other  leaders  had  been,  but  by  Alderman  Carlton,  and  left  in  his  custody  for 
several  hours,  remaining  in  his  house  until  he  was  taken  to  Kilmainham.  At  the 
time  of  his  arrest  Mr.  Emmet  resided  on  Stephen's  Green,  in  the  third  house 
from  York  Street.  The  present  College  of  Surgeons  on  the  corner  of  York 
Street  was  built  in  1827,  leaving  a  narrow  passageway  to  a  brewery  in  the  rear 
between  the  college  and  Dr.  Robert  Emmet's  residence.  The  doctor's  house 
was  about  forty  feet  in  width  when  he  first  occupied  it,  but  on  the  marriage  of 
his  son  Thomas  Addis,  the  house  was  divided  and  reconstructed  into  two  resi- 
dences, the  doctor  selecting  the  one  next  to  the  College  of  Surgeons  for  his 
own  use. 

Immediately  on  the  arrest  of  the  Irish  leaders,  who  had  organized  the 
United  Irishmen  with  the  expectation  of  obtaining,  by  peaceful  measures,  the 
changes  necessary  for  the  future  welfare  of  Ireland,  the  direction  of  Irish  af- 
fairs passed  into  other  hands.  The  new  leaders  resorted  to  arms,  as  Pitt  ex- 
pected, and  so  gave  the  excuse  he  regarded  as  necessary  to  establish  the  Union 
between  Ireland  and  England.  The  Irish  government  soon  found  that  in  the 
imprisonment  of  the  original  leaders,  it  had  over-reached  itself,  owing  to  the 
want  of  all  evidence  to  secure  convictions,  particularly  of  those  who  had 
strictly  followed  the  policy  recommended  by  T.  A.  Emmet  as  the  chief  execu- 
tive. It,  however,  carried  its  point  in  creating  a  civil  war,  as  the  new  leaders 
readily  fell  into  the  trap  laid  for  them.  Dr.  Madden  thus  graphically  describes 
the  situation: — 

As  the  time  approached,  the  dreadful  notes  of  preparation  were  manifest  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  In  the  interior  the  peasantry  began  to  move  in  large  masses  to  some 
central  points.  Night  after  night  they  were  known  to  be  proceeding  along  unfrequented 
roads  to  their  places  of  rendezvous.  The  cabins  throughout  large  tracts  of  country,  were 
either  deserted,  or  found  to  contain  only  women  and  children.    The  lower  classes  that 


NEWGATE  PRISON,  DUBLIN 


Insurgents  Defeated  and  Dispersed 


were  in  the  habit  of  flocking  to  the  cities  for  employment,  were  no  longer  to  be  found  in 
their  usual  places  of  resort.  A  general  consternation  prevailed.  Even  the  measures  taken 
on  the  part  of  the  government  promised  no  security.  On  the  contrary,  from  their  arbi- 
trary and  despotic  character,  they  only  tended  to  exasperate  the  spirit  of  disaffection. 
Martial  law  was  proclaimed,  and  the  people  were  sent  to  the  prisons,  until  they  could  con- 
tain no  more.  Prison-ships  were  then  employed,  and  many  of  the  conspirators  were  in- 
formally executed,  and  many  who  were  innocent  were  put  to  death  in  a  summary  manner. 
Deprived  of  their  chosen  leaders,  the  management  of  the  revolutionary  councils  fell  into 
the  hands  of  less  competent  men.  After  a  short  but  sanguinary  struggle,  some  partial 
successes  in  the  counties  of  Wexford  and  Wicklow,  the  insurgents  were  defeated  and 
entirely  dispersed  at  the  action  on  Vinegar  Hill,  by  the  forces  under  the  command  of 
General  Lake,  and  in  a  short  time  afterward  the  rebellion  was  entirely  crushed.  A  French 
force  of  about  eleven  hundred  men,  at  length  landed  at  Killala,  on  the  northwest  coast  of 
Ireland,  on  the  12th  of  August;  but  it  was  too  late,  and  in  less  than  a  fortnight  they  sur- 
rendered to  Lord  Cornwallis. 

For  some  time  after  the  imprisonment  of  the  State  prisoners  and  while 
they  were  yet  confined  at  Newgate*  there  was  no  restraint  enacted  towards 
them  beyond  their  being  confined  to  the  building.  They  were  allowed  free 
intercourse  among  themselves.  Mr.  Emmet  soon  began  to  occupy  his  mind 
and  leisure  and  wrote  an  essay  entitled :  "Observations  on  the  Causes  and 
Consequences  of  the  Conquest  of  Ireland  by  Britain,  from  1771  to  1798, 
written  in  Ireland  and  intended  to  be  presented  in  manuscript  to  the  Right 
Hon.  Ch.  Jas.  Fox." 

Such  was  the  apparently  free  license  given  to  every  one  for  the  destruction 
of  life,  as  if  with  the  purpose  of  exterminating  the  Irish  people  and  to  a  degree 
greater  than  ever  existed  in  France,  that  the  leaders,  to  stop  this  slaughter,  to 
a  great  extent  of  innocent  people,  offered  the  Government  to  use  their  influence 
in  checking  the  desultory  warfare  many  of  the  less  prominent  leaders  had  been 
able  to  keep  in  active  operation  among  the  mountains,  in  defiance  of  every 
effort  made  by  the  Government  to  check  it.  This  subject  will  be  treated 
at  length  hereafter.  But  the  prisoners  issued  a  broadside  to  show  that  the 
Government  had  acted  in  bad  faith  and  that  the  official  publication  had  mis- 
stated the  terms  of  the  agreement.    They  were  immediately  subjected  to  ex- 


"Newgate,  facing  on  Halston  Street  with  Green  Street  Court  House  in  the  rear,  was  the  Bastille 
of  Dublin,  and  was  pulled  down  on  account  of  its  infamous  reputation.  Over  the  door  shown  in  the 
print  was  a  stout  iron  hook  to  which  Major  Sirr  and  Trevor,  the  jailer,  strung  up  many  a  patriotic 
Irishman;  thus  they  dispensed  with  the  labor  of  erecting  a  gallows,  for  which,  nevertheless,  the  Gov- 
ernment was  charged.  The  open  window  to  the  right  and  just  above  the  entrance,  looked  into  a  room 
or  cell  in  which  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  was  confined  and  where  he  died.  Moore,  in  his  "Life  of 
Lord  Fitzgerald",  shows  that  the  family  of  Lord  Edward  complained  bitterly  of  the  neglect  and 
cruel  treatment  to  which  the  young  man  had  been  subjected.  Lord  Henry  Fitzgerald,  a  brother,  wrote 
a  letter  to  Lord  Camden,  the  Lord  Lieutenant  and  the  man  responsible  for  the  frightful  crimes  and 
cruelty  at  that  time  being  inflicted  on  Irish  prisoners  for  carrying  out  the  policy  of  William  Pitt, 
his  master. 

Lord  Henry  wrote: 

"He  felt  ill  treatment,  but  he  communed  with  his  God,  and  his  God  did  not  forsake  him.  But, 
Oh!  my  Lord,  what  a  day  was  Saturday  for  him!  On  Saturday  my  poor  forsaken  brother,  who 
had  but  the  night  and  the  next  day  to  live,  was  disturbed: — lie  beard  the  noise  of  the  execution  of 
Clinch  at  the  prison  door.  He  asked  eagerly  'What  noise  is  that?'  and  certainly  in  some  manner  or 
other  he  knew  it;  for, — O  God!  what  am  I  to  write? — from  that  time  he  lost  his  senses;  most  part 
of  the  night  he  was  raving  mad;  a  keeper  from  a  mad-house  was  necessary.  Now,  my  Lord,  shall  I 
scruple  to  declare  to  the  world — I  wish  I  could  to  the  four  corners  of  it — that  amongst  you  your  ill- 
treatment  has  murdered  my  brother  as  much  as  if  you  had  put  a  pistol  to  his  head!" 

Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  died  June  4th,  1798. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  custom,  after  a  convivial  noon-day  meal,  for  the  officials  to  assemble 
at  the  inner  door  of  the  prison  and  with  considerable  "horse  play"  to  hand  up  to  the  executioner 
the  prisoner  who  was  to  be  "made  away  with"  on  that  day.  A  constant  source  of  merriment  was 
found  on  each  occasion  in  the  difficulty  they  experienced  lifting  the  prisoner  by  the  legs  and  at 
the  same  time  holding  him  so  that  the  rope  around  his  neck  might  be  secured  to  the  hook. 


250 


Agreement  with  Government 


amination  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament;  they  were  closely  confined  to  their 
quarters  and  each  one  placed  in  a  separate  room ;  their  persons  were  searched 
and  all  their  papers  and  correspondence  seized.  Fortunately  the  essay  written 
by  Mr.  Emmet  had  been  sent  outside  to  be  engrossed  and  bound  for  presenta- 
tion to  Mr.  Fox,  the  leader  of  the  party  then  politically  opposed  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  was  thus  saved.  At  the  time  of  this  search,  Mr.  Emmet  had  made 
some  progress  in  the  writing  of  a  memoir  showing  the  condition  of  Ireland 
as  judged  by  the  United  Irishmen,  but  this  was  carried  off  by  the  Government 
officials.  This  was  a  great  loss,  for  had  the  material  been  preserved  it  would 
have  been  the  means  of  showing  how  important  a  part  Mr.  Emmet  took  in  the 
early  movement  of  '98,  the  details  of  which  are  now  so  little  known. 

When  the  first  proposition  was  made  by  the  prisoners  to  the  Government 
that  some  course  should  be  agreed  upon  to  correct  the  frightful  condition  to 
which  the  country  had  been  reduced,  the  battles  of  New  Ross,  Arklow,  and 
Vinegar  Hill  had  been  lost,  and  the  English  had  been  successful  in  every  quar- 
ter. It  is  said  "Lord  Charlemont  without  any  solicitation  on  the  part  of  the 
prisoners  meditated  a  plan  of  retreat  for  those  in  confinement,  and  a  concilia- 
tion to  arrest  the  work  of  massacre  and  death".  Mr.  Francis  Dobbs,  a  for- 
mer Governor  of  North  Carolina,  a  member  of  Parliament,  a  man  of  humane 
feelings  and  a  friend  to  the  government,  visited  the  prisoners  in  their  re- 
spective rooms  and  avowed  his  wish  to  facilitate  an  arrangement  equally  ad- 
vantageous to  the  government  and  to  the  revolutionists.  Everything  had 
failed  and  hope  was  extinguished  at  least  for  a  season.  The  State  prisoners, 
therefore,  were  anxious  to  arrest  the  tide  of  misery  that  was  every  day  swel- 
ling, and  which  had  already  overspread  the  country  like  a  flood.  They  re- 
ciprocated the  wishes  expressed  by  Mr.  Dobbs,  and  soon  they  were  visited  by 
Mr.  Secretary  Cook.  Lord  Cornwallis  had  now  assumed  the  government  of 
Ireland,  and  much  was  hoped  from  his  clemency.  When  Dr.  Macneven,  a 
man  of  whom  I  shall  particularly  speak  in  the  course  of  this  memoir,  was 
visited  in  the  prison  of  Kilmainham  by  Mr.  Secretary  Cook,  with  a  bluntness 
and  independence  peculiar  and  honorable  to  his  character,  he  informed  the 
secretary  that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  negotiation  unless  the 
prisoners  had  the  pledge  of  Lord  Cornwallis  himself.  When  Mr.  Cook  re- 
tired, Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven  and  Mr.  Sweetman  had  a  consultation  and 
it  was  agreed  to  open  a  conference  with  Lord  Castlereagh,  then  the  minister 
for  Ireland.  In  the  course  of  these  steps  it  had  been  mutually  contemplated 
that  on  the  one  hand  Government  was  to  stop  the  effusion  of  blood ;  on  the 
other,  that  the  prisoners  were  to  reveal  the  main  features  of  the  intended  rev- 
olution, and  state  the  extent  and  nature  of  the  intended  connection  with 
France ;  but  names  were  not  to  be  demanded  or  given  under  any  circumstances. 
Before  any  interview  had  taken  place  between  the  prisoners  and  Lord  Castle- 
reagh, Mr.  Dobbs  again  visited  the  prisoners  and  stated  that  the  government 
demanded  names;  then,  said  the  prisoners,  there's  an  end  to  the  negotiation ; 
our  friends  shall  never  be  exposed  by  any  disclosure  of  ours. 

The  Government  then  gave  up  the  hope  of  obtaining  names.    The  prisoners 


Treaty  of  1798 


251 


were  permitted  to  have  some  intercourse  and  they  unanimously  appointed  three 
agents  to  act  on  their  behalf :  Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven,  and  Mr.  (Arthur) 
O'Connor,  he  who  first  distinguished  himself  in  1795  by  his  bold  and  un- 
expected speech  in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  on  the  Catholic  question.  On 
the  twenty-ninth  of  July,  1798,  Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven  and  Mr.  .O'Connor 
had  their  interview  in  Dublin  Castle  with  Dord  Castlereagh,  Lord  Chancellor 
Clare,  and  Mr.  Secretary  Cook,  and  entered  upon  what  is  called  the  Treaty 
of  1798.  The  writer  will  allow  Mr.  Emmet  to  speak  for  himself  through 
his  narrative  as  it  is  reproduced  in  the  following  chapter. 


The  Irish  tvere  reputed  aliens  and  enemies  in  their  native  land;  it  tuas  adjudged  no  felony 
to  kilt  them  in  time  of  peace.  Laiv  did  neither  protect  their  life  nor  revenge  their 
death. 


T.  A.  Emmet. 


\ 


The  selfish  and  malignant  passions  are  so  powerful  in  man  that  it  requires  no  uncommon 
effort  of  genius  or  dexterity  of  management  to  make  them  the  instruments  of  his 
<weakness  and  dishonor. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XI 

Examination  of  Committee  leaders  before  the  Secret  Committee  of  Parliament — 
Report  of  examination  as  revised  by  Mr.  Emmet — The  Irish  leaders  were  examined 
before  a  Committee  from  the  House  of  Lords  three  days  after — Agreement  between  the 
leaders  and  the  Irish  government  accepted  as  being  fully  satisfactory  to  both — Later  the 
government  publishes  an  untruthful  statement  as  to  the  terms — A  prompt  denial  issued 
by  the  prisoners — Course  of  Rufus  King  as  American  Minister — Immediate  death  threat- 
ened by  the  government  officials  to  all  the  prisoners  if  a  prompt  repudiation  was  not  made 
— All  refuse  and  are  immediately  placed  in  solitary  confinement — Mr.  Emmet  treated  with 
exceptional  rigor — Every  means  taken  to  intimidate  the  other  prisoners  but  not  one 
yielded — Public  opinion,  however,  had  been  so  trained  that  the  official  version  was  ac- 
cepted without  question — In  violation  of  the  agreement,  the  State  prisoners  were  not 
allowed  to  emigrate — Agreed  that  Mr.  Bond,  who  had  been  condemned  to  death,  should 
not  be  executed,  but  allowed  to  emigrate — His  sudden  death — Quotations  from  the  com- 
pact of  the  State  prisoners  with  the  Irish  government. 

REAT  interest  seemed  to  have  been  created,  and  after 
Messrs.  Emmet,  Macneven  and  O'Connor  had  been  ex- 
amined before  the  Secret  Committee  from  the  House  of 
Commons  of  the  Irish  Parliament  on  July  29,  1798,  they 
were  allowed  to  prepare  and  present  a  memoir  to  the  Com- 
mittee bearing  the  title,  "Memoir,  or  Detailed  Statement 
of  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Irish  Union :  Delivered 
to  the  Irish  Government  by  Messrs.  Emmet,  O'Connor 
and  Macneven,  August  the  4th,  1798".  (See  Appendix, 
Note  VIII  for  this  Memoir  in  full.) 

In  accord  with  family  tradition  this  paper  was  from  the  pen  of  T.  A. 
Emmet.  A  copy  of  this  document  is  still  preserved  among  the  family  papers. 
Its  authorship  may  be  inferred  from  the  letter  from  Russell  to  Macneven,  No- 
vember 8th,  1802.  A  copy  of  this  paper  is  given  in  the  Memoirs  and  Corre- 
spondence of  Viscount  Castlereagh  (Vol.  I,  p.  373). 

On  August  10th,  1798,  the  State  prisoners  were  taken  to  Dublin  Castle 
and  there  examined  individually  and  in  detail  before  the  Committee  of  Par- 
liament, which  examination  was  printed  under  the  title — "Substance  of  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet's  examination  before  the  Secret  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  August  10th,  1798,  taken  by  the  Government  officials  and  revised  by 
Mr.  Emmet".  For  a  copy  of  this  document  see  Appendix,  Note  IX.  Mr. 
Emmet  having  preserved,  after  his  examination,  a  copy  of  the  minutes  which 

258 


Action  of  Rufus  King 


253 


he  was  asked  by  the  committee  to  revise,  and  which  had  been  taken  by  one 
of  their  official  secretaries,  we  have  been  furnished  with  the  means  for  making 
a  comparison  with  the  published  official  report. 

In  "The  Dublin  Magazine"  for  August,  1798  (p.  131),  is  given  at  length 
the  printed  report  of  Mr.  Emmet's  examination  from  this  committee  to  the 
House  of  L,ords.  As  we  have  the  means  of  comparison,  it  will  be  sufficient  to 
reprint  this  in  corroboration  of  the  charge  made  by  the  State  prisoners,  that 
honesty  and  truthfulness  were  not  part  of  the  English  policy  in  Irish  affairs. 
For  a  copy  of  this  published  report  see  Appendix,  Note  X. 

On  August  14th,  three  days  after  the  examination,  he  was  again  summoned 
and  examined  at  greater  length  before  a  second  committee.  For  a  copy  of 
"The  Examination  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  before  the  Secret  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  August  14th,  1798,  taken  by  the  Government  official 
and  revised  by  Mr.  Emmet",  see  Appendix,  Note  XI. 

An  arrangement  was  made  by  the  Government  with  the  Irish  leaders  im- 
prisoned in  Dublin,  and  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  both  parties,  that  Oliver 
Bond's  life  should  be  spared,  although  he  had  been  condemned  before  a  packed 
jury  and  sentenced  to  death,  and  that  the  prisoners  should  be  liberated  and 
allowed  to  go  into  exile,  on  condition  that  their  influence  be  exerted  with  a 
large  number  of  insurgents  who  had  retreated  to  the  mountains  under  General 
Holt  and  others,  and  had  continued  to  keep  up  a  desultory  resistance;  all  of 
whom,  it  was  agreed,  should  receive  a  full  pardon  on  surrendering  their 
arms  and  returning  home.  The  Irish  leaders  succeeded  in  securing  peace 
throughout  the  country,  but  they  were  not  released  from  their  confinement. 
Later  the  Government  published  a  false  statement  as  to  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  made  with  the  Irish  leaders,  which  was  promptly  denied  by  the  pris- 
oners. The  Irish  Secretary  and  representative  of  the  English  Government 
made  the  acknowledgement  to  some  of  the  prisoners,  that  the  cause  of  the 
delay  of  their  release  was  due  to  the  action  of  Mr.  Rufus  King,  the  American 
minister,  in  making  an  official  protest  against  the  leaders  being  allowed  to 
emigrate  to  the  United  States,  "as  undesirable  on  account  of  their  republican 
views".  Mr.  King  was  a  Federalist,  but  had  acted  simply  from  his  individual 
prejudices.  In  his  letter  to  Rufus  King  (written  some  years  later  and  treated 
at  greater  length  hereafter)  Mr.  Emmet  stated :  "We  contradicted  the  mis- 
statement of  the  Committee  from  the  House  of  Lords  and  Commons  of  Ire- 
land, by  an  advertisement  written  in  prison  signed  by  our  names  and  published 
on  the  27th  of  August".  The  prisoners  were  immediately  visited  by  an  offi- 
cial of  the  government,  who  threatened  their  lives,  without  trial,  unless  they 
at  once  made  a  public  contradiction  of  their  statement  regarding  the  terms 
made  with  the  government.  This  the  prisoners  all  refused  to  do,  or  to  make 
any  retraction,  and  consequently  they  were  each  placed  again  in  solitary  con- 
finement and  were  subjected  to  great  privation  and  severity,  the  treatment 
of  Mr.  Emmet,  it  will  be  shown  in  the  following  chapter,  being  especially 
severe. 

As  soon  as  the  protest  of  the  prisoners  was  published,  showing  the  dis- 


254 


Death  of  Oliver  Bond 


honesty  and  fraud  practised  by  the  Government,  a  resolution  was  introduced 
into  Parliament  authorizing  the  immediate  hanging  of  all  the  prisoners,  which, 
being  voted  down,  it  was  proposed  as  a  compromise,  that  they  should  be  tried 
without  delay  by  a  drum-head  court  martial  to  obtain  the  same  result. 

Mr.  Bond  had  been  tried  and  convicted  and  was  awaiting  the  result  to  be 
obtained  by  the  efforts  of  the  leaders  in  quieting  the  country,  when  he  suddenly 
died  from  apoplexy,  as  claimed  by  the  Government,  but  almost  every  one  not 
connected  with  the  Government  openly  held  that  he  had  been  poisoned.  So 
general  was  this  opinion  that  the  Government  was  unable  to  suppress  it.  No 
denial  was  expressed  nor  was  any  attempt  made  by  the  Government  to  in- 
vestigate the  circumstances  attending  Mr.  Bond's  death,  so  that  there  remained 
little  doubt  that  this  noble  patriot  was  the  victim  of  foul  play.  It  was  doubt- 
less safer  for  the  reputation  of  the  English  Government's  influence,  as  exer- 
cised in  Ireland  during  Pitt's  administration,  that  Mr.  Bond  should  be  held  to 
have  died  of  apoplexy  than  that  he  should  be  released,  and  free  to  give  to  the 
world  his  own  personal  experience  as  a  political  prisoner  in  an  Irish  prison. 
For  information  as  to  what  such  experience  was,  the  reader  is  referred  to  St. 
John  Mason's  work  in  the  Appendix,  Note  XIII. 

Dr.  Madden  was  the  only  person  who  had  an  opportunity  for  fully  in- 
vestigating this  question  as  to  the  bad  faith  exercised  by  the  English  Govern- 
ment towards  the  political  prisoners  and  he  was  the  only  one  who  was  able 
personally  to  interrogate  a  number  of  those  who  could  speak  from  personal 
knowledge.  He  is  therefore  to  be  accepted  as  the  only  writer  able  to  pass 
with  authority  and  judgment  in  justice  to  both  parties.  To  avoid  repetition 
it  is  better  to  give  Dr.  Madden's  statement  in  full,  as  the  writer  has  in  his  pos- 
session all  the  material  from  the  original  papers  of  Mr.  Emmet  to  which  Mad- 
den had  access.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  writer  has  been  unable  to  trace 
other  material  which  passed  through  Dr.  Madden's  hands,  and  is  incorporated 
in  his  whole  narrative,  the  only  authority  now  accessible. 

In  the  pamphlet  from  which  the  report  of  Emmet's  examination  (See 
Appendix,  Note  XII)  is  taken,  no  account  is  given  of  the  compact  with  Gov- 
ernment, but  in  Macneven's  "Pieces  of  Irish  History"  a  statement  of  it  is 
given  by  him  at  considerable  length.  The  original  draft  of  a  paper  on  this 
subject,  unpublished  and  drawn  up  chiefly  by  Emmet,  exists  in  the  handwrit- 
ing of  himself,  Sweetman  and  Macneven,  and  as  it  differs  in  the  mode  of 
treating  the  matter  as  well  as  in  style,  and  in  some  respects  is  more  precise  and 
simple  in  its  details,  it  is  inserted  in  this  memoir  of  its  principal  author,  and 
however  fully  the  subject  has  been  gone  into,  the  importance  of  it  to  the  char- 
acter of  Emmet  would  alone  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  its  insertion. 

The  opponents  of  these  men  have  had  the  full  use  of  their  pens  and 
tongues  against  the  characters,  private  as  well  as  public,  of  the  men  of  1798. 

In  common  fairness  we  are  bound  to  hear  what  they  have  to  say  in  their 
own  defence,  or  at  least  in  extenuation  of  their  errors.  The  Musgraves,  the 
Duigenans,  the  Reynoldses  have  had  their  hearing — justice  demands  one  for 
them,  and  it  is  not  for  those  who  profess  to  love  justice  to  refuse  it. 


Emmet's  Account  of  the  Negotiation 


255 


The  account  of  the  compact  of  the  State  prisoners  with  the  Irish  Govern- 
ment, taken  from  the  original  draft  of  that  document  in  the  handwriting  of 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  John  Sweetman,  and  William  James  Macneven,  was 
drawn  up  by  them  in  France  on  their  liberation  from  Fort  George,  and  re- 
mained in  the  possession  of  John  Sweetman.  The  following  part  of  the  state- 
ment is  in  the  handwriting  of  Thomas  A.  Emmet : — 

We  the  undersigned,  until  this  day  State  prisoners  and  in  close  custody,  feel  that  the 
first  purpose  to  which  we  should  apply  our  liberty  is  to  give  to  the  world  a  short  account 
of  a  transaction  which  has  been  grossly  misrepresented  and  falsified,  but  respecting 
which  we  have  been  compelled  to  silence  for  nearly  the  last  three  years.  The  transaction 
alluded  to  is  the  agreement  entered  into  by  us  and  the  other  State  prisoners  with  the 
Irish  government,  at  the  close  of  the  month  of  luly,  1798;  and  we  take  this  step  without 
hesitation  because  it  can  in  nowise  injure  any  of  our  friends  and  former  fellow-prisoners, 
we  being  among  the  last  victims  of  perfidy  and  breach  of  faith. 

From  the  event  of  the  battles  of  Antrim  and  Ballinahinch  early  in  lune,  it  was  mani- 
fest that  the  northern  insurrection  had  failed  in  consolidating  itself.  The  severe  battle 
of  Vinegar  Hill  on  the  21st  of  the  same  month  led  to  its  termination  in  Leinster;  and 
the  capitulation  of  Ovidstown  on  the  13th  of  July,*  may  be  understood  as  the  last  ap- 
pearance in  the  field  of  any  body  capable  of  serving  as  a  rallying  point.  In  short,  the 
insurrection,  for  every  useful  purpose  that  could  be  expected  from  it  was  at  an  end ;  but 
blood  still  continued  to  flow — courts  martial,  special  commissions,  and  above  all  sanguinary 
Orangemen,  now  rendered  doubly  malevolent  and  revengeful  from  their  recent  terror, 
desolated  the  country,  and  devoted  to  death  the  most  virtuous  of  our  countrymen.  These 
were  lost  to  liberty,  while  she  was  gaining  nothing  by  the  sacrifice. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs  when  the  idea  of  entering  into  a  compact  with  the 
government  was  conceived  by  one  of  the  undersigned,  and  communicated  to  the  rest  of  us 
conjointly  with  the  other  prisoners  confined  in  the  Dublin  prisons,  by  the  terms  of  which 
compact  it  was  intended  that  as  much  be  saved  and  as  little  given  up  as  possible.  It  was 
the  more  urgently  pressed  upon  our  minds  and  the  more  quickly  matured  by  the  impend- 
ing fate  of  two  worthy  men.  Accordingly,  on  the  24th  of  July,  the  State  prisoners  began 
to  negotiate  with  Government,  and  an  agreement  was  finally  concluded,  by  the  persons 
named  by  their  fellow-prisoners,  at  the  Castle  of  Dublin,  and  was  finally  ratified  by  the 
Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Castlereagh,  and  Mr.  Cooke,  three  of  the  King's  ministers. 

In  no  part  of  this  paper  were  details  or  perfect  accuracy  deemed  necessary  because 
the  ministers,  and  particularly  Lord  Castlereagh  frequently  and  solemnly  declared  that 
it  should  in  every  part  be  construed  by  Government  with  the  utmost  liberality  and  good 
faith;  and  particularly  the  last  clause  was  worded  in  this  loose  manner  to  comply  with 
the  express  desire  of  the  ministers,  who  insisted  upon  retaining  to  Government  the  pop- 
ularity of  the  measure;  but  it  was  clearly  and  expressly  understood,  and  positively  en- 
gaged that  every  leading  man  not  guilty  of  deliberate  murder  should  be  included  in  the 
agreement  (who  should  choose  to  avail  himself  of  it)  in  as  full  and  ample  a  manner  as 
the  contracting  parties  themselves,  and  that  there  should  be  a  general  amnesty  with  the 
same  exceptions  for  the  body  of  the  people. 

We  entered  into  this  agreement  the  more  readily  because  it  appeared  to  us  that  by  it 
the  public  cause  lost  nothing.  We  knew  from  the  different  examinations  of  the  State 
prisoners  before  the  privy  council,  and  from  conversations  with  ministers  that  Govern- 
ment was  already  in  possession  of  all  the  important  knowledge  which  they  could  obtain 
from  us.   From  whence  they  derived  their  information  was  not  entirely  known  to  us,  but 


The  event  preceding  the  massacre  of  the  capitulated  body  of  the  United  Irishmen  on  the  Rath 
of  the  Curragh  of  Kildare,  by  the  command  of  Major  General  Sir  James  Duff,  executed  chiefly  by 
the  yeomanry  cavalry  of  Captain  Bagot,  and  the  Fox-hunting  Corps,  commanded  by  Lord  Roden. 


Flagrant  Breach  of  Contract 


it  is  now  manifest  that  Reynolds,  McGinn  and  Hughes,  not  to  speak  of  the  minor  in- 
formers, had  put  them  in  possession  of  every  material  fact  respecting  the  internal  state 
of  the  union ;  and  it  was  from  particular  circumstances  well  known  to  one  of  us,  and  en- 
tirely believed  by  the  rest,  that  its  external  relations  had  been  betrayed  to  the  English 
cabinet,  through  the  agency  of  a  foreigner  with  whom  we  negotiated. 

This  was  even  so  little  disguised  that,  on  the  preceding  12th  of  March,  the  contents 
of  a  memoir  which  had  been  prepared  by  one  of  the  undersigned  at  Hamburgh,  and 
transmitted  thence  to  Paris,  were  minutely  detailed  to  him  by  Mr.  Cooke.  Nevertheless 
those  with  whom  we  negotiated  seemed  extremely  anxious  for  our  communications. 
Their  reasons  for  this  anxiety  may  have  been  many,  but  two  particularly  suggested  them- 
selves to  our  minds;  they  obviously  wished  to  give  proof  to  the  enemies  of  an  Irish 
Republic  and  of  Irish  Independence,  of  the  facts  with  which  they  were  themselves  well 
acquainted,  while  at  the  same  time  they  concealed  from  the  world  their  real  sources  of 
intelligence.  Nor  do  we  believe  we  are  uncharitable  in  attributing  to  them  the  hope 
and  wish  of  rendering  unpopular  and  suspected  men  in  whom  the  United  Irishmen  had 
been  accustomed  to  place  an  almost  unbounded  confidence.  The  injurious  consequences 
of  Government  succeeding  in  both  these  objects,  were  merely  personal;  and  as  they  were 
no  more,  though  they  were  revolting  and  hateful  to  the  last  degree,  we  did  not  hesitate 
to  devote  ourselves  that  we  might  make  terms  for  our  country. 

What  were  these  terms  ?  That  it  should  be  rescued  from  civil  and  military  execution ; 
that  a  truce  should  be  obtained  for  liberty,  which  she  so  much  required.  There  was  also 
another  strongly  impelling  motive  for  entering  into  this  agreement.  If  Government  on 
the  one  hand  was  desirous  of  rousing  its  dependents  by  a  display  of  the  vigorous  and 
well-concerted  measures  that  were  taken  for  subverting  its  authority  and  shaking  off  the 
English  yoke;  so  we,  on  the  other  hand,  were  not  less  solicitous  for  the  vindication  of 
our  cause  in  the  eyes  of  the  liberal,  the  enlightened  and  patriotic.  We  perceived  that  in 
making  a  fair  and  candid  development  of  these  measures  we  should  be  enabled  boldly  to 
avow  and  justify  the  cause  of  the  Irish  union,  as  being  founded  upon  the  purest  princi- 
ples of  benevolence,  and  as  aiming  only  at  the  liberation  of  Ireland.  We  felt  that  we 
could  rescue  our  brotherhood  from  those  foul  imputations  which  had  been  industriously 
ascribed  to  it — the  pursuit  of  the  most  unjust  objects  by  means  of  the  most  flagitious 
crimes. 

If  our  country  has  not  actually  benefited  to  the  extent  of  our  wishes  and  of  our 
stipulations,  let  it  be  remembered  that  this  has  not  been  owing  to  the  compact,  but  to 
the  breach  of  the  compact,  the  gross  and  flagrant  breach  of  it,  both  as  to  the  letter  and 
spirit,  in  violation  of  every  principle  of  pledged  faith  and  honour. 

Having  been  called  upon  to  fulfill  our  part  of  the  compact,  a  stop  being  put  to  all 
further  trials  and  executions,  a  memoir  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  two  of  the  under- 
signed, together  with  another  of  the  body  [they  being  selected  by  Government  for  the 
purpose]  and  was  presented  to  Mr.  Cooke  on  the  4th  of  August.  It  was  very  hastily 
prepared  in  a  prison,  and  of  course  not  so  complete  and  accurate  as  it  might  otherwise 
have  been;  but  sufficiently  so  to  draw  from  Mr.  Cooke  an  acknowledgment  that  it  was  a 
complete  fulfilment  of  the  agreement ;  though  he  said  the  lord  lieutenant  wished  to  have 
it  so  altered  as  not  to  be  a  justification  of  the  United  Irishmen,  which  he  said  it  mani- 
festly was. 

Upon  the  refusal  to  alter  it,  Government  thought  proper  to  suppress  it  altogether,  and 
adopted  a  plan  which  they  had  already  found  convenient  for  promulgating  not  the  entire 
truth,  but  so  much  of  the  truth  as  accorded  with  their  views,  and  whatever  else  they 
wished  to  have  passed  upon  mankind  under  colour  of  authority  for  the  truth.  This  was 
no  other  than  examination  before  the  secret  committee  of  parliament.  By  these  com- 
mittees several  of  us  were  examined,  and  to  our  astonishment  we  soon  after  saw  in  the 
newspapers,  and  have  since  seen  in  printed  reports  of  these  committees,  misrepresented 
and  garbled,  and,  as  far  as  relates  to  some  of  us,  very  untrue  and  fallacious  statements 
of  our  testimony — even  in  some  cases  the  very  reverse  of  what  was  given.   That  no  sus- 


John  Sweetman's  Statement 


257 


picion  may  attach  to  this  assertion  from  its  vagueness,  such  of  us  as  were  examined  will, 
without  delay,  state  the  precise  substance  of  our  evidence  on  that  occasion. 

The  Irish  parliament  thought  fit  about  the  month  of  September  in  the  same  year,  to 
pass  an  act  to  be  founded  expressly  on  this  agreement.  To  the  provisions  of  that  law  we 
do  not  think  it  worth  while  to  allude  because  their  severity  and  injustices  are  lost  in  com- 
parison with  the  erroneous  falsehood  of  its  preamble.  In  answer  to  that  we  must  dis- 
tinctly and  formally  deny  that  any  of  us  did  ever  publicly,  or  privately,  directly  or  in- 
directly, acknowledge  crimes,  retract  opinions,  or  implore  pardon,  as  is  therein  most  falsely 
stated.  A  full  and  explicit  declaration  to  this  effect  would  have  been  made  public  at  the 
time,  had  it  not  been  prevented  by  a  message  from  Lord  Cornwallis,  delivered  to  one  of  the 
subscribers  on  the  12th  of  that  month.  Notwithstanding  we  had  expressly  stipulated  at 
the  time  of  the  negotiation  for  the  entire  liberty  of  publication  in  case  we  should  find  our 
conduct  or  motives  misrepresented,  yet  this  perfidious  and  inhuman  message  threatened 
that  such  declaration  would  be  considered  as  a  breach  of  the  agreement  on  our  part,  and 
in  that  case  the  executions  in  general  should  go  on  as  formerly. 

Thus  was  the  truth  stifled  at  the  time,  and  we  believe  firmly  that  to  prevent  its  publi- 
cation has  been  one  of  the  principal  reasons  why,  in  violation  of  the  most  solemn  engage- 
ments, we  were  kept  in  close  custody  ever  since,  and  transported  from  our  native  country 
against  our  consent. 

We  conceive  that  to  ourselves,  to  our  cause,  and  to  our  country  and  to  posterity,  we 
owe  this  brief  statement  of  facts,  in  which  we  have  suppressed  everything  that  is  not  of 
a  nature  strictly  vindicatory;  because  our  object  in  this  publication  is  not  to  criminate  but 
to  defend.  As  to  their  truth  we  positively  aver  them,  each  for  himself,  as  far  as  they 
fall  within  his  knowledge,  and  we  firmly  believe  the  others  to  be  the  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth. 

The  following  part  of  the  statement  is  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Sweet- 
man  : 

On  the  12th  of  March,  1798,  the  deputies  from  several  counties,  having  met  in  Dublin 
to  deliberate  upon  some  general  measures  for  the  union,  were  arrested  in  a  body  at  Mr. 
Bond's  as  were  also  many  others  of  its  principal  agents,  and  put  into  a  state  of  solitary 
confinement. 

Some  of  these  persons  were  examined  by  the  privy  council  previous  to  their  committal 
to  prison;  when  it  appeared  beyond  a  possibility  of  doubt  that  the  negotiations  of  the 
United  Irishmen  with  France  had  been  betrayed  to  the  British  Government  on  the  30th,  the 
Kingdom  was  officially  declared  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  and  put  under  martial  law.  A 
proclamation  from  the  lord  lieutenant  had  directed  the  military  to  use  the  most  summary 
method  for  repressing  disturbances;  and  it  was  publicly  notified  by  the  commanders  in 
some  counties  that  unless  the  people  brought  in  their  arms  in  ten  days  from  the  period 
of  publication,  large  bodies  of  troops  would  be  quartered  on  them  who  should  be  licensed 
to  live  at  free  quarters,  and  that  other  severities  would  be  exercised  to  enforce  acquies- 
cence. In  the  latter  end  of  May  the  United  armed  men  of  the  County  Kildare  felt  them- 
selves obliged  to  take  the  field,  and  hostilities  commenced  between  them  and  the  King's 
forces  on  the  24th.  About  this  time  the  Counties  of  Wexford  and  Wicklow  were  generally 
up,  and  those  of  Down,  Derry,  Antrim,  Carlow,  and  Meath  were  preparing  to  rise.  The 
appeals  to  arms  in  these  counties  were  attended  with  various  success  on  both 
sides,  and  the  military  were  invested  with  further  powers  by  a  proclamation 
issued  by  the  lord  lieutenant  and  council,  directing  the  generals  to  punish  all  attacks  upon 
the  King's  forces,  according  to  martial  law,  either  by  death  or  otherwise,  as  to  them  should 
seem  expedient.  For  some  time  the  people  had  the  advantage  in  the  field,  but  the  defeat 
at  New  Ross  on  the  5th  of  June,  at  Antrim  on  the  7th,  that  of  Arklow  on  the  9th,  of 
Ballinahinch  on  the  12th,  of  Vinegar  Hill  on  the  21st,  and  Kilconnell  on  the  26th,  with  the 
evacuation  of  Wexford,  and  some  unsuccessful  skirmishes  which  afterwards  took  place 


258 


The  Compact  According  to  Macneven 


in  the  County  of  Wicklow,  removed  all  hope  of  maintaining  the  contest  for  the  present 
with  any  probability  of  success.  In  the  interim  troops  were  arriving  from  England  and 
several  regiments  of  English  militia  had  volunteered  their  services  for  Ireland.  About 
the  end  of  June  a  proclamation  was  issued  promising  pardon  and  protection  to  all  persons 
except  the  leaders  who  should  return  to  their  allegiance  and  deliver  up  their  arms,  which 
it  was  said  had  a  very  general  effect.  A  large  body  of  the  Kildare  men  had  already  sur- 
rendered to  General  Dundas,  and  on  the  21st  of  July  another  party  with  its  leaders, 
capitulated  with  General  Wilford.  The  King's  troops,  by  this  time,  were  victorious  in 
every  quarter,  and  the  park  of  artillery  which  had  been  employed  in  the  south  had  re- 
turned to  the  capital. 

It  was  now  upwards  of  two  months  since  the  war  broke  out,  during  which  time  no 
attempt  had  been  made  by  the  French  to  land  a  force  upon  the  coast,  nor  was  there  any 
satisfactory  account  then  received  that  such  a  design  was  in  contemplation.  The  expedi- 
tion of  Buonaparte  and  the  forces  under  his  command  were  already  ascertained  to  have 
some  part  of  the  Mediterranean  for  their  object.  No  other  diversion  was  made  by  the 
French  to  distract  the  British  power  during  this  period.  Military  tribunals,  composed 
of  officers,  who  in  many  instances,  as  has  been  publicly  admitted,  had  not  exceeded  the 
inconsiderate  age  of  boyhood,  were  everywhere  instituted  and  a  vast  number  of  executions 
had  been  the  consequence.  The  yeomen  and  soldiers,  licensed  to  indulge  their  rancor  and 
revenge,  were  committing  these  atrocious  cruelties  which  unfortunately  distinguish  the 
character  of  civil  warfare.  The  shooting  of  innocent  peasants  at  their  work  was  occasion- 
ally resorted  to  by  them  as  a  species  of  recreation — a  practice  so  inhuman  that  unless  we 
had  incontestible  evidence  of  the  fact  we  never  should  have  given  it  the  slightest 
credibility.  During  these  transactions  a  special  commission  under  an  act  of  parliament 
was  sitting  in  the  capital ;  and  the  trials  having  commenced,  it  was  declared  from  the 
bench  that  to  be  proved  an  United  Irishman  was  sufficient  to  subject  the  party  to  the 
penalty  of  death,  and  that  any  member  of  a  baronial  or  other  committee  was  accountable 
for  every  act  done  by  the  body  to  which  he  respectively  belonged  in  its  collective  capacity, 
whether  it  was  done  without  his  cognizance,  in  his  absence,  or  even  at  the  extremity  of 
the  land.  As  it  was  openly  avowed  that  convictions  would  be  sought  for  only  through 
the  medium  of  informers,  the  government  used  every  influence  to  dignify  the  character 
of  this  wretched  class  of  beings  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  were  selected  to  decide  on  the 
lives  of  the  accused ;  and  they  so  effectually  succeeded  as  to  secure  implicit  respect  to 
whatever  any  of  them  chose  to  swear,  from  juries  so  appointed,  so  prepossessed.  It  was 
made  a  point  by  the  first  connections  of  Government  to  flatter  these  wretches,  and  some 
peers  of  the  realm  were  known  to  have  hailed  the  arch-apostate  Reynolds  with  the  title 
"Saviour  of  his  Country". 

The  following  part  of  the  statement  is  in  the  handwriting  of  William  James 
Macneven : 

In  the  case  of  Mr.  Bond,  the  Jury,  with  an  indecent  precipitation,  returned  a  verdict 
of  guilty  on  the  23rd  of  July,  and  on  the  25th  he  was  sentenced  to  die.  Byrne  was  also 
ordered  for  execution.  In  this  situation  of  our  affairs  a  negotiation  was  opened  with 
Government,  and  proceeded  in  through  the  medium  of  Mr.  Dobbs.  An  agreement  was  in 
consequence  concluded  and  signed,  which,  among  other  things,  stipulated  for  the  lives 
of  Byrne  and  Bond ;  but  Government  thought  fit  to  annul  this  by  the  execution  of  Byrne. 
As,  however,  the  main  object,  the  putting  a  stop  to  the  useless  effusion  of  blood,  was  still 
attainable,  it  was  deemed  right  to  open  a  second  negotiation.  In  its  progress  Government 
having  insisted  on  some  dishonourable  requisitions,  which  were  rejected  with  indignation, 
occasioned  the  failure  of  this  also.  It  was  however  proposed  by  them  to  renew  it  again, 
and  deputies  from  the  gaols  were  appointed  to  confer  with  the  official  servants  of  the 
crown.  A  meeting  accordingly  took  place  at  the  Castle  on  the  29th  of  July  when  the  final 
agreement  was  concluded  and  exchanged. 


Agreement  Signed  by  the  Prisoners 


259 


In  addition  to  the  fulfilment  to  the  letter  of  this  agreement,  the  official  servants  of  the 
crown  pledged  the  faith  of  Government  for  two  things — one  that  the  result  and  end  of 
that  measure  should  be  the  putting  a  stop  to  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  that  all  executions 
should  cease,  except  in  cases  of  wilful  murders.  The  other  was  that  the  conditions  of 
the  agreement  should  he  liberally  interpreted.  The  agreement  was  in  the  course  of  a  day 
or  two  generally  signed  by  the  prisoners. 


Whilst  the  United  Irishmen  retained  the  control  of  the  original  Directory,  their  progress 
<was  sure  and  steady,  but  from  the  moment  that  its  members  'were  snatched  from  their 
position,  and  either  crushed  unto  death  or  consigned  to  dungeons,  the  contrary  result, 
as  might  naturally  be  expected,  ensued. 

W.  J.  Fitzpatrick. 


The  views  of  those  <who  are  associated  as  United  Irishmen  did  not  extend  beyond  the 
attainment  of  a  reform  in  parliament  by  peaceful  and  constitutional  means. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XII 

Continued  quotations  from  the  memoir — Reasons  for  entering  into  and  ratifying  the 
agreement  made  with  Government — Absolute  denial  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  Government 
statement  regarding  the  terms  of  treaty  recently  made  by  any  Irish  leader — This  declara- 
tion due  to  the  credit  of  their  country  and  countrymen — The  course  in  Parliament  of  Hon. 
Francis  Hutchinson  toward  the  State  prisoners — Action  of  Wm.  C.  Plunket — McNaugh- 
ten  moved  that  they  should  be  immediately  brought  to  trial  and  executed — Madden's 
statement  as  to  the  relation  of  T.  A.  Emmet  and  Plunket — St.  John  Mason's  statement — 
The  views  of  Dr.  Robt.  Emmet  and  Macneven  on  this  subject — Rigors  of  Emmet's  im- 
prisonment— Letter  from  Emmet  to  Russell  in  relation  to  Tone — Phillips  on  Tone's  course 
— The  enmity  of  Clare  and  Ponsonby  to  Tone — The  efforts  of  Marcus  Beresford,  George 
Knox,  and  the  Atty.-General  Wolfe  to  save  Tone's  life — The  special  views  of  Geo.  Knox — 
Consent  of  the  Government  that  Tone  should  go  into  exile  to  the  United  States — A  parole 
of  honor  no  doubt  implied  as  to  his  exile — Tone's  account  of  an  interview  with  Emmet 
and  Russell  and  his  statement  that  they  fully  agreed  as  to  his  interpretation  of  his  relation 
to  the  government — Did  Tone  violate  his  parole  of  honor  and  justify  England's  course? — 
Tone's  relation  with  the  French  minister  at  Philadelphia — Savage's  account  of  the  friend- 
ship existing  between  Emmet,  Russell  and  Tone — Description  of  Thomas  Russell,  his 
person  and  political  course — Tone  leaves  his  family  in  the  United  States  and  returns  to 
France — Falkiner's  account  of  the  relation  between  Tone  and  Lord  Clare. 


HE  quotation  from  the  Memoir  is  continued  at  greater 
length : 

Having  thus  stated  the  facts,  we  proceed  to  declare  our 
reasons  for  entering  into  and  ratifying  this  agreement;  1st,  Be- 
cause we  had  seen,  with  great  affliction,  that  in  the  course  of  the 
appeal  to  arms,  while  four  or  five  counties  out  of  the  thirty-two 
were  making  head  against  the  whole  of  the  King's  forces,  no 
effectual  disposition  was  manifested  to  assist  them,  owing,  as  we 
believe,  to  the  extreme  difficulty  of  assembling,  and  the  want 
of  authentic  information  as  to  the  real  state  of  affairs.  2ndly,  Because  the  concurring  or 
quiescent  spirit  of  the  English  people  enabled  their  government  to  send  not  only  a  con- 
siderable additional  regular  force,  but  also  many  regiments  of  English  militia  into  Ireland. 
3rdly,  Because  it  was  evident  that  in  many  instances  the  want  of  military  knowledge  in 
the  leaders  had  rendered  the  signal  valor  of  the  people  fruitless.  4thly,  Because,  notwith- 
standing it  was  well  known  in  France  that  the  revolution  had  commenced  in  Ireland — an 
event  that  they  were  previously  taught  to  expect — no  attempt  whatever  was  made  by  them 
to  land  any  force  during  the  two  months  which  the  contest  had  lasted,  nor  was  any  account 
received  that  it  was  their  intention  even  shortly  to  do  so.  Sthly,  Because  that  by  the 
arrest  of  many  of  the  deputies  and  chief  agents  of  the  union,  and  by  the  absence  of  others, 
the  funds  necessary  for  the  undertaking  were  obstructed  or  uncollected,  and  hence  arose 

260 


End  of  the  Memoir 


261 


insurmountable  difficulties.  6thly,  Because  from  the  several  defeats  at  New  Ross  and 
Wexford,  no  doubt  remained  on  our  minds  that  farther  resistance,  for  the  present,  was 
not  only  vain  but  nearly  abandoned.  7thly,  Because  we  were  well  assured  that  the  procla- 
mation of  amnesty  issued  on  the  29th  June  had  caused  great  numbers  to  surrender  their 
arms  and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  8thly,  Because  juries  were  so  packed,  justice  so 
perverted,  and  the  testimony  of  the  basest  informers  so  respected  that  trial  was  but  a 
mockery,  and  arraignment  but  the  tocsin  for  execution.  9thly,  Because  we  were  convinced 
by  the  official  servants  of  the  crown,  and  by  the  evidence  given  on  the  trials  that  govern- 
ment was  already  in  possession  of  our  external  and  internal  transactions;  the  former 
they  obtained  as  we  believe  through  the  perfidy  of  some  agents  of  the  French  government 
at  Hamburgh;  the  latter  through  informers  who  had  been  less  or  more  confidential  in 
all  our  affairs.  lOthly,  and  finally,  every  day  accounts  of  the  murders  of  our  -most  virtuous 
and  energetic  countrymen  assailed  our  ears;  many  were  perishing  on  the  scaffold,  under 
pretext  of  martial  or  other  law,  but  many  more  the  victims  of  individual  Orange  hatred 
and  revenge.  To  stop  this  torrent  of  calamity,  to  preserve  to  Ireland  her  best  blood  .  .  . 
we  determined  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  no  trivial  value — we  agreed  to  abandon  our  country, 
our  families  and  cur  friends. 

And  now  we  feel  ourselves  further  called  upon  to  declare  that  an  Act,  passed  in 
Ireland  during  the  autumn  of  1798,  reciting  our  names  and  asserting  that  we  had 
retracted  our  opinions,  acknowledged  our  crimes,  and  implored  pardon,  is  founded  upon  a 
gross  and  flagrant  calumny — neither  we,  the  undersigned,  nor  any  of  our  fellow-prisoners, 
so  far  as  we  know  or  believe,  having  ever  done  either  the  one  or  the  other;  and  we 
solemnly  assert  that  we  never  were  consulted  about  that  Act,  its  provisions  or  preamble, 
and  that  no  copy  of  it  was  ever  sent  to  us  by  any  servant  of  the  Crown,  though  repeatedly 
promised  by  the  under-secretary,  or  by  any  other  person.  On  the  contrary  it  had,  unknown 
to  us,  passed  the  House  of  Commons,  when  one  of  us  [Samuel  Neilson],  having  seen  by 
mere  accident  an  abstract  of  it  in  an  English  newspaper,  remonstrated  with  the  servants 
of  the  Crown  on  the  falsity  of  the  preamble,  and  was  silenced  only  by  a  message  from 
the  lord  lieutenant  that  it  was  his  positive  determination  to  annul  the  agreement  and 
proceed  with  the  executions,  etc.,  if  any  further  notice  whatever  was  taken  of  the  preamble, 
or  if  one  word  was  published  on  the  subject.  We  did  not  conceive  ourselves  warranted, 
situated  as  things  then  were,  in  being  instrumental  to  a  renewal  of  bloodshed.  We  have 
ever  been  constrained  to  silence,  for,  in  violation  of  a  solemn  agreement,  we  have  been  kept 
close  prisoners. 

To  our  country  and  to  posterity  we  felt  that  we  owed  this  declaration ;  and  to  their 
judgment  upon  our  conduct  and  motives  we  bow  with  respectful  submission  * 

Dr.  Madden  in  "The  United  Irishmen,  Their  Lives  and  Times",  continues 
this  subject  as  follows : 

In  the  month  of  July,  1798,  the  negotiations  were  entered  into  with  the  government 
of  which  the  principal  details  have  been  given  in  the  preceding  manner.  On  the  tenth  of 
August  T.  A  Emmet  was  examined  before  the  secret  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords. 
A  very  small  portion  of  this  examination  was  given  in  the  parliamentary  report  purporting 
to  contain  the  examination  of  the  State  prisoners.  On  their  liberation  from  Fort  George, 
Emmet,  O'Connor  and  Macneven  published  in  London  a  pamphlet  containing  the  memoir 
of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  union  they  had  delivered  to  the  Irish  government  and 
an  account  of  their  examination  in  which  the  suppressed  portions  of  their  evidence  were 
given. t  The  pamphlet  is  now  rarely  to  be  met  with,  and  from  it  the  following  account 
of  the  examination  of  T.  A.  Emmet  is  taken,  after  having  compared  it  with  the  original 
document  in  the  possession  of  the  son  of  one  of  the  parties  to  the  compact. 


•See  Appendix,  Note  XII.,  Second  report  to  the  House  of  Lords  from  the  Secret  Committee 
in  relation  to  the  State  prisoners. 

f'Memoirs  of  the  Irish  Union",  Robinson,  London,  1802. 


262  The  Course  of  Francis  Hutchinson 


The  original,  found  among  the  papers  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  from  which  Dr. 
Madden  obtained  the  copy  he  reproduced  in  his  work,  was  also  copied  by  the 
writer  and  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix  (Note  VIII). 

In  connection  with  the  action  of  William  Conyngham  Plunket  in  Parlia- 
ment, when  the  reputation  of  the  State  prisoners  was  at  stake,  they  published 
a  statement  taking  exception  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  Government  statement 
regarding  the  compact  made,  which  was  under  consideration  before  that  body. 
Dr.  Madden  has  treated  the  incident  at  some  length.  As  Mr.  Emmet  was 
known  to  have  made  so  little  reference  to  the  subject,  the  writer  felt  hesitancy 
in  doing  so.  But  on  due  reflection  he  decided  that  the  subject  as  an  incident 
in  Mr.  Emmet's  life  could  not  be  ignored.  If  more  detailed  information  is 
desired,  the  reader  will  do  well  to  refer  to  Dr.  Madden's  work. 

Dr.  Madden  states : 

We  now  come  to  a  transaction  which  involves  the  character  of  a  great  Whig  lawyer, 
namely,  William  Conyngham  Plunket ;  and  it  behooves  us  in  dealing  with  it  to  steer  clear 
of  angry  commentaries  and  criticisms  of  his  conduct  in  regard  to  T.  A.  Emmet,  and  to 
cite  official  authorities  for  any  accounts  given  of  his  transaction  and  its  results.  I  allude 
to  his  conduct  in  parliament  during  Emmet's  imprisonment  in  August  1798  and  in  relation 
to  an  advertisement  which  appeared  in  two  of  the  morning  newspapers  complaining  of 
the  garbled  reports  that  had  been  published  in  the  government  newspapers  of  the  evidence 
of  Messrs.  Emmet,  O'Connor,  and  Macneven  before  the  secret  committees. 

The  only  reports  that  existed  of  the  proceedings  in  parliament  in  1798  are  those  which 
are  given  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  except  in  the  case  of  the  Union  debates,  when 
important  speeches  are  found  separately  published.  I  prefer  taking  the  report  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  on  the  27th  of  August  from  a  government 
paper  at  that  time,  and  therefore  I  make  use  of  the  "Freeman's  Journal"  of  the  28th 
August,  1798. 

The  Hon.  Francis  Hutchinson  called  attention  to  an  advertisement  of  three  of  the 
State  prisoners  [Emmet,  O'Connor  and  Macneven]  in  the  "Hibernian  Journal  and 
Saunders'  News  Letter".  He  said : — "That  advertisement  whether  considerd  as  a  libel 
on  that  House  of  Parliament,  or  as  a  manifesto  exciting  rebellion,  was  one  of  the  most 
daring  and  insolent  compositions  he  had  ever  read"  .  .  .  Mr.  Plunket  said : — "He  repro- 
bated in  the  strongest  terms  the  publication  which  had  been  read  to  the  House  by  the 
honourable  gentleman  who  had  proposed  the  motion  then  before  the  House,  and  described 
it  to  be  a  species  of  proclamation  or  manifesto  couched  in  the  most  libellous  and  insolent 
language,  and  proceeding  from  three  men  who  were  signal  instances  of  the  royal  mercy 
to  all  the  open  and  concealed  traitors  of  the  country;  urging  to  rebellion  and  to  the  aid 
of  a  French  invasion,  calling  upon  their  friends  to  cast  from  them  all  fear  of  having  been 
detected  in  their  treasons,  and  to  prosecute  anew  those  machinations  which  had  been 
suspended.  He  felt  strongly  the  obligation  of  government  to  observe  good  faith  towards 
those  men  in  any  conditions  made  with  them,  but  he  also  conceived  it  to  be  incumbent 
on  the  executive  power  to  adopt  such  precautions  as  should  effectually  prevent  the  state 
prisoners  from  corrupting  the  public  mind".  [The  report  of  Mr.  Plunket's  speech  on 
this  occasion  is  given  without  any  curtailment].  .  .  .  Mr.  McNaughten  was  of  opinion 
that,  as  martial  law  had  not  ceased,  the  persons  in  question,  Arthur  O'Connor,  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet,  and  Dr.  Macneven,  should  be  immediately  brought  to  trial  and  executed. 

Dr.  Madden  continues  ("Lives",  3rd  series,  p.  77)  : 

The  late  Lord  Plunket  had  been  the  early  friend  and  fellow-student  at  the  University 
of  T.  A.  Emmet.  Of  that  fact  there  can  be  no  doubt.  All  the  members  of  the  family 
and  intimate  friends  and  early  associates  of  T.  A.  Emmet  in  America  and  Ireland,  with 


William  Conyngham  Plunket 


whom  I  have  been  in  communication,  are  agreed  on  that  point.  .  .  .  /  believe  that  the 
late  Lord  Plunket  and  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  were  not  only  intimate,  as  Lord 
Plunket  stated,  but  very  intimately  acquainted  and  on  terms  of  the  most  intimate 
friendship,  when  they  were  fellow-students  at  the  University  of  Dublin,  and  at  the 
Inns  of  Court  in  England.  And  be  it  observed,  there  was  a  long  interval  between  the 
two  periods  above  indicated.  T.  A.  Emmet  entered  college  in  1778,  and  he  was  not 
called  to  the  bar  till  the  month  of  May,  1790.  And  Lord  Plunket  admits  in  his  affidavit 
that  it  was  after  T.  A.  Emmet  had  been  called  to  the  bar  "that  all  intimacy  ceased  between 
him  and  deponent".  So  here  we  have  an  admission  of  an  intimacy  that  had  subsisted 
twelve  years  and  upwards  between  two  young  men  of  the  same  pursuits,  of  similar  gifts 
and  kindred  talents,  of  congenial  and  literary  tastes,  being  suddenly  broken  off  on  account 
of  a  difference  in  their  political  opinions,  and  at  a  time,  too,  when  neither  of  them  had 
ever  taken  any  prominent  part  in  political  affairs  or  controversies.  I  say  to  that  state- 
ment, the  estrangement  referred  to  is  highly  improbable,  and  that  the  friends  of  T.  A. 
Emmet  are  not  conscious  of  it  .  .  .  .  T.  A.  Emmet,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  considered 
that  Mr.  Plunket  was  his  friend  up  to  the  time  of  his  arrest  and  imprisonment  in  March, 
1798  ....  Mr.  St.  John  Mason,  the  nephew  of  Dr.  Emmet's  wife,  in  reference  to  the 
part  taken  in  Parliament  by  Mr.  Plunket  in  relation  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  makes  use 
of  these  words  in  his  written  statement  to  me  of  his  reminiscences  of  the  Emmet  family : — 
"I  have  heard  Dr.  Emmet  say  that  he  [Plunket]  was  an  ungrateful  man".  That  Dr.  Emmet 
believed  Mr.  W.  C.  Plunket  had  been  under  obligations  of  friendship  to  his  son  T.  A. 
Emmet  I  have  no  doubt.  That  T.  A.  Emmet  was  shocked  and  disgusted  when  he  heard 
of  the  part  taken  by  W.  C.  Plunket  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  occasion  of  the 
proceedings  in  relation  to  the  advertisement  of  the  State  prisoners,  I  can  have  no  doubt 
.  .  .  .  Dr.  W.  J.  Macneven,  conjointly  with  T.  A.  Emmet,  published  in  New  York  in 
1807  a  work  entitled  "Pieces  of  Irish  History".  ...  In  the  latter  treatise  at  page  162 
Dr.  Macneven,  in  reference  to  the  advertisement  signed  by  T.  A.  Emmet,  A.  O'Connor, 
and  Macneven,  of  the  27th  of  August,  says:  "A  tempest  of  folly  and  fury  was  immediately 
excited  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Blinded  by  their  rage,  the  members  of  that  honour- 
able assembly  neglected  the  obvious  distinction  between  the  newspapers  and  their  report. 
They  took  to  themselves  the  falsehoods  that  had  been  repelled.  Mr.  McNaughten,  and  two 
virulent  barristers,  Francis  Hutchinson  and  Conyngham  Plunket,  were  even  clamorous  for 
having  the  persons  who  signed  the  refutation  disposed  of  by  a  summary  execution. 
Plunket  had  been  the  bosom  intimate  of  Emmet — the  companion  of  his  childhood,  and  the 
friend  of  his  youth". 

Is  it  to  be  imagined  that  T.  A.  Emmet  would  have  allowed  his  statements  to  go  forth 
in  a  work  that  was  a  joint  publication  of  his  and  his  associate  and  confidential  friend, 
Macneven,  if  he  believed  the  main  facts  with  regard  to  his  relations  with  Plunket  were 
misstated — however  more  sober  and  less  exaggerated  the  terms  of  it  might  have  been, 
had  that  account  of  his  former  friendship  with  Mr.  Plunket  been  written  by  himself? 

But  with  the  precision  which  characterized  every  thing  written  or  said  by  T.  A. 
Emmet,  we  find  in  a  letter  of  his  to  Rufus  King,  dated  the  9th  of  April,  1807,  that  when 
he  speaks  of  this  transaction  he  does  not  implicate  Plunket  in  the  atrocity  he  imputes  to 
another  member  of  the  House  of  Commons ;  he  merely  says — "A  proposal  was  made  in  the 
Irish  House  of  Commons  by  Mr.  McNaughten,  an  Orangeman,  to  take  us  out  and  hang 
us  without  trial". 

No  doubt  Emmet's  disgust  and  indignation  at  the  treacherous  conduct  of  Mr.  W.  C. 
Plunket  in  his  regard — namely,  in  hounding  on  the  government  to  measures  of  severity 
against  him  and  the  other  two  state  prisoners — prevented  his  making  mention  of  the  name 
of  W.  C.  Plunket.  And  this  was  the  line  of  conduct  that  any  one  acquainted  with  the 
character  of  T.  A.  Emmet  would  have  a  right  to  expect  at  his  hands. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  refer  again  to  this  subject  when  the  trial  of  Robert 
Emmet  is  being  considered. 


264 


Rigors  of  Emmet's  Imprisonment 


The  first  question  put  to  Mr.  Emmet  at  his  examination  before  the  Com- 
mittee from  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  was : — "Were  you  a  United  Irish- 
man" ?  His  answer  was : — "I  am  one".  This  answer,  and  the  fact  that  it 
was  known  that  he  had  to  a  great  extent  written  the  different  papers  which 
had  been  issued  in  the  name  of  the  Irish  leaders,  increased  the  enmity  and  ill- 
will  of  several  members  of  the  Irish  Government,  and  of  no  one  more  than 
Lord  Castlereagh,  who,  to  the  last,  persecuted  his  helpless  prisoner.  So  far 
as  an  honest  and  charitable  man  could  cherish  to  the  fullest  extent  a  bitter 
hatred  for  another,  Mr.  Emmet  fully  reciprocated  the  feeling.  Through  the 
press,  the  public  was  informed  that  the  Irish  leaders  had  been  subjected  to  the 
closest  solitary  confinement  in  punishment  for  their  late  exhibition  of  a  re- 
bellious spirit.  This  was  true  so  far  as  they  were  confined  without  inter- 
course with  each  other,  but  they  were  not  restricted  in  the  matter  of  occupy- 
ing light  and  well-ventilated  rooms,  supplied  with  such  books  as  they  wished 
and  with  supposedly  good  food.  Mr.  Emmet  was  the  only  exception ;  by  order 
of  Castlereagh  he  was  confined  for  six  weeks  in  total  darkness,  but  in  a  fairly 
dry  cell  under  the  prison.  The  cell  was  about  seven  feet  in  length,  with  the 
walls  within  reach  on  each  side,  and  the  only  ventilation  was  from  a  loop-hole 
above  the  door.  He  was  allowed  no  bed-clothing  and  lay  on  a  stone  shelf 
raised  but  a  few  inches  from  the  floor.  He  had  no  change  of  underclothing 
during  that  time,  and  was  deprived  of  every  means  of  cleanliness,  even 
of  the  facility  for  washing  his  hands  and  face.  He  was  kept  on  bread  and 
water,  often  insufficient  in  quantity  to  satisfy  either  his  hunger  or  thirst.  The 
bread  was  of  the  worst  quality  and  the  water  always  offensive  both  in  taste 
and  smell.  Not  many  years  since  the  writer  had  in  his  possession  a  small 
book  about  one  and  a  half  inches  square  and  consisting  of  only  a  few  pages, 
which  Mr.  Emmet  had  contrived  to  conceal  on  his  person  and  in  which  he 
marked  with  pencil  the  number  of  days  he  was  thus  held  in  solitary  confine- 
ment on  insufficient  food.  Evidently  his  only  means  of  computing  time  was 
the  daily  delivery  of  his  bread  and  water.  He  saw  no  one  save  once  in 
twenty-four  hours,  and  that  a  foul-smelling  attendant  who  threw  his  bread 
in  anywhere  upon  the  floor,  and,  before  he  could  place  the  vessel  of  water  on 
the  floor,  he  often  succeeded  in  spilling  some  portion,  at  the  same  time  giving 
vent  to  the  foulest  combination  of  words  in  the  way  of  curses  at  Mr.  Emmet 
for  his  rebel  proclivities. 

Mr.  Emmet  fully  realized  at  the  beginning  that  he  was  placed  there  by  his 
enemy  with  the  determination  to  break  his  spirit  and  compel  him  to  sue  for 
mercy  or  lose  his  life  in  the  struggle.  The  only  movable  article  in  the  cell, 
with  the  exception  of  the  wooden  vessel  for  holding  his  allowance  of  drinking 
water  was  a  heavy  wooden  bucket  without  a  cover  for  containing  the  dejecta. 
On  Mr.  Emmet  making  the  request  for  a  cover,  the  brutal  turnkey  struck 
at  his  head  with  the  bucket,  knocking  him  from  his  seat.  The  blow  glanced 
from  his  shoulder,  but  would  have  fractured  his  skull  had  there  been  light 
enough  to  direct  it  as  intended.  The  receptable  was  never  covered  or  washed 
out,  and  the  contents  were  often  emptied  on  the  entry  floor  before  the  door  of 


Release  from  Confinement 


the  cell.  As  there  was  no  ventilation  except  through  the  entry,  which  was 
at  a  great  distance  from  any  efficient  communication  with  the  external  air,  the 
atmosphere  at  no  time  could  have  been  a  healthy  one  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  the  life  of  an  individual  could  have  been  sustained  in  it.  In  the 
Appendix  will  be  found  some  account  of  treatment  of  prisoners  in  English 
prisons  (Note  XIII).  Day  after  day  passed  without  a  remonstrance  on  Mr. 
Emmet's  part,  although  time  ceased  to  have  any  connection  with  his  existence, 
so  far  as  he  was  able  to  appreciate  it. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  a  man  who,  without  effort,  saw  and  heard  everything 
about  him,  and  forgot  nothing.  There  seemed  no  information  to  be  acquired 
by  a  human  being  of  which  he  did  not  acquire  some  knowledge,  and  often  to 
the  extent  of  being  an  expert.  His  time  soon  became  fully  occupied  in  the 
study  of  the  masonry  of  the  walls  of  his  cell,  which  he  could  not  see.  He  soon 
knew  the  number  of  stones  in  the  walls  of  his  cell  and  the  size  of  each,  and 
by  touch  he  learned  to  recognize  the  work  of  each  mason  who  dressed  the  face 
of  the  different  stones.  From  his  knowledge  of  geology  he  studied  the  nat- 
ural history  of  each  block  and  recalled  where  in  different  parts  of  Ireland  he 
had  noticed  the  out-cropping  of  the  same  material,  or  some  indication  of  its 
existence  in  the  neighborhood,  and  even  gave  thought  to  the  special  canal 
route  by  which  it  had  been  brought  to  Dublin. 

Although  he  became  emaciated  and  often  too  weak  to  hunt  for  the  piece 
of  bread  last  thrown  in,  he  now  felt  that  the  end  of  his  suffering  was  rapidly 
approaching,  when  at  length,  in  his  semi-conscious  condition,  he  realized  that 
he  was  to  be  released.  Someone  in  authority  was  prompted  through  kindness 
to  act  and  to  do  so  without  the  knowledge  of  Castlereagh.  The  kindly  wife  of 
the  head  jailor  was  thus  able  to  intervene  without  fear  of  the  brute,  Dr. 
Trevor,*  a  creation  and  tool  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  but  the  jailer  was  removed  as 
soon  as  it  became  known  that  directions  were  not  carried  out.  Mr.  Em- 
met's condition  was  such  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  messenger  to  swing 
him  across  his  shoulder  and  take  him  to  his  new  quarters.  Until  after  the 
death  of  Mr.  Emmet  no  knowledge  of  the  details  of  his  suffering  during  this 
close  confinement  was  ever  imparted  even  to  his  family.  And  then  only  as 
stated  by  Dr.  Macneven,  who  learned  them  from  his  friend  after  his  arrival 
in  this  country,  but  the  sufferer  was  never  known  to  have  uttered  a  complaint 


"It  would  be  well  for  the  reader  to  consult  the  Appendix,  where  a  remarkable  production  from 
the  pen  of  St.  John  Mason,  a  first  cousin  of  the  Emmets,  will  be  found  (Note  XIII).  Mr. 
Mason  was  arrested,  apparently  on  no  evidence  beyond  that  of  his  relationship,  and  was  only  re- 
leased after  a  long  imprisonment,  broken  in  health  and  fortune.  He  had  acquired  the  enmity  of 
Trevor  and  suffered  a  merciless  persecution  in  consequence.  After  Mason's  release  he  devoted  every 
effort  to  the  purpose  of  having  Trevor  removed,  but  it  was  only  after  some  years  that  he  finally 
succeeded  in  having  the  matter  brought  before  Parliament  and  an  investigating  committee  appointed 
by  the  House  of  Commons,  by  which  he  succeeded  in  his  purpose.  He  published  three  large  pam- 
phlets, the  first  and  the  least  voluminous  of  which  is  given  in  the  Appendix  as  showing  the  type 
of  men  which  always  have  been  selected  by  the  English  official  and  which  come  in  contact  with  the  Irish 
people.  To  be  totally  unfit  for  the  position  is  the  chief  requisite.  To  such  persons  was  given  a  free 
hand  to  rob  both  the  people  and  the  Government.  If  by  accident  a  better  man  came  into  place  he 
was  soon  removed.  One  of  Mason's  books  contains  a  statement  of  his  case,  and  the  last,  the  most 
valuable  for  historical  purposes,  is  rendered  so  by  containing  little  more  than  extracts  from  the  report 
published  by  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons.  These  works  are  now  so  rarely  to  be  found  that 
it  seems  as  though  a  determined  effort  must  have  been  made  when  they  were  published  to  destroy 
all  evidence  connected  with  them.  This  ruffian,  Trevor,  was  allowed  to  hold  his  position  for  many 
years,  with  the  same  immunity  enjoyed  by  others,  regardless  of  public  complaint.  In  his  work 
Mason  published  Trevor's  so-called  vindication,  well  written  by  his  lawyer,  as  a  general  denial,  but 
proved  to  be  false,  as  he  retired  in  possession  of  over  half  a  million  of  dollars,  although  he  was  a 
penniless  tramp  when  appointed. 


266  Mrs.  Emmet  Admitted  to  Gaol 


even  to  his  wife.  He  himself  never  referred  to  the  subject,  and  when 
questioned  by  his  wife  and  others,  he  answered  with  a  suppressed  sigh,  but  in 
as  cheerful  a  manner  as  he  could  assume :  "The  little  I  was  called  on  to  bear 
was  as  nothing  to  what  so  many  others  had  to  suffer".  From  the  recollec- 
tions of  his  childhood,  the  writer  is  now  the  only  one  living  who  has  any 
knowledge  of  this  incident  in  Mr.  Emmet's  life.  It  was  a  subject  his  grand- 
mother always  avoided  in  after  life,  but  he  learned  from  the  younger  members 
of  the  family  that  they  could  recall  hearing  it  said  their  father  was  a  changed 
man  after  his  recovery  from  his  experience,  and  bore  to  his  grave  a  saddened 
expression,  not  so  much  in  remembrance  of  his  own  experience  during  the 
six  weeks  of  solitary  confinement  under  Kilmainham  gaol,  as  owing  to  his 
knowledge  of  the  suffering  of  so  many  others.  Through  the  kindly  prompting 
of  some  official,  as  Mr.  Emmet  had  many  friends,  when  his  wife  called  tb 
inquire  she  was  allowed  to  see  him.  Once  having  gained  admission  she  refused 
to  leave  him  and  displayed  such  a  determination  to  hold  her  position  that  she 
was  permitted  to  do  so,  but  the  visiting  committee  directed  that  if  she  could 
ever  be  caught  outside  of  her  husband's  room  she  was  to  be  forcibly  cast  out 
from  the  building.  Mr.  Emmet's  room  was  about  twelve  feet  square  and  his 
wife  remained  there  for  twelve  months,  leaving  it  but  once  in  that  period. 
This  was  occasioned  by  the  dangerous  illness  of  one  of  her  children  who  were 
staying  with  their  grandparents.  Information  was  communicated  to  Mrs. 
Emmet  as  to  the  condition  of  the  child.  She  appealed  to  the  jailor's  wife, 
the  mother  of  children,  who  let  her  out  of  her  locked  cell  and  conducted  her 
through  the  jailor's  apartments  to  the  street.  She  visited  her  child,  remaining 
until  the  next  night  when  the  child  was  out  of  danger,  and  returned  by  means 
of  the  same  sympa'hy.  As  she  was  on  the  point  of  entering  Mr.  Emmet's 
room  she  was  discovered  by  one  of  the  keepers  who  had  heard  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  key,  but  she  was  too  quick  and  the  door  was  closed  in  his  face. 
She  never  availed  herself  of  the  same  agency  and  fortunately  had  no  need 
to  do  so.  During  her  absence,  Mr.  Emmet's  room  was  frequently  visited ;  the 
curtains  around  the  bed,  which  had  been  closed,  were  not  disturbed.  Some 
bundles  of  clothing  had  been  placed  under  the  bed-covering  in  case  an  exami- 
nation should  be  made,  and  as  the  keepers  came  in  they  were  requested  not  to 
disturb  Mrs.  Emmet,  as  she  was  afflicted  with  a  sick  headache. 

The  following  letter  written  by  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  Thomas  Russell 
is  without  date,  but  it  must  have  been  written  after  October  10th,  1798,  and 
during  the  first  ten  days  of  November,  while  Tone  was  under  arrest  awaiting 
trial,  and  while  Mr.  Emmet  was  yet  a  prisoner  in  Kilmainham  gaol : — 
My  dear  Russell, 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  be  more  concerned  or  more  anxious  than  we  all  are 
about  the  fate  of  Tone.  There  is  not  a  thing  that  would  appear  to  us  to  have  any  chance 
of  saving  his  life  that  we  would  not  gladly  do.  But  it  is  owing  to  that  very  feeling  that 
your  letter  embarrassed  us  most  exceedingly,  because  your  letter  seems  to  imply  that 
you  and  all  your  fellow-prisoners  imagine  that  some  such  thing  could  be  done;  while 
we  have  do  doubt  that  any  such  application  would,  if  possible,  do  injury.  When  we 
negotiated  for  Bond's  life,  etc.,  we  had  something  to  give— our  banishment  and  some  in- 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


KILMAINHAM  GAOL,  DUBLIN 


Appeal  in  Tone's  Behalf 


267 


formation.  What  have  we  to  give  now?  If  we  cannot  make  it  a  matter  of  truck,  surely 
you  can  not  suppose  we  could  obtain  it  as  a  favour,  when  we  have  been  in  vain  soliciting 
the  very  small  favour  of  good  faith  being  kept  with  us.  I  am  sure  government  hate 
us,  and  if  we  asked  a  favour  they  would  doubly  rejoice  in  the  opportunity  of  gratifying 
their  own  vengeance  against  him  and  dislike  against  us.  The  day  we  were  at  the  Castle, 
the  chancellor  mentioned  that  Tone  had,  before  he  left  the  kingdom,  signed  such  a  con- 
fession of  his  treason  as  would  and  was  intended  to  hang  him  in  case  of  his  ever  return- 
ing, so  that  I  am  sure  the  points  on  which  you  rely  would  avail  nothing.  Indeed  I  am 
convinced  it  would  not  be  in  the  power  of  any  interest  to  ransom  him.  Even  retaliation 
(the  only  chance)  I  think  will  not  avail;  but  if  it  should  have  any  weight  our  interference 
would  interfere  with  it.  These  are  our  fears,  and  have  prevented  our  doing  anything, 
because  we  see  nothing  we  can  do.  But  if  you  or  your  friends  with  you  can  point  out 
anything  which  you  think  would  have  any  chance  of  success,  draw  it  up  and  send  it  to 
us  and  I  assure  you  it  is  not  a  trifle  will  prevent  our  signing  it. 

Yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

The  letter  just  read  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  "Studies  in  Irish  His- 
tory" by  the  late  P.  Litton  Falkiner  (1907).  The  original  material  is  in  the 
Record  Tower,  Dublin  Castle,  and  it  was  undoubtedly  intercepted  and  pre- 
vented from  reaching  its  destination.  It  was  written  in  response  to  an  appeal 
by  Russell  to  Emmet  and  the  other  State  prisoners  to  exert  themselves  in 
Tone's  behalf.  It  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  Emmet,  whom  Tone  in  his 
autobiography  brackets  with  Russell  as  the  first  of  his  friends,  would  have 
spared  any  efforts  to  save  the  life  of  his  unfortunate  friend,  had  it  been  in 
his  power.  But  for  Lord  Clare's  enmity,  Tone's  life  might  have  been  saved 
and  it  seems  probable  that  Mr.  Emmet  knew  of  this  influence. 

Phillips,  in  "Curran  and  his  Contemporaries",  makes  the  statement : — 

It  was  on  Jackson's  trial,  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  that  a  paper  was  dis- 
covered completely  compromising  Tone.  The  ardent  friendship,  however,  of  men  who 
abhorred  his  politics  saved  his  life;  indeed,  the  greatness  of  his  manners  and  the  kindness 
of  his  nature,  rendered  personal  enmity  almost  impossible.  Lord  Clare  and  George 
Ponsonby  seem  alone  to  have  entertained  it.  Through  the  interference  of  the  Hon. 
Marcus  Beresford,  George  Knox,  and  Wolfe,  the  attorney  general,  he  was  permitted  to 
expatriate  himself. 

The  association  of  these  three  names  shows  beyond  question  that  some 
influence  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  Government  to  render  it  advisable  to 
save  the  life  of  Wolfe  Tone.  No  man  had  more  friends  nor  so  much  the 
sympathy  of  those  who  were  most  at  variance  with  him  in  politics.  George 
Knox,  the  son  of  Lord  Northland,  the  college  friend  and  intimate  of  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet  and  of  Tone,  wrote  to  give  him  warning  of  his  intended  arrest, 
stating: — "I  felt  that  politics  was  a  thing  of  a  day,  but  friendship  was  a  matter 
that  was  forever",  and  again  in  writing  to  another  he  stated: — "I  have  had 
a  struggle  between  friendship  to  that  man  [Tone]  and  the  duty  I  owe  to  those 
I  am  connected  with".  He  held  at  that  time  an  office  and  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  Government.  Tone  in  his  diary  gives  an  account  of  a  visit  to  his 
friend  Emmet  at  Rathfarnham,  in  company  with  their  mutual  friend,  Thomas 
Russell,  just  before  Tone  was  to  leave  Ireland,  according  to  an  agreement  with 


268 


Tone  and  Russell  Visit  Rathfarnham 


the  Government.  Tone  mentions  an  incident  which,  with  our  present  knowl- 
edge, admits  of  no  explanation.  Certainly  whether  expressed  or  not,  the 
only  object  the  Government  had  in  sparing  Tone's  life  was  that  he  should 
go  into  exile  and  not  return  to  Ireland  without  its  consent.  Moreover  the 
chief  object  with  the  Government  was  the  implied  pledge  that  Tone  should 
no  longer  take  part  in  Irish  politics  to  the  worry  of  the  Government.  And  yet 
Tone  states  that  the  three  friends,  Emmet,  Russell,  and  Tone,  men  of  re- 
markable intellectual  development,  put  the  same  construction  on  the  agreement 
that  Tone  was  free  from  all  obligation  to  the  English  Government  on  com- 
pleting his  voyage  to  America !  Unless  there  were  existing  circumstances  now 
unknown,  Tone  was  certainly  in  the  position  of  having  violated  his  parole. 

That  some  of  the  circumstances  in  relation  to  Tone's  position  with  the 
British  Government,  are  unknown  at  the  present  day  seems  clearly  shown  by 
the  following  extract  from  Tone's  Life  (September  28,  1796)  : 

As  my  time  is  growing  shorter,  I  pass  over  a  very  busy  interval  of  my  life,  all  the 
important  events  of  which  are  detailed  in  different  diaries  among  my  papers,  and  I  hasten 
to  the  period,  when  in  consequence  of  the  conviction  of  William  Jackson,  for  high  treason, 
I  was  obliged  to  quit  my  country,  and  go  into  exile  in  America.  A  short  time  before  my 
departure,  my  friend  Russell  being  in  town,  he  and  I  walked  out  together  to  Rathfarnham 
to  see  Emmet,  who  has  a  charming  villa  there.  He  showed  us  a  little  study  of  an  ellipti- 
cal form,  which  he  was  building  at  the  bottom  of  the  lawn,  and  which  he  said  he  would 
consecrate  to  our  meetings,  if  ever  we  lived  to  see  our  country  emancipated.  I  begged  of 
him  if  he  intended  Russell  should  be  a  party,  in  addition  to  the  books  and  maps  it  would 
naturally  contain,  to  fix  up  a  small  cellaret,  which  should  contain  a  few  dozens  of  his  best 
claret. 

He  showed  me  that  he  had  not  omitted  that  circumstance,  which  he  acknowledged 
to  be  essential,  and  we  both  rallied  Russell  with  considerable  success.  I  mention  this 
trifling  anecdote  because  I  love  the  men,  and  because  it  seems  now  at  least  possible  that 
we  may  yet  meet  again  in  Emmet's  study.  As  we  walked  together  into  town,  I  opened 
my  plan  to  them  both.  I  told  them  that  I  considered  my  compromise  with  government  to 
extend  no  further  than  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  and  that  the  moment  I  landed  I  was 
free  to  follow  any  plan  which  might  suggest  itself  to  me,  for  the  emancipation  of  my 
country;  that  undoubtedly  I  was  guilty  of  a  great  offence  against  the  existing  government; 
that  in  consequence  I  was  going  into  exile ;  and  that  I  considered  that  exile  as  a  full 
expiation  for  the  offence;  and,  consequently,  felt  myself  at  liberty,  having  made  that 
sacrifice,  to  begin  again  on  a  fresh  score.  They  both  agreed  with  me  in  those  principles, 
and  I  then  proceeded  to  tell  them  that  my  intention  was,  immediately  on  my  arrival  in 
Philadelphia,  to  wait  on  the  French  Minister :  to  detail  to  him,  fully,  the  situation  of 
affairs  in  Ireland,  to  endeavor  to  obtain  a  recommendation  to  the  French  government, 
and  if  I  succeeded  so  far,  to  leave  my  family  in  America,  and  set  off  instantly  for  Paris, 
and  apply,  in  the  name  of  my  country,  for  the  assistance  of  France,  to  enable  us  to  assert 
our  independence.  It  is  unnecessary,  I  believe,  to  say  that  this  plan  met  with  the  warmest 
approbation  and  support  from  both  Russell  and  Emmet;  we  shook  hands,  and  having 
repeated  our  professions  of  unalterable  regard  and  esteem  for  each  other  we  parted ;  and 
this  was  the  last  interview  which  I  was  so  happy  as  to  have  with  these  two  invaluable 
friends  together.  I  remember  it  was  in  a  little  triangular  field  that  this  conversation  took 
place ;  and  Emmet  remarked  to  us  that  it  was  in  one  exactly  like  it  in  Switzerland,  where 
William  Tell  and  his  associates  planned  the  downfall  of  the  tyranny  of  Austria.  The 
next  day  Russell  returned  to  Belfast  ....  It  has  often  astonished  me  ....  that  the 
government,  knowing  there  was  a  French  Minister  at  Philadelphia,  would  have  suffered 
me  to  go  thither,  at  least  without  exacting  some  positive  assurance  on  my  part  that  I 


Thomas  Russell 


269 


would  hold  no  communication  with  him,  direct  or  indirect.  .  .  .  They  suffered  me  to 
depart  without  demanding  any  satisfaction  whatsoever  on  that  topic,  a  circumstance  of 
which  I  was  most  sincerely  glad ;  for  had  I  been  obliged  to  give  my  parole,  I  should  have 
been  exceedingly  distracted  between  opposite  duties;  luckily,  however,  I  was  spared  the 
difficulty  for  they  suffered  me  to  depart  without  any  stipulation  whatsoever. 

By  an  oversight  the  English  government  evidently  neglected  to  exact  a 
recognition  of  the  only  condition  of  Tone's  leaving  Ireland,  but,  nevertheless, 
enforced  what  it  regarded  as  the  implied  agreement,  and  Tone  lost  his  life  in 
consequence. 

Savage  states  in  "Ninety-eight  and  Forty-eight" : — 

Here  are  Thomas  Russell  and  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  who  were  esteemed  by  Tone 
as  the  first  of  his  friends.  They  were  worthy  of  that  esteem  in  every  respect,  eminently 
worthy  of  the  cause  they  adorned  and  the  affection  which  rises  like  an  echo  in  the  bosoms 
of  those  who  have  taken  their  histories  to  heart.  Both  were  noble,  chivalrous  and  refined. 
Russell  was  a  great  good  man ;  Emmet  a  good  great  man.  It  might  be  said  that  all 
who  met  them  were  refreshed  by  the  amiability  and  direct  honesty  of  the  one  and  the 
more  stern  intelligence  of  the  other.  There  was,  if  I  might  use  the  phrase,  a  manly  boy- 
ishness about  Russell  that  endeared  him  to  his  friends,  while  his  attainments,  like  to 
pillars  supporting  a  beautifully  constructed  and  systematic  dome,  prevented  the  least 
chance  of  his  being  regarded  as  indiscreetly  trivial  or  unsteadily  balanced. 

To  those  who  did  not  know  him  he  appeared  haughty  from  the  martial  carriage  and 
stateliness  of  his  mien ;  which,  with  the  sensitive  delicacy  of  his  nature,  made  him  at 
times  reserved.  The  beauty  of  his  nature,  shone  through  his  actions  and  accomplishments, 
irradiating  and  giving  them  that  peculiar  brilliant  ease  which,  from  its  rarity,  we  so 
delight  to  find  in  the  world. 

Dr.  Madden  quotes  from  an  Ulster  magazine: — 

A  model  of  manly  beauty.  Though  more  than  six  feet  high,  his  majestic  stature 
was  scarcely  observed,  owing  to  the  exquisite  symmetry  of  his  form.  Martial  in  his  gait 
and  demeanour,  his  appearance  was  not  altogether  that  of  a  soldier.  His  dark  and  steady 
eye,  compressed  lip,  and  somewhat  haughty  bearing,  were  occasionally  strongly  indicative 
of  the  camp ;  but  in  general  the  classical  contour  of  his  finely  formed  head,  the  expression 
of  almost  infantine  sweetness  which  characterized  his  smile  and  the  benevolence  that 
beamed  in  his  fine  countenance,  seemed  to  mark  him  out  as  one  who  was  destined  to  be 
the  ornament,  grace,  and  blessing  of  private  life.  His  voice  was  deep-toned  and  melodi- 
ous; and  though  his  conversational  poweis  were  not  of  the  first  order,  yet,  when  roused 
to  enthusiasm,  he  was  sometimes  more  than  eloquent.  His  manners  were  those  of  the 
finished  gentleman,  combined  with  that  native  grace  which  nothing  but  superiority  of 
intellect  can  give. 

Tone  in  his  diary  stated : 

I  think  the  better  of  myself  for  being  the  object  of  the  esteem  of  such  a  man  as 
Russell.    I  love  him,  and  I  honor  him. 

Russell  was  arrested  with  Neilson  and  others  in  1798  at  Belfast,  and  sent 
to  Fort  George,  Scotland,  where  he  was  imprisoned  with  his  friend  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet.  After  the  release  of  the  three  prisoners  from  Fort  George  he 
went  abroad,  but  took  an  active  part  with  Robert  Emmet,  for  which  he  was 
arrested  September  9th,  1803.  He  stated : — "I  glory  in  the  cause  in  which  I 
have  engaged ;  and  for  it,  I  would  meet  death  with  pleasure,  either  in  the  field 
or  on  the  scaffold".   He  was  tried,  convicted  and  executed  October  21st,  1803 


270 


Death  of  Wolfe  Tone 


Probably  a  similar  instance  never  existed  of  so  close  a  friendship  being  main- 
tained unbroken  for  years  between  three  individuals,  as  that  of  Emmet,  Tone 
and  Russell,  who  were  men  of  the  utmost  degree  of  intelligence  and  purity  of 
character. 

In  May,  1795,  Tone  with  his  wife  and  children  and  other  members  of  his 
family,  left,  as  was  supposed,  never  to  return  from  America.  But  almost  im- 
mediately after  his  arrival  he  began  making  an  arrangement  with  the  French 
minister.  He  returned  to  France,  leaving  his  family  in  the  United  States.  He 
joined  a  French  expedition  fitted  out  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland,  landed  there, 
was  recognized,  arrested  and  imprisoned.  He  was  to  have  been  tried  for 
treason,  but  he  died  from  the  effects  of  a  self-inflicted  wound  in  an  attempt  to 
commit  suicide.  Tone  had  so  many  friends  even  among  his  political  opponents 
that  it  was  possible  he  might  have  been  allowed  to  escape,  but  for  the  emnity  of 
Lord  Clare.  Falkiner  in  his  recently  published  work,  "Studies  in  Irish  His- 
tory", shows  that  the  mother  of  Tone's  wife  was  a  relative  of  Lord  Clare  and 
that  Tone  quarreled  with  his  wife's  family  to  such  an  extent  as  to  insure  the 
uncompromising  ill-will  of  Lord  Clare.  Judging  from  the  letters  now  acces- 
sible in  the  Rutland  and  Dropmore  collections  and  from  what  Falkiner  writes, 
this  enmity  of  Clare  to  Tone  was  known  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 


The  people  have  not  sought  insurrection,  they  <will  not  seek  it,  but  it  may  be  forced  upon 
them. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


The  rebellion  of  1798  itself  tvas  avowedly  and  beyond  doubt  provable,  fomented  to 
enable  the  British  Government  to  extinguish  the  Irish  legislative  independence  and  to 
bring  about  the  union. — But  the  instrument  tvas  nearly  too  powerful  for  the  unskilful 
hands  that  used  it,  and  if  Catholic  wealth,  education  and  intelligence  had  joined 
the  rebellion  it  would  probably  have  been  successful. 

Daniel  O'Connell,  M.P.,  "A  Memoir  on  Ireland",  1844. 


Chapter  XIII 

Correspondence  in  relation  to  the  State  prisoners — Removal  of  Emmet  and  other 
State  prisoners  from  Dublin  to  Fort  George,  Scotland — Violation  of  British  Government 
pledge — List  of  the  prisoners — General  orders  of  the  commander — Spies  imprisoned  with 
Emmet — Governor  Stuart's  kindness  to  Mr.  Emmet — His  wife  and  children  allowed  to 
join  him — Prison  life — Instructing  the  children — Mr.  Emmet  writes  some  contributions 
to  Irish  History. 

N  the  evidence  of  the  following  letter  it  is  shown  indirectly 
that  a  difference  was  to  have  been  made  in  the  treatment 
of  Mr.  Emmet,  if  the  wish  of  some  of  the  members  of  the 
Government  had  been  carried  out.  The  letter  is  quoted 
from  "The  Memoirs  and  Correspondence  of  Viscount 
Castlereagh*" : — 

Mr.  Wickham  to  Lord  Castlereagh. 

Whitehall,  March  26th,  1799. 

My  dear  Lord, 

I  believe  that  before  this  time  the  prisoners  from  Dublin  will  have  been  safely  con- 
ducted to  Fort  George.  No  particular  instructions  either  as  to  the  expense  of  their 
maintenance  or  the  mode  of  confining  them  have  as  yet  been  transmitted  to  the  Governor ; 
but  it  is  wished  that  your  Lordship  should  have  the  goodness  to  communicate  to  me  for 
the  Duke  of  Portland's  information,  the  regulations  under  which  they  were  confined  in 
Dublin  and  particularly  the  allowance  they  received  from  government,  according  to  their 
respective  situations  and  conditions  in  life,  or  that  which  was  paid  on  their  account  to  the 
gaoler. 

Should  any  more  prisoners  be  sent  to  Scotland,  have  the  goodness  to  take  care  that 
the  Duke  of  Portland  be  informed  of  their  names  in  time  to  send  warrants  down  to  meet 
them  in  the  port  where  they  shall  be  disembarked  in  Scotland  ....  It  is  the  present 
intention  that  a  Bill  should  be  brought  into  Parliament  immediately  after  the  recess, 
confirming  what  has  been  done,  and  authorizing  the  detention  of  these  gentlemen,  and 
of  others  whom  you  may  send  over.  At  any  other  moment  a  Bill  of  this  kind  might  have 
and  perhaps  ought  to  have  met  with  opposition ;  but  I  rather  think  that  there  will  be  an 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  Opposition  to  bring  the  name  of  Arthur  O'Connor  into 
question. 

All  the  correspondence  relating  to  the  negotiation  with  the  State  prisoners  has  been 
put  together  and  the  whole  has  been  well  read  and  studied  by  Mr.  Pitt,  who  will  probably 
take  this  occasion  of  saying  something  on  the  infamous  charges  that  have  been  brought 

"Vol.  II,  page  335. 

271 


272  Mr.  Emmet  Leaves  Ireland 


against  the  Irish  Government  of  having  broken  their  faith,  &c,  which  O'Connor  has  taken 
great  pains  to  circulate  among  his  friends  here,  and  which,  for  the  sake  of  better  inten- 
tioned  persons,  it  may  be  as  well  to  refute  openly  once  for  all  ...  . 

Believe  me,  ever  &c, 

WlUIAM  WlCKHAM. 

The  following  letter  is  from  the  same  correspondence : — 

Mr.  Wickham  to  Lord  Castlereagh. 

Whitehall,  March  28,  1799. 

My  dear  Lord, 

I  send  your  Lordship  enclosed  a  copy  of  the  letter  from  Doyle,  that  was  found  under 
the  table  at  the  Division  of  United  Irishmen,  No.  2.  I  should  be  curious  to  know  whether 
the  Address  to  the  Irish  Nation,  found  at  the  same  place  and  printed  in  the  Report  of 
the  Secret  Committee,  was  known  in  Ireland  and  in  general  circulation  there?  It  is 
stated  to  have  been  brought  over  by  Doyle. 

Then  follows  a  letter  from  "Thos.  Doyle  to  Division  No.  2,  United  Irish- 
men, taken  at  the  Royal  Oak,  March  10th,  1799",  which  has  no  interest  in  con- 
nection with  the  subject  here  under  consideration.  The  "Report  of  the  Se- 
cret Committee"  is  doubtless  the  examination  of  O'Connor,  Emmet  and  Mac- 
neven.  In  all  the  papers  published  in  connection  with  this  case  is  to  be  found 
Mr.  Emmet's  "Memoir",  with  which,  Dr.  Macneven  stated,  O'Connor  would 
have  nothing  to  do.  However  through  his  vanity  he  was  persuaded  to  sign 
it  first,  and  it  has  always  been  put  forward  by  the  English  Government  and 
by  all  writers  as  the  work  of  O'Connor.  The  Government  was  fully  informed 
that  O'Connor  did  not  write  this  paper,  and  from  this  time  he  was  on  good  terms 
with  the  Government.  He  was  sent,  as  a  supposed  prisoner,  with  four  other 
so-called  State  prisoners,  to  act  as  a  spy  on  the  other  leaders  to  be  confined  at 
Fort  George.  For  writing  that  paper  and  the  one  charging  the  Government 
with  bad  faith,  Mr.  Emmet  was  punished  to  the  last  day  he  was  within  the 
power  of  the  Government.  Doubtless  Castlereagh,  notwithstanding  Wick- 
ham's  statement  to  the  contrary,  directed  that  Mr.  Emmet  should  be  closely 
confined  and  he  was  the  only  prisoner,  as  will  be  shown,  who  was  thus  treated 
at  Fort  George.  There  have  been  indications  presented  which  seem  to  show 
that  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  some  other  paper  which  gave  great  offence  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, but  which  seems  to  have  been  suppressed  and  never  given  to  the  pub- 
lic— could  the  Address  to  the  Irish  Nation  have  been  this  paper?  The  writer 
has  been  informed  that  among  the  English  State  papers  there  were  letters 
from  Arthur  O'Connor  written  from  Fort  George  keeping  the  Government 
informed  almost  daily  as  to  the  condition  of  affairs  there. 

On  March  18th,  1799,  Mr.  Emmet  was  notified  that  on  the  following  morn- 
ing he  would  be  removed  to  another  place  of  confinement.  That  evening  he 
was  visited  by  his  sister,  who,  after  seeking  an  interview  with  the  viceroy,  Lord 
Cornwallis,  was  permitted  to  see  her  brother  and  to  take  leave  of  him  for 
the  last  time.  Both  were  left  in  absolute  ignorance  as  to  Mr.  Emmet's  destina- 
tion beyond  the  statement  that  he  was  to  leave  Ireland.  He  did  not  realize 
that  he  was  never  to  see  his  native  land  again,  and  that  his  departure  was  to 
be  the  beginning  of  the  end,  in  the  wiping  out  of  the  direct  connection  with  Ire- 


Arrival  at  Fort  George 


273 


land  of  the  Emmet  family.  Father,  mother,  sister  and  brother  he  was  soon 
to  lose,  and  the  last  of  the  race  left  in  Ireland,  his  brother  Robert,  was  in 
the  near  future  to  offer  up  his  life  for  his  country  by  legalized  murder,  under 
the  charge  of  treason  to  his  native  land,  so  dear  to  both  of  them. 

With  Mr.  Emmet  a  number  of  other  political  prisoners  were  taken  by  the 
transport  ship  "Aston  Smith",  to  Belfast,  where  some  were  landed  and  others 
received.  On  the  30th  of  March  the  remaining  prisoners  were  disembarked 
at  Greenock,  having  been  detained  on  the  vessel  on  account  of  stormy  weather. 
Their  names  were  as  follows — with  Samuel  Turner,  the  spy,  whose  name  is 
never  mentioned  officially : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Arthur  O'Connor,  Roger  O'Connor,  Dr.  Wm. 
James  Macneven,  Thomas  Russell,  Robert  Sims,  William  Tennent,  John 
Sweetman,  Hugh  Wilson,  John  Sweeney,  Joseph  Cuthbert,  Edward  Hudson, 
Joseph  Cormack,  Mathew  Dowling,  John  Chambers,  Rev.  Wm.  Steele  Dixon, 
George  Cumming,  Samuel  Neilson,  Robert  Hunter. 

The  Governor  in  command  of  the  fortress  where  they  were  consigned,  is- 
sued the  following  orders  on  their  arrival,  which  were  to  regulate  their  daily 
life  and  govern  their  relations  with  the  outer  world : — 

Fort  George,  9th  of  April,  1799. 

Garrison  Orders — 

Lieutenant-Governor  Stuart  desires  that  the  troops  and  inhabitants  of  the  garrison 
may  attend  to  the  following  orders : — 

Government  having  thought  proper  to  send  to  this  Fort  certain  persons  charged  with 
the  heinous  crime  of  high  treason,  to  be  kept  here  in  sure  custody,  it  -is  the  lieutenant- 
governor's  orders  that  no  communication  whatever  be  held  with  the  said  prisoners,  except 
by  the  persons  appointed  to  keep  them  and  attend  them,  or  by  any  persons  furnished 
with  a  written  order  for  that  purpose  from  the  lieutenant-governor. 

Any  letters  directed  to  them,  or  attempted  to  be  sent  to  them,  to  be  stopped,  and 
immediately  brought  to  the  lieutenant-governor  or  officer  commanding. 

The  sentinels  on  duty  are  to  hold  no  conversation  themselves,  nor  permit  any  other 
person  (except  as  aforesaid)  to  hold  any  conversation  or  have  any  intercourse  with  them. 

The  lieutenant-governor  has  no  doubt  of  the  troops  doing  their  duty  correctly,  and 
he  cautions  all  other  persons  to  attend  strictly  to  those  orders,  as  they  shall  answer  it 
at  their  peril. 

J.  H.  BaiixiE, 
Major  and  Fort  Major. 


Fort  George,  10th  May,  1799. 
The  prisoners  are  to  be  locked  up  at  all  times,  except  when  at  meals  or  airing. 
They  will  be  permitted  to  air  as  follows :  at  ten  in  the  morning  ten  prisoners  will  go  out 
in  two  divisions,  as  usual,  and  may  remain  till  one  o'clock,  when  the  other  ten  men  may  go 
out,  and  remain  till  four  o'clock,  after  which  the  prisoners  are  not  to  be  permitted  to  go 
out.  This  allows  three  hours  for  air  and  exercise  to  each  man.  They  must  mess  in  two 
divisions,  as  formerly  directed ;  and  it  being  impossible  to  serve  each  prisoner  in  his  own 
apartment,  one  choosing  one  thing  and  one  another,  they  will  please  to  agree  among 
themselves  whether  they  will  have  tea,  or  bread  and  cheese,  &c. ;  and  they  will  be  per- 
mitted to  assemble  in  two  divisions,  as  at  dinner,  from  seven  to  half-past  eight,  when  they 
must  retire  to  their  apartments. 

Stuart,  Lieutenant-Governor. 


274  St.  John  Mason  visits  Fort  George 


Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Duke  of  Portland  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Stuart. 

Whitehall,  31st  October,  1799. 
Sir — I  am  directed  by  the  Duke  of  Portland  to  desire  that  you  will  acquaint  the 
State  prisoners  under  your  care,  that  it  will  be  proper  for  them  to  inform  their  corres- 
spondents  in  Ireland  that  all  letters  addressed  to  them  should  be  sent  open,  under  cover 
to  the  secretary  for  the  civil  department  in  Dublin,  who  will  forward  them  to  this  office, 
from  whence  they  will  be  sent  to  you  to  be  returned  to  the  prisoners.  In  the  meantime, 
and  until  you  shall  receive  such  letters  from  the  office,  you  will  be  pleased  to  transmit 
to  his  grace  such  letters  as  shall  arrive  at  Fort  George  for  the  said  prisoners,  before  they 
are  given  to  them. 

(Signed)  J.  King. 

Mr.  Emmet,  for  some  time  after  his  arrival  at  Fort  George,  was  kept  in 
close  confinement,  the  only  one  of  the  prisoners  so  treated,  and  he  doubtless 
suffered  by  the  order  of  Lord  Castlereagh.  It  is  believed  that  this  confinement 
continued  until  after  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Emmet,  with  her  children,  when  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Stuart  took  the  responsibility,  and  Mr.  Emmet  was  allowed 
the  liberty  accorded  to  other  prisoners. 

Mr.  St.  John  Mason  visited  his  cousin  in  April,  1800,  and  states  in  a  letter 
to  the  Right  Hon.  Lord  Henry  Petty* : — 

My  relative,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  was  involved,  yet  he  had  too  much  generosity 
to  influence  me.  Though  an  exile  from  his  country,  I  cannot  but  respect  and  love  him, 
for  I  well  know  the  private  integrity  of  the  man,  and  influenced  by  my  sincere  regard, 
and  by  no  other  motive,  I  undertook  a  journey  from  London  to  Fort  George  with  the 
hope  of  being  admitted  to  converse  with  him.  I  was  not,  however,  allowed  to  do  so,  but 
I  remained  several  days  in  that  garrison  under  the  protection  of  Lieutenant-Governor 
Stuart,  through  whom  our  correspondence  passed. 

In  the  counter  depositions  of  July,  1804,  I  have  been  basely  calumniated.  The 
personal  allusion  I  despise,  but,  my  Lord,  I  think  it  right  to  state  that  I  never  spoke  to 
Mr.  Russell  previous  to  my  confinement.  I  saw  him  indeed  at  Fort  George,  at  a  distance 
within  the  limits  of  the  bastion  where  the  prisoners  were  permitted  to  walk  out.  And  at 
Kilmainham  I  could  from  the  nature  of  my  confinement  have  had  no  personal  communi- 
cation with  him,  was  it  not  insidiously  allowed  by  the  Inspector  for  the  purpose  of  ensnar- 
ing me  into  some  act  of  indiscretion.  And  I  cannot  possibly  believe  that  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  Wickham,  in  whose  custody  I  then  was,  could  have  descended  from  his  high 
station  to  countenance  a  plot  against  his  own  prisoner. 

This  quotation  is  made  to  show  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  already  been  in  close 
confinement  over  a  year,  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Mason's  visit,  and  the  passage 
relating  to  seeing  Mr.  Russell  shows  that  the  other  prisoners  were  allowed  to 
be  about  the  grounds  while  Mr.  Emmet  was  not,  or  Mr.  Mason  would  have 
had  no  difficulty  in  seeing  him.  Mr.  Mason's  reference  to  having  spoken  to 
Russell  while  at  Kilmainham,  betokens  a  plot  for  obtaining  evidence  against 
him,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  known  Russell  previous  to  his  arrest. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  held  a  prisoner  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  been  unable  to  formulate  a  charge  to  bring  him  to  trial,  even  in 
Ireland,  where  among  the  hangers-on  in  the  Government  interest  it  had  never 
been  difficult  to  find  some  one  both  willing  and  able  to  swear  to  anything.  Yet 
Mr.  Emmet  and  others  were  held  close  prisoners  for  years  after  the  honor  of 

•"Memoir  of  the  Case  of  St.  John  Mason,  Esq.,  Barrister  at  Law,  etc." 


Treatment  of  Political  Prisoners 


the  Government  had  been  pledged  to  permit  these  men  to  leave  the  country 
without  delay  after  the  revolutionary  movement  had  been  finally  suppressed 
through  their  aid.  Truly,  the  charge  against  England,  attributed  to  Napoleon, 
of  being  "Perfide  Albion",  was  a  just  one. 

Great  Britain  certainly  has  never  shown  mercy  to  a  political  prisoner  in 
Ireland.  All  who  have  ever  been  entrusted  to  the  custody  of  the  Government 
official  have,  as  a  rule,  been  subjected  to  the  same  rigorous  treatment,  which 
might  truthfully  be  termed  barbarous.  Many  Irishmen  have  lost  their  lives 
in  prison  as  a  direct  consequence  of  the  cruelty  and  privation  to  which  they 
were  subjected  by  the  Government  or  by  some  demon  in  human  form  vested 
with  a  little  brief  authority.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  officials  generally 
employed  to  represent  the  British  Government  in  the  capacity  of  gaolers  have 
invariably  been  of  the  same  type,  the  one  differing  from  the  other  only  in  the 
degree  of  his  capacity  for  cruelty.  It  is  true  beyond  cavil,  and  it  is  only  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule,  when  an  Irish  political  prisoner  has  ever  been  released  be- 
fore his  bodily  health  has  suffered  and  his  mental  faculties  been  greatly  im- 
paired. When  one  has  the  good  fortune  to  be  an  exception,  he  has  had  cause  to 
be  thankful  for  a  physical  and  mental  organization  which  the  ingenuity  of  a 
British  gaoler  could  not  destroy. 

Mrs.  Emmet  was  not  allowed  to  accompany  her  husband  to  Fort  George. 
Subsequently  she  was  granted  permission  to  see  him,  but  only  after  great  in- 
fluence had  been  exerted  by  her  friends  to  obtain  it.  The  privilege,  however, 
was  transformed  into  a  piece  of  refined  cruelty  by  the  stipulation  that  they 
should  meet  only  in  the  presence  of  a  gaoler.  This  was  quite  in  keeping  with 
the  course  of  petty  persecution  which  the  Government  had  evidently  wished 
and  had  directed  to  be  inflicted  on  Mr.  Emmet  from  the  beginning  of  his  con- 
finement. The  fortress  was  under  the  command  of  Col.  James  Stuart,  a 
brother  of  Lord  Moray,  who  fortunately  ignored  or  modified  these  offensive 
orders,  and  throughout  took  the  kindest  interest  in  the  welfare  of  Mr.  Emmet 
and  his  family. 

During  the  first  year  of  Mr.  Emmet's  imprisonment  in  Fort  George,  his 
wife  made  many  ineffectual  efforts  to  obtain  from  Lord  Castlereagh  permis- 
sion to  visit  her  husband.  She  at  length  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the 
British  Minister  of  State,  but  it  was  only  after  seeing  him  in  person  with  all 
the  letters  of  influence  to  be  obtained,  that  she,  as  a  great  concession,  re- 
ceived the  following  letter: — 

Sir, 

Mrs.  Emmet,  wife  of  Mr.  Emmet,  one  of  the  prisoners  at  Fort  George,  has  obtained 
permission  to  see  her  husband;  but  as  she  is  suspected  of  having  imbibed  his  principles, 
you  will  take  particular  care  that  she  shall  not  be  the  means  of  communication  between 
him  and  the  disaffected  in  Ireland.  She  is  only  to  see  him  in  the  presence  of  a  proper 
person,  and  you  are  to  take  such  steps  as  that  she  may  not  carry  any  letters  or  papers 
in  or  out  of  the  Fort. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

Portland. 

The  Hon.  Lt.  Governor  Stuart. 


276  Mrs.  Emmet  Joins  Her  Husband 


Mrs.  Emmet  and  her  three  children  proceeded  to  Fort  George  with  this 
letter.  On  her  arrival  Governor  Stuart  kindly  ignored  the  condition  of  the 
permit,  and  after  placing  her  on  her  honor  allowed  her  to  see  her  husband 
freely,  while  he  took  the  children  to  his  own  quarters.  He  then  brought  a 
sufficient  influence  to  bear  on  the  Government,  and  permission  was  finally  ob- 
tained for  Mrs.  Emmet  to  remain  with  her  husband.  The  following  poem, 
printed  in  the  "Literary  Remains  of  the  United  Irishmen  of  1798",  was  written 
by  Thomas  Russell,  also  a  prisoner  at  Fort  George,  and  vouched  for  to  Dr. 
Madden  by  Miss  McCracken,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Joy  McCracken,  the  Ulster 
leader. 

On  Mrs.  Emmet's  Visit  to  Her  Husband 

Companions  so  brave  who  in  evil  times  meet 

For  the  glorious  endeavour  our  country  to  free, 
Amidst  all  our  sufferings,  each  moment  is  sweet, 

When  each  patriot  united  like  brothers  we  see. 
May  the  Power  that  rules  all,  grant  this  ardent  request : 

May  we  live  our  dear  country  triumphant  to  see 
Or  if  this  is  too  great  and  it  so  judges  best, 

May  our  death  like  our  lives  serve  dear  Ireland  to  free. 

How  delightful  the  thought  for  an  object  thus  great, 

Embracing  the  rights  and  the  freedom  of  all, 
Which  thus  in  a  prison  can  transport  create, 

And  in  exile  the  right  of  our  country  recall; 
That  you  who  endeavour  these  rights  to  insure 

By  arts  or  by  eloquence,  science,  or  arms 
See  the  courage  as  with  affection  so  pure, 

Virtue,  and  beauty  devoting  her  charms. 

Gov.  Stuart  took  charge  of  the  children  and,  until  quarters  could  be  fitted 
up  for  them  in  connection  with  those  occupied  by  Mr.  Emmet,  they  were  made 
part  of  his  own  household  and  allowed  free  intercourse  with  their  parents. 
In  time,  through  Gov.  Stuart's  influence,  both  Mr.  Emmet  and  his  wife  were 
allowed  the  same  privileges  as  were  enjoyed  by  the  other  prisoners. 

In  accord  with  the  regular  discipline  maintained  in  the  Fortress  the  prison- 
ers were  all  locked  up  at  night  in  their  quarters.  One  night  a  fire  occurred  in 
Mr.  Emmet's  apartments  from  a  defective  flue,  and  before  the  family  could  be 
released,  the  mother  and  children  suffered  greatly  from  the  smoke  and  fright. 
Owing  to  the  locked  door,  the  fire  gained  considerable  headway  and  was  only 
extinguished  with  difficulty.  Col.  Stuart  was  one  of  the  first  to  reach  the 
quarters  and  having  seen  how  serious  the  consequences  might  have  been,  he 
addressed  the  following  note  to  Mr.  Emmet : — 

The  lieutenant-governor's  compliments  to  Mr.  Emmet.  He  hopes  Mrs.  Emmet  suffered 
no  inconvenience  from  the  alarm  of  fire  which  was  given  last  night.  As  the  idea  of  being 
locked  in  may  occasion  a  disagreeable  sensation  to  a  lady's  mind,  in  case  of  any  sudden 
occurrence  (though  the  lieutenant-governor  flatters  himself  that  none  in  future  will  arise), 
he  will  give  directions  that  the  passage  door  leading  to  Mr.  Emmet's  apartments  shall 
not  in  future  be  locked,  being  convinced  Mr.  Emmet  would  make  no  improper  use  of  all 
the  doors  being  left  open. 


Kindness  of  Lieut.  -Gov.  Stuart 


277 


Dr.  Madden  in  his  work  makes  the  following  comment : — 

What  a  singular  contrast  between  the  conduct  to  Emmet  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  Fort  George,  grounded  on  the  conviction  that  "Mr.  Emmet  would  make  no  improper 
use  of  all  the  doors  (of  his  prison)  being  left  open",  and  that  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  based 
on  the  suspicion  of  his  wife  being  so  contaminated  by  his  principles  that  the  safety  of  the 
state  required  he  should  not  be  suffered  to  enjoy  her  society,  except  in  the  presence  of  a 
sentinel.  So  long  as  the  conduct  of  the  brave  Scotch  officer  is  remembered  by  Irishmen — 
ay,  and  by  Englishmen — with  honour,  so  long  shall  that  of  the  unfeeling,  cold-hearted 
political  apostate — the  minion  of  Mr.  Pitt,  be  remembered  with  loathing  and  contempt  by 
right-thinking  men  of  all  parties. 

For  occupation,  the  special  friends  of  Mr.  Emmet  among  the  prisoners  now 
began  to  teach  his  children.  Mr.  Emmet  instructed  his  son  Robert  in  Latin ; 
Dr.  Macneven*  wrote  out  a  grammar  and  taught  them  French.  Mr.  Hudson 
gave  them  music  lessons,  and  others  taught  them  dancing  and  the  son  to 
fence. 

Mr.  Emmet  at  this  time  began  to  write  his  "Contribution  to  Irish  History," 
which  was  afterwards  published  in  New  York. 

Among  Dr.  Macneven's  papers  was  found  an  article  written  by  himself, 
commenting  on  the  different  traits  and  habits  of  each  State  prisoner  associated 
with  him  at  Fort  George.    The  following  related  to  Mr.  Emmet: 

The  several  prisoners  in  Fort  George  had  embraced  some  particlar  course  of  reading 
and  study,  to  which  they  applied  with  far  more  assiduity  than  if  they  only  read  for 


*In  a  family  scrap  book  from  which  had  been  copied  a  number  of  newspaper  clippings  in  con- 
nection with  the  death  and  burial  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  in  1827,  a  memorial  was  found  relative 
to  Dr.  Macneven.  A  clipping  from  "The  Truth  Teller"  (Oct.  8,  1842)  fives  an  account  of  the 
public  meeting  held  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Macneven.  Among 
the  speakers  Judge  Robert  Emmet  was  called  on  and  is  reported  as  saying: — 

"If  the  gentleman  who  has  just  preceded  me  found  it  difficult  to  speak  of  the  virtues  of  Doctor 
Macneven,  if  he  felt  embarrassed  in  giving  vent  to  his  feelings  on  this  occasion,  I  think  I  may  be 
allowed  to  6ay,  that  I  am  burthened  with  the  same  embarrassment  in  a  much  greater  degree — em- 
barrassed indeed  by  associations  which  cannot  operate  in  his  case,  and  which  language  is  very  inade- 
quate to  express.  Doctor  Macneven  was  one  of  the  earliest  friends  whom  my  recollection  can  trace. 
For  more  than  forty  years  previous  to  his  death  I  was  almost  constantly  with  him,  not  as  a  mere 
acquaintance  or  ordinary  friend,  but  as  one  whom  I  regarded  with  filial  affection  and  respect.  I 
first  remember  him  in  that  prison  where  following  the  fortune  of  my  own  father,  while  yet  a  child, 
we  were  immured  together,  and  where  that  bond  of  attachment  was  formd  which  continued  and 
grew  in  strength  through  life,  and  was  severed  by  death  alone  (.loud  cheers).  From  the  disastrous 
times  of  1798  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life,  through  adversity  and  prosperity.  I  have  scarcely  been, 
I  may  say,  out  of  his  sight.  Fate  threw  us  for  three  years  into  the  same  prison  at  Fort  George  in 
Scotland,  where  I  received  from  him  some  of  the  first  rudiments  of  my  education.  The  love  and 
respect  with  which  his  character  at  this  early  period  inspired  me,  never  abated.  I  need  hardly  say 
that  between  Dr.  Macneven  and  my  father  there  existed  a  tie  of  brotherhood  rarely  to  be  found 
except  between  brothers.  With  all  these  feelings  now  revived  in  my  mind  and  memory,  I  feel  in- 
adequate to  the  task  of  eulogising  the  character  of  Dr.  Macneven  as  it  deserves,  or  of  paying  a  first 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  who  in  private  life  was  so  honorable,  high-minded  and  charitable,  who 
was  so  eminent  in  every  walk  of  science,  who  was  so  profound  in  council,  whose  love  of  country 
and  devotion  to  her  welfare  were  without  limit  and  who  sacrificed  his  fortune  and  liberty  and  perilled 
his  life  in  the  attempt  to  give  freedom  to  that  loved  land  of  his  birth,  far  from  which  his  ashes 
now  repose  (loud  and  continued  cheers).  Fortunately  much  cannot  be  required  to  urge  those  who 
hear  me  to  perform  the  act  of  duty  for  which  we  have  met  here  this  evening.  We  owe  it  to  the 
memory  of  Dr.  Macneven — we  owe  it  to  the  land  of  our  birth — we  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  proclaim 
and  record  in  the  most  public  and  enduiing  manner  the  love,  gratitude  and  respect  which  we  feel 
for  his  character  and  service.  It  is  true  that  his  memory  finds  a  monument  in  the  heart  of  every 
true  and  patriotic  Irishman,  but  it  is  expected  from  us  as  a  duty  that  we  should  do  more,  and  the 
stigma  of  apathy  must  not  rest  upon  us  in  this  matter. 

"We  are  called  upon  here  as  Irishmen  and  the  friends  of  Ireland,  not  as  belonging  to  any  par- 
ticular party  or  sect,  to  record  for  future  generations  our  esteem  and  admiration  of  one  to  whom 
all  Irishmen  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude,  not  only  for  his  efforts  and  sacrifices  in  his  native  land,  but 
for  his  watchful  and  zealous  exertions  for  the  best  interests  of  Ireland's  persecuted  children  in  the 
land  of  his  adoption.  One  who  by  a  life  of  undeviating  honor  and  integrity  probably  sustained  the 
name  and  character  of  our  country  among  our  American  fellow-citizens.  One  who  by  his  talents 
and  attainments  and  the  contributions  which  they  enabled  him  to  make  to  science  has  imposed  a 
debt  of  gratitude  upon  men  of  all  countries  and  creeds. 

"It  is  to  honor  the  memory  of  such  a  man  that  we  are  assembled  and  with  that  view  I  now 
beg  leave  to  propose  the  following  for  your  adoption — Resolved,  That  a  suitable  monument  be 
erected  in  the  memory  of  the  late  William  James  Macneven"! 


278 


Life  at  Fort  George 


amusement.  Emmet  applied  himself  chiefly  to  mathematics,  or,  more  properly,  to  algebra, 
in  which  he  made  signal  proficiency,  and  to  which  he  was  so  devoted,  that  for  whole 
months  he  employed  the  greater  portion  of  his  nights  in  the  study  of  this  science.  He 
had  little  or  no  acquaintance  with  it  when  he  arrived  at  Fort  George,  but  it  chanced 
Euler's  Algebra  came  among  the  books  we  received  there;  this  opened  the  subject  to 
him,  and  he  afterwards  prosecuted  it  with  the  greatest  assiduity,  until  the  arrival  of  Mrs. 
Emmet  and  three  of  his  children  divided  his  attention.  After  this  period  Shakespeare 
was  his  favourite  reading;  he  never  touched  a  law  book  while  at  Fort  George,  and  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  purchase  land  and  turn  farmer  in  America.  Having  embraced  this 
project,  he  never  disturbed  his  mind  with  any  other  schemes,  but  waited  tranquilly  for  his 
release,  and  the  opportunity  it  would  afford. — He  was  remarkable  for  great  equanimity 
and  good  temper  through  the  whole  of  his  confinement ;  he  was  also  exempt  from  any 
disease  during  that  time ;  his  stomach  was  never  out  of  order,  and  his  palate  so  undistin- 
guishing,  that,  provided  he  got  sufficient  food,  he  was  careless  of  the  kind  and  almost 
of  the  quality;  he  was,  however,  moderate  in  the  quantity,  and  very  abstemious  as  to 
drink,  so  that  repletion  never  injured  his  health  or  faculties. 

The  preceding  extract  in  Dr.  Madden's  work  seemed  strangely  familiar  to 
the  writer,  as  if  he  had  read  it  before.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  must 
have  copied  it  from  the  original,  when  the  material  was  being  prepared  for  Dr. 
Madden's  use.  A  very  likely  occurrence,  as  he  was  on  a  visit  at  the  time  to 
his  uncle's  family  and  was  called  upon  to  do  the  work,  as  he  was  considered  to 
be  more  painstaking  and  trustworthy  for  such  work  than  his  cousins,  who 
were  about  his  own  age,  but  whose  tastes  were  different. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  granted  better  quarters  by  the  Governor  of  the  Fortress 
after  the  arrival  of  his  family,  with  the  free  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper.  He 
availed  himself  of  this  privilege  by  writing  an  extended  sketch  of  the  early 
organization  of  the  United  Irishmen  and  their  efforts  to  obtain  an  ameliora- 
tion of  the  conditon  of  the  Catholic  population  in  Ireland  by  the  repeal  of  the 
Popery  Laws,  with  a  descripiton  of  what  led  to  the  outburst  of  the  people 
in  the  so-called  Rebellion  of  1798.  The  fact  that  he  had  taken  an  active  part 
and  was  able  to  relate  in  detail  the  circumstances  of  which  he  had  a  personal 
knowledge  renders  his  statement  of  particular  value.  It  may  be  claimed 
moreover,  that  very  few  historical  events  have  been  so  accurately  recorded, 
without  prejudice,  as  this  portion  of  Irish  history  by  Mr.  Emmet. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Emmet  was  unable  to  accomplish  what  he 
had  contemplated  in  the  writing  of  an  exhaustive  historical  work  covering  the 
period  of  which  he  had  a  personal  knowledge.  But  after  his  release  from 
prison  he  was  forced  to  lay  aside  all  thought  of  any  additional  literary  work, 
because  of  the  necessity  of  providing  for  the  support  of  his  family. 

After  Mr.  Emmet  had  settled  in  New  York,  and  had  been  subjected  through 
party  spirit  to  both  insult  and  opposition,  owing  to  the  ignorance  and  prejudice 
existing  towards  his  native  land,  as  well  as  knowledge  of  his  political  connec- 
tion with  it,  it  became  necessary,  for  political  reasons,  to  print  Mr.  Emmet's 
essay,  together  with  some  other  material  from  the  same  source.  It  is  this  essay 
which  has  been  selected  to  form  the  opening  chapters  of  this  work.  It 
begins  with  an  account  of  the  corruption  and  venality  of  the  Irish  Parliament 
in  1788  and  1789,  and  terminates  with  the  conviction  and  execution  of  Messrs. 


Mr.  Emmet's  Essay 


279 


Weldon,  Hart,  Kennedy  and  others  in  1795.  This  was  published  by  his 
friend  and  fellow-prisoner  Doctor  Macneven,  who  made  some  additions  to 
the  work  and  published  it  under  the  title  "Pieces  of  Irish  History,  Illustrative 
of  the  Condition  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  of  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the 
Political  System  of  the  United  Irishmen  and  of  their  Transactions  with  the 
Anglo-Irish  Government,  New  York,  1807".  Without  Dr.  Macneven's  as- 
sistance as  editor,  it  is  likely  that  this  work  would  never  have  been  published, 
but  the  fact  that  it  appeared  under  the  name  of  another  deprived  Mr.  Emmet, 
to  a  great  extent,  of  the  credit  to  which  he  was  entitled. 


Had  the  redaction  of  Ireland  to  the  state  of  a  Roman  province  completed  the  extensive 
plan  of  Agricola,  i»e  might  demonstrate  by  the  contrast  of  facts  applied  to  Ireland 
and  herself,  the  difference  betiveen  the  condition  of  a  dependency  of  Rome  and  a  de- 
pendency of  Britain. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Parliaments  and  charters  are  too  often  the  trappings  of  the  stave. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XIV 

Family  letters  received  by  Mr.  Emmet  and  his  wife  while  imprisoned  at  Fort  George 

HESE  interesting  letters  were  written  to  Mr.  Emmet  by 
his  father  and  mother  while  he  was  at  Fort  George.  It 
is  evident  that  the  correspondence  is  not  complete,  but  the 
letters  which  have  been  preserved  will  be  presented  to  the 
reader  in  chronological  order.  It  is  greatly  to  be  re- 
gretted that  Mr.  Emmet's  letters  in  answer,  and  those  of 
his  wife  to  her  mother,  have  been  lost. 

The  following  extract  from  Madden's  "Life  of  T.  A. 
Emmet"  will  enable  the  reader  the  better  to  understand 
the  conditions  under  which  these  letters  were  written : 

Poor  Dr.  Emmet  and  his  wife,  from  the  time  of  the  arrest  of  their  son,  Thomas 
Addis,  gradually  sank  under  the  calamity  which  laid  the  proud  hopes  of  their  old  age 
in  the  dust.  They  were  no  longer  the  same  people.  In  their  appearance,  their  conversation, 
their  mode  of  life  consequent  on  the  abandonment  of  their  former  enjoyments  and  the 
cessation  of  intercourse  with  those  who  formerly  were  the  companions  and  associates 
of  their  imprisoned  son,  now  "all  gone,  and  not  a  friend  to  take  his  fortune  by  the  arm", 
the  change  became  obvious  to  the  few  who  proved  in  the  time  of  their  adversity  that  they 
were  friends  indeed  in  their  acts  and  thoughts,  and  not  in  name  only. 

The  first  of  the  series  of  letters  preserved  was  written  by  his  mother  just 
one  year  after  Mr.  Emmet  reached  Fort  George : 

April  10th,  1800. 

My  Dearest  Tom, 

I  know  not  what  to  say  about  your  removal  from  Fort  George.  We  are  yet  in  a 
state  of  uncertainty  and  may  say  anxiety  upon  the  subject.  The  reports  about  it  seemed 
to  have  died  away.  Yesterday,  however,  Mrs.  Patten  told  me  that  Mrs.  Colville  had 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Burleigh,  who  had  seen  the  commanding  officer  at  Carrickfergus 
Castle  the  day  before,  who  told  her  that  he  was  in  daily  expectation  of  your  arrival, 
and  that  his  regiment  had  been  in  readiness  to  change  quarters,  but  were  countermanded, 
and  ordered  to  remain  in  their  present  quarters  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  State 
prisoners  from  Fort  George.  He  told  her  that  his  orders  with  respect  to  you  were 
very  strict.  I  am  ignorant  of  how  you  feel  about  the  matter,  but  to  us  I  confess  it  to 
be  a  cause  of  uneasiness.  We  know  that  however  strict  your  present  confinement  may 
be  you  are  well  treated,  and  that  your  accommodation  is  good,  the  latter  of  which  would 
not  be  the  case  here ;  nay,  I  even  doubt  that  it  would  be  possible  for  Jane  to  remain  with 
you ;  at  all  events  her  situation  would  be,  I  fear,  unpleasant.  Upon  this  and  many  other 
accounts  our  wishes  are  that  while  you  are  to  remain  a  prisoner  your  prison  may  be 
at  Fort  George,  where  you  have  been  treated  in  a  manner  different  from  what  you  met 
here,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  Mr.  Holmes'  conjecture  may  be  true,  which  is  that  as 

280 


Letters  from  " Casino" 


281 


the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  does  not,  as  we  are  told,  operate  in  Scotland,  the  intention  of 
bringing  you  over  has  been  given  up,  and  that  these  orders,  which  were  given  under 
the  original  idea,  have  not  been  recalled.  My  mind  is  at  present  so  much  occupied 
by  this  subject  that  I  cannot  write  about  any  other,  and  in  fact  I  have  at  any  time  but 
little  to  say;  doing  the  same  things,  and  almost  saying  the  same  things,  every  day, 
offers  but  little  entertainment  for  a  settled  correspondence.  Your  father  however  de- 
sires me  to  tell  you  that  he  wonders  how  you  can  be  surprised  that  he  should  find 
employment  upon  thirteen  acres  when  Penelope  could  find  so  much  upon  a  webb. 

He  has  as  much  perseverance,  and  has  as  great  occasion  to  find  work  for  himself  as 
she  had.  His  changes  are  not  great,  but  they  are  constant  and  happy  is  it  that  they  are 
productive  of  amusement  to  a  mind  that  wants  its  natural  props  to  support  it.  His 
health  and  spirits  keep  me  from  sinking,  for  I  am  tired  of  looking  at  prospects,  which 
in  this  uncertain  climate  are  oftener  overcast  than  otherwise,  and  therefore  cannot  afford 
satisfaction  to  a  mind  that  has  a  great  deal  to  wish  for  and  can  behold  nothing  but  remote 
prospects.  Your  children  are  indeed  often  an  amusement  to  us  all,  but  tho'  they  are 
as  good  and  as  fine  children  as  we  could  wish  for,  they  are  but  bad  substitutes  for  those 
they  represent. 

Mary  Anne's  happiness  in  consequence  of  having  married  a  very  worthy  man,  of 
whom  she  is  very  fond,  and  he  equally  so  of  her,  is  certainly  a  great  source  of  comfort 
to  us.  She  has  grown  so  stout  that  scarce  a  day  passes  without  her  walking  to  town, 
about  town,  and  out  again.  The  pleasure  of  her  husband's  company  has  I  believe  wrought 
this  change,  and  her  health  is  greatly  benefited  by  the  exertion.  Your  friend  Dr. 
Drennan*  has  got  a  little  heir,  and  he  is  so  anxious  about  it  that  he  is  continually  watching 
the  cradle  lest  it  should  die.  Lady  Anne  [Fitzgerald]  t  is  gone  with  her  sister  to  spend 
the  summer  at  Lord  Farnham's,  but  not  without  paying  a  kind  visit,  and  desiring  to 
be  remembered  in  the  most  affectionate  terms  to  you  and  Jane.  There  has  not  been 
any  account  of  the  De  FontenaysJ  since  they  left  Lisle,  and  I  suppose  the  prohibition 
to  Montreal  vessels  has  been  the  cause  of  their  friends  not  hearing  from  them. 

Knowing  as  you  must  how  much  you  possess  the  affections  of  all  under  this  roof,  it 
is  needless  for  me  to  mention  them.  Jane  also  I  hope  is  assured  that  she  and  the  chil- 
dren have  their  full  proportion,  and  therefore  I  trust  it  is  now  not  necessary  to  assure 
her  and  them  of  mine,  any  more  than  it  is  to  assure  you,  my  dearest  Tom,  how  truly 
I  am  your  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


July  6th,  1800. 

My  Dearest  Tom, 

As  you  have  been  made  acquainted  with  Jane's  going  to  England,  you  will  not  be 
surprised  at  receiving  a  letter  from  me,  especially  as  Mary  Anne  is  confined  to  her  bed, 
having  on  Friday  evening  given  you  a  nephew,  who  though  not  of  the  giant  race  is 
likely  enough  to  do  well,  but  what  is  more  material,  his  mother  is  in  as  good  a  way  as 
I  could  wish  her  to  be.  We  have  now  eight  grandchildren  under  our  roof,  but  alas! 
(save  Mary  Anne)  we  have  not  their  parents.  We,  however,  must  not  murmur,  but 
acquiesce  in  the  dispensations  of  the  Supreme  Being  for  those  he  has  left  and  for  those 
he  has  taken  away.  Robert  [the  eldest  child]  has  felt  your  rebuke;  he  rose  early  this 
morning  in  order  to  answer  your  letter  and  is  now  busily  employed  in  manufacturing 
one  to  you,  which  I  am  sure  will  give  you  more  pleasure  for  being  entirely  his  own.  He 
and  the  rest  of  your  children  are  all  in  good  health,  and  have  all  of  them  such  dispositions 

•Dr.  Drennan,  a  distinguished  physician  of  Dublin,  a  United  Irishman,  a  writer  for  "The  Press" 
and  a  noted  poet. 

tAn  old  friend  of  the  family  and  a  sister  of  the  "Knight  of  Kerry" — to  be  again  referred  to. 

tThe  Marquis  de  Fontenay  and  his  family  had  been  French  emigres  in  Ireland,  and  were  friends 
of  the  Emmet  family.  Sereral  letters  from  Robert  Emmet  to  Madame  la  Marquise  will  be  siren 
hereafter. 


282  Prospect  of  Transportation 


as  promises  happiness  to  you  and  themselves.  I  have  every  hope  that  Jane  will  succeed 
in  obtaining  the  object  of  her  journey.  Had  she  received  your  letter  before  she  went 
I  am  of  opinion  that  she  would  have  gone  direct  to  Scotland,  instead  of  England,  as 
it  was  only  the  apprehension  of  giving  uneasiness  to  you  that  withheld  her.  It  always 
was  my  opinion  that  she  ought,  for  both  your  sakes,  to  go  to  Scotland,  but  it  was  a 
matter  too  delicate  for  me  to  broach  until  her  uncle  mentioned  it.  And  then  I  felt 
myself  warranted  in  declaring  myself,  and  recommending  the  measure  which  she  was 
upon  the  point  of  carrying  into  execution,  had  she  not  been  dissuaded  by  St.  John 
Mason's  account  of  the  extreme  strictness  which  was  observed  with  respect  to  the 
prisoners.  However,  I  hope  she  will  be  able  to  get  the  same  permission  which  Mrs. 
O'Connor  has,  and  more  she  will  not  ask.  Your  old  friend,  Dr.  Drennan,  whose  attend- 
ance on  Mary  Anne  has  given  us  an  opportunity  of  seeing  him  oftener  than  we  have  of 
late,  is  married  to  a  very  amiable  pretty  young  woman ;  he  has  waited  to  some  good 
purpose. 

Mr.  William  Colville  [Mrs.  T.  A.  Emmet's  cousin]  has  just  been  here;  he  read 
to  us  a  paragraph  in  a  letter  from  a  friend  who  was  applied  to  for  the  purpose  of 
recommending  Jane's  business;  it  says  that  he  will  do  everything  in  his  power  to  serve 
her  and  hopes  she  will  make  his  house  her  own  during  the  negotiations.  He  is  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  Colville  family,  who  have  all  of  them  behaved  in  a  very  friendly 
manner,  and  especially  young  William,  who  is  a  very  affectionate  good  young  man. 
You  know  what  breaches  have  been  made  in  our  family  of  late,  not  only  by  Jane's 
departure,  but  also  that  of  Mrs.  Patten  and  John.  We  could  but  ill  bear  such  a 
diminution  of  our  family,  but  patience  is  our  only  remedy  for  every  ill.  Your  father, 
our  only  prop,  is,  thank  God,  well,  may  the  Almighty  Being,  in  mercy  to  us  all,  protect 
and  prolong  his  life. 

E.  Emmet. 

Your  father,  Mr.  Holmes,  and  Mary  Anne  desire  me  to  assure  you  of  their  sincerest 
affection,  and  the  juniors  all  join  in  love  and  duty  to  you. 
Thos.  Addis  Emmet, 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 

The  object  of  Mrs.  Emmet's  journey  to  England  was  to  obtain  from  the 
British  Government  permission  to  join  her  husband  in  Fort  George.  This 
privilege  was  obtained,  as  has  been  stated,  with  some  difficulty,  but  finally 
she  was  permitted  to  go  and  take  several  of  her  children  with  her.  Her 
particular  object  in  being  with  her  h"sband  at  this  time  was  in  consequence 
of  a  report  that  the  State  prisoners  were  to  be  sent  at  an  early  day  to  Van 
Dieman's  Land,  and  Mrs.  Emmet  felt  that  if  she  were  with  her  husband  at 
the  time  of  departure  there  might  be  a  possibility  of  being  allowed  to  accom- 
pany him. 

July  14th,  1800. 

My  Dearest  Tom, 

Mary  Anne  has  received  your  letter  of  the  29th  of  June,  and  as  she  is  not  now  quite 
strong  enough  to  write,  I  sit  down  in  her  place  to  answer  it,  thinking  that  as  Jane  is  not 
here,  a  letter  from  your  old  correspondent  will  not  be  unwelcome  to  you.  Mary  Anne 
is  recovering  fast,  but  the  infant  lived  for  only  a  week.  This  event  has  not  given  un- 
easiness; it  was  very  small  when  born,  and' I  am  persuaded  could  not,  from  the  many 
and  great  agitations  its  mother  underwent,  have  grown  up  healthy.  I  suppose  Jane 
gives  you  an  account  of  herself  in  a  less  circuitous  manner  than  we  can.  We  had  a 
letter  from  her,  but  it  was  written  immediately  upon  her  arrival  in  London,  when  she 
could  not  know  anything  about  the  success  of  her  application,  but  should  she  fail  in 
hers  I  am  confident  that  success  will  be  obtained  through  means  of  our  dear  worthy 
Lady  Anne  [Fitzgerald],  who  was  here  on  Saturday.    She  did  not  know  when  Jane 


Lady  Anne  Fitzgerald  Intercedes 


was  going  to  London,  or  she  would  have  written  to  you.  She,  however,  while  she 
was  here,  wrote  to  Sir  John  in  such  terms  as  you  would  expect  from  her  warm  heart. 
The  manner  in  which  she  mentioned  you  and  Jane  is  highly  gratifying.  She  presses 
the  suit  very  strongly,  and  begs  that  even  if  she  should  have  left  London  unsuccessful, 
that  he  will  nevertheless  use  his  best  efforts  to  get  her  request  complied  with.  As  much 
as  we  shall  miss  Jane  and  the  dear  children,  it  will  afford  us  the  greatest  comfort  that 
they  should  be  permitted  to  go  to  you.  I  am  very  sorry  that  your  hopes  of  embracing 
them  must  be  so  long  deferred,  but  as  your  patience  has  never  yet  forsaken  you,  I 
hope  it  will  not  now  abandon  you.  We  feel,  my  dear  Tom,  very  sensibly  your  kind 
solicitude  about  us  in  every  action  of  a  most  affectionate  and  kind  son,  but  who  can 
fill  the  present  vacancies  in  our  family?  Mary  Anne  is  truly  amiable,  and  Mr.  Holmes 
very  worthy,  but  it  is  not  in  either  of  their  power  to  supply  the  places  of  those  from 
whom  we  are  separated. 

Your  father's  fortitude  is  equal  to  his  affection  for  his  children,  and  I  trust  in  a 
merciful  Being  that  he  will  be  rewarded,  even  in  this  life,  no  matter  in  what  country,  so 
we  are  blessed  with  the  presence  of  our  children.  I  rest  in  an  humble  hope  that  the 
hand  of  the  Almighty  does  not  lie  thus  heavy  upon  us  for  our  transgressions  against 
him,  and  I  place  a  confidence  in  his  mercy  that  as  he  does  not  delight  in  the  affliction 
of  his  creatures,  he  will,  when  his  wisdom  sees  fit,  restore  happiness  to  us  all  who  sin- 
cerely trust  him.  Mr.  Holmes  has  just  received  a  letter  from  John  [Patten] ;  he  says 
that  your  letter  which  Mary  Anne  transcribed  to  Jane  has  given  her  the  greatest  pleasure. 

The  judge  who  directs  the  affairs  of  Sir  Edward  Denny*  has  intimated  that  he 
will  give  an  annuity,  which  he  will  himself  secure,  to  the  amount  of  three  thousand 
pounds  and  the  interest  thereof,  which  was  given  for  Knockenagh ;  how  much  it  will  be  I 
know  not,  but  your  father  thinks,  and  so  do  I,  that  it  will  be  better  to  accept  it  than 
to  proceed  in  a  law-suit,  as  we  do  not  want  a  vexatious  litigation. 

Your  father  and  all  join  in  most  affectionate  love  to  you.  Your  children  are  all 
well.   I  am,  my  dearest  Tom,  with  the  most  ardent  feelings, 

Your  truly  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

To  Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 
Fort  George. 

August  1st,  1800. 

My  Dearest  Tom, 

You  may  easily  have  more  agreeable  correspondents,  but  you  cannot  have  a  more 
punctual  one  than  I  am.  Mary  Anne  is  very  much  better,  but  you  know  of  old  that  she 
has  one  complaint  of  which  I  have  no  hone  that  she  will  be  cured :  indolence  has  still, 
and  always  will  have,  domination  over  her,  except  when  exertion  becomes  necessary; 
then  indeed  no  person  can  exceed  her  in  efforts.  I  wish,  however,  for  her  own  sake, 
that  her  exertions  were  brought  more  into  the  practice  of  every  day,  and  not  reserved 
for  great  occasions.  She  has  a  very  strong  mind,  and  I  think  it  would  operate  more 
upon  the  body  if  more  frequently  called  forth.  I  fear  you  have  felt  some  uneasiness 
from  your  being  too  early  in  your  calculations  about  Jane's  arrival;  before  now,  how- 
ever, I  hope  it  is  all  over,  and  that  you  are  happy  in  having  your  wishes  and  expecta- 
tions realized.  Your  father  and  I  are  like  the  moon,  enlightened  by  reflection,  but 
the  happiness  we  receive  in  this  manner  is  sufficient  to  make  us  feel  very  comfortable, 
and  makes  us  very  often  forget  how  far  we  are  from  the  source  of  the  secondary  kind 
of  happiness.  In  answer  to  one  part  of  your  letter  I  can  only  assure  you  that  our 
gratitude  has  never  been  more  excited  than  in  feeling  that  we  were  able  to  give  an 
asylum  to  your  wife  and  children.  Under  this  roof  they  should  have  been  sheltered 
and  shared  the  loaf  with  us;  let  what  would  have  befallen  us  it  is  only  to  make  you 
happy,  but  not  without  some  reluctance,  that  we  have  parted  with  those  who  are  gone 

•Of  County  Kerry  and  a  noted  English  sympathizer. 


284 


Two  Old  Oaks 


to  you.  And  as  to  the  division  of  the  children,  it  is  just  what  we  would  have  made  if 
the  appointment  had  been  our  own.  We  love  Robert  too  well  not  to  wish  him  under 
your  care,  and  the  girls  could  not  possibly  be  so  well  anywhere  as  with  their  mother. 
The  three  that  we  have  shall  meet  all  the  care  that  is  necessary  for  them  at  present, 
and  when  they  come  to  require  instruction  I  trust  in  a  merciful  Providence  that  it  will 
be  under  your  own  inspection.  Strange  indeed  would  it  be  if  we  thought  your  children 
an  incumbrance;  it  is  an  idea  of  which  I  trust  you  think  us  incapable. 

When  I  had  written  thus  far  I  was  agreeably  surprised  by  a  visit  from  Mrs.  Patten, 
who  came  to  spend  a  day  with  us;  by  this  means  you  will  receive  this  letter  two  days 
later  than  I  intended.  Mrs.  Patten  desired  me  to  tell  Jane  that  she  had  written  two 
sheets  of  paper,  and  had  burned  them  both,  as  she  could  not  bear  to  write  for  the 
inspection  of  officers.  This  consideration,  I  confess,  never  disturbs  me,  as  I  feel  it  to 
be  of  no  importance  to  have  my  style  defective  or  my  letters  incorrect,  provided  you 
understand  me  and  my  feelings,  and  I  am  quite  satisfied  as  to  what  the  opinions  of 
others  may  be.  She  desired  to  let  John  know  that  the  message  about  the  deeds  did 
not  reach  her  till  the  Tuesday  after  he  had  left.  She  is  extremely  well  and  in  much 
more  tranquil  spirits  than  when  Jane  went  away.  I  find  you  are  disposed  to  shuffle 
me  off  upon  Jane's  hands  whether  she  likes  it  or  not,  but  it  will  not  do.  I  shall 
always  have  the  sincerest  pleasure  in  Jane's  letters,  but  I  know  she  does  not  always  like 
to  write,  and  I  would  not  have  her  correspondence  with  me  imposed  on  her  like  task- 
work, but  a  volutary  act  whenever  she  chooses  to  perform  it.  I  have,  moreover,  another 
cogent  reason  for  having  you  my  general  correspondent,  which  is,  that  I  have  written 
more  letters  to  you  than  to  any  other  person  alive,  and  therefore  find  I  can  write  with 
more  ease  to  myself  than  to  any  other  person.  Tell  Jane  that  Mr.  Macaubry*  lamented 
that  he  had  left  Belfast  before  she  arrived  there,  as  he  would  have  felt  much  pleasure 
in  having  it  in  his  power  to  be  of  any  use  to  her;  they  are  a  very  feeling  family.  I 
long  much  to  hear  of  the  safe  arrival  of  all  the  travellers ;  we  must  have  a  very 
minute  account  of  the  meeting,  and  whether  the  children  have  grown  more  or  less 
than  you  expected.  I  fear  Robert  will  not  do  me  much  credit,  as  he  sometimes  forgets 
what  he  has  learned.  He  is,  however,  a  charming  child,  a  fine  soil,  and  just  fit  for  you 
to  work  upon;  authority,  but  not  severity,  is  very  necessary  for  him.  I  suppose  you 
lament  that  Elizabeth  is  not  handsome. 

Adieu,  my  dearest  Tom,  and  believe  me  ever  yours, 

E.  Emmet. 


August  7th,  1800. 

My  Dearest  Tom, 

I  have  taken  Mary  Anne's  place,  as  she  seems  somewhat  lazy  and  not  inclined  to 
write.  I  would  not,  however,  let  you  remain  without  hearing  from  us,  tho'  I  have 
nothing  to  communicate  further  than  we  are  tolerably  well,  and  very  happy  in  the  reflection 
that  probably  before  this  reaches  you  you  will  have  the  gratification  of  embracing  your 
wife  and  three  of  your  children.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  we  feel  like  two  old  oaks 
exposed  to  mountain  storms  and  left  almost  leafless,  but  we  still  bear  up  trusting  in  the 
goodness  of  Providence  that  we  shall  in  some  country,  before  we  sink  into  the  grave, 
see  our  family  re-established  and  happy.  I  am  persuaded  that  when  Governor  Stuart 
sees  your  wife  and  children  he  will  feel  all  those  agreeable  sensations  that  arise  in 
generous  minds  upon  finding  that  their  humanity  has  been  employed  for  worthy  objects. 
I  have  perhaps  calculated  wrong  in  supposing  that  Jane  would  be  with  you  before  this 
letter  shall  reach  you ;  should  it  not  be  so  do  not  therefore  be  uneasy,  as  she  may  have 
unforeseen  delays  upon  the  road.  She  and  the  children  were  in  perfect  health  and  spirits 
when  they  left  this.  Your  other  three  children  are  all  well,  and  shall  not  be  neglected. 
Your  father  is,  thank  God,  extremely  well ;  what  a  mercy  it  is  that  his  health  is  so  good. 

"This  Mr.  Macaubry  was  the  grandson  of  Diana,  the  sister  of  Christopher  Emett,  as  already 
itated. 


Grandfather's  Claret 


285 


Mary  Anne's  recovery  has  been  somewhat  retarded  by  the  loss  of  her  little  child  and  by 
Jane's  departure.  Tell  Jane  that  Kitty  [Temple  Emmet's  daughter]  has  with  great  ease 
accomplished  that  lesson  upon  the  piano  which  seemed  so  difficult ;  she  has  good  musical 
talents,  and  it  would  be  a  pity  they  should  not  be  employed.  All  here  join  most  cordially 
in  love  and  every  fond  wish  to  you  and  your  happy  circle. 
My  dearest  Tom,  I  am,  your  ever  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

T.  A.  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


Sept.  4th,  1800. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

The  account  of  Jane's  and  the  children's  arrival  gave  us  heartfelt  satisfaction,  and 
you  may  be  assured  that  your  present  happiness  is  to  us  a  source  of  the  greatest  comfort. 
You  have  indeed  cause  to  be  vain  of  your  wife  and  children.  Jane,  I  hope,  is  well  con- 
vinced how  favourable  our  opinion  is  of  her  conduct  and  how  strong  our  attachments 
are  to  her,  and  I  will  add  that  not  only  her  conduct  but  that  of  her  entire  family  has  been 
meritorious  in  a  high  degree,  different  from  what  we  had  expected  on  another  melancholy 
occasion  from  another  quarter;  that  Mrs.  Patten  and  John  should  behave  so  is  what  I 
expected,  because  I  am  sure  that  they  both  love  you  almost  as  well  as  they  do  Jane. 

But  others  of  the  family,  whose  interests  and  opinions  were  opposite  to  yours,  have 
behaved  with  the  utmost  delicacy  and  liberality,  and  have  shown  a  great  cordiality  about 
you  and  Jane.  Mary  Anne  is  very  much  better ;  she  has  had  a  variety  of  complaints ;  her 
feelings,  tho'  seemingly  calm,  have  always  fallen  upon  her  constitution,  which  you  know 
is  naturally  delicate.  We  do  not  think  that  her  affection  for  Mr.  Holmes,  which  to  be 
sure  is  uncommonly  ardent,  has  in  any  respect  diminished  that  which  she  has  felt  for 
her  other  friends.  These  things  are  possible,  and  you,  my  dear  Tom,  are  an  example 
that  losing  one  object  does  not  abate  your  affection  for  your  other  relations.  I  am  very 
glad  that  you  did  not  hear  of  Elizabeth's  illness  till  the  account  was  accompanied  with 
one  of  her  being  better;  she  is  certainly  a  very  fine  child;  nature  has  been  very  liberal  to 
her  in  disposition  as  well  as  in  beauty.  Margaret  is  undoubtedly  her  inferior,  but  she, 
however,  is  not  devoid  of  merit,  as  she  has  many  good  talents,  &  if  I  mistake  not,  will 
be  a  shrewd  observer,  but  always  direct  and  liberal  in  her  transactions. — Robert  is  a  fine 
creature ;  that  he  did  not  learn  more  was  my  fault,  not  his,  and  I  did  not  always  find  my 
mind  fitted  for  giving  instruction.  He  is  now,  thank  God,  in  a  proper  situation  for 
receiving  it,  and  with  your  cultivation  will  yield  a  plentiful  crop.  Don't  let  the  children 
forget  us,  but  more  especially  do  I  wish  to  retain  a  place  in  Robert's  kind  heart.  The 
three  that  we  have  are  so  much  our  own  that  they  will  not  rival  the  others,  they  stand  a 
good  chance  of  treading  fast  upon  their  heels.  The  little  fellow  is  delicate,  but  he  has  a 
happy  temper,  which  I  hope  will  attend  him  through  life.  He  has  been  much  reduced  from 
cutting  teeth,  he  is  now  better.  His  grandpa's  claret  has  been  of  great  use  to  him,  and 
I  assure  you  he  fights  hard  in  dumb  show  to  become  an  equal  partaker  of  it.  I  beg  you 
will  always  be  very  minute  in  your  account  of  the  three  children,  as  you  will  thereby  give 
us  great  pleasure,  we  being  glad  to  feed  upon  crumbs  that  fall  from  your  table.  I  was 
well  aware  of  Jane's  dislike  to  writing,  when  I  declined  encumbering  her  with  my  corre- 
spondence. A  letter  from  her  will,  however,  always  afford  me  almost  as  much  pleasure 
as  it  would  to  Mrs.  Patten,  but  I  would  have  it  a  free  will,  not  a  compulsory  offering. 
But  however  great  her  dislike  may  be  to  writing,  I  hope  and  I  am  sure  she  will  not  suffer 
it  ever  to  overcome  her  so  far  as  to  induce  her  to  decline  writing  to  a  mother  to  whom 
she  owes  so  much,  and  tho'  she  is  good-natured  enough  not  to  require  more,  ought  not 
to  be  put  off  continually  with  accounts  at  second-hand.  She  should  not  be  kept  waiting 
for  intelligence  'til  we  are  first  served,  and,  whether  she  writes  or  not  I  hope  Jane  will 
hold  a  regular  correspondence  with  her.  Mary  Anne  wished  to  write,  but  as  your  last 
letter  was  to  me  I  would  not  substitute  her  to  write  in  my  place.    I  again  request  that  you 


286 


Motherly  Advice 


will  be  particular  in  accounts  of  yourself,  your  wife,  and  your  children.  Do  not  fear 
being  guilty  of  egotism;  to  others  such  things  may  be  tedious,  but  to  us  they  will  be 
matters  of  great  satisfaction.  I  hope  you  take  care  to  have  good  air  in  your  chambers, 
and  if  you  all  sleep  in  one  room,  an  attention  to  this  point  will  be  the  more  necessary. 
I  am  the  more  particular  upon  this  head,  from  my  knowledge  that  both  Jane  and  you 
love  to  indulge  in  a  good  degree  of  warmth. 

All  here  are  well,  thank  God;  your  father  more  so  than  we  had  a  right  to  expect. 
The  healing  hand  that  has  been  held  out  to  us  in  every  tryal  has  mercifully  preserved  him. 
May  our  gratitude  bear  some  proportion  to  the  mercies  we  have  received.  I  suppose  John 
Patten  will  have  left  you  before  this  can  have  reached  you ;  if  he  should  not,  assure  him 
of  what  he  is  so  justly  entitled  to,  our  most  cordial  regards  and  good  wishes.  You 
see  how  I  scribble  on  without  saying  anything,  but  I  write  in  full  confidence  that  my 
letters  will  not  be  uninteresting  to  you,  who  must  be  convinced  that  I  am  most  truly 
your  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

T.  A.  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George. 

Your  father,  Mr.  Holmes  &c,  join  in  kindest  affection  to  you,  Jane,  and  the  children. 

Kitty  is  very  well. 


Sept.  19th,  1800. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  am  sorry  to  perceive  by  your  letter  to  Mary  Anne  that  your  old  colds  in  the  head 
are  again  visiting  you ;  I  hope  not  as  heavily  as  they  used  to  do  formerly.  The  cold  of 
Fort  George,  I  am  told,  is  very  great  in  winter  and  from  the  same  quarter  I  hear  that 
your  airing  ground  is  very  limited.  Neither  of  these  accounts  have  given  me  much  pleas- 
ure, but  I  endeavour  not  to  feel  uneasiness  when  I  reflect  that  you  never  have  complained 
of  either.  I,  however,  entreat  that  you  will  do  all  you  can  to  harden  yourself  before 
Winter  comes.  I  hope  Jane  has  quite  recovered  from  her  fatigue.  Mrs.  Patten  has  had 
a  great  uneasiness  about  her  and  was  sure  if  she  had  not  been  ill  that  either  she  or  John 
would  have  written  to  her.  I  can  blame  neither  her  fears  or  her  jealousy,  I  think  she  has 
had  too  much  room  for  both,  your  last  letters,  however,  have  in  a  great  measure  removed 
the  former,  and  the  sight  of  John  will  certainly  put  an  end  to  the  latter.  I  hope  when 
Jane  is  quite  established  you  will  prevail  upon  her  to  be  more  prudent.  She  will  not 
probably  in  Fort  George  have  an  opportunity  of  making  those  great  efforts  of  which  she 
is  so  fond;  the  last  indeed  has  cost  her  dear  enough,  and  I  doubt  not  but  she  will  in 
time  perceive  that  system  is  better  than  swiftness.  We  may  admire  the  speed  and  power 
of  a  race-horse,  but  a  steady  draft  horse  will  in  general  be  found  as  useful  and  much 
more  durable. 

Late  hours  too  I  hope  you  will  avoid,  you  are  both  fond  of  them,  yet  be  assured  that 
eventually  they  will  materially  injure  your  constitution,  and  as  you  are  now  situated  you 
cannot  pay  too  much  attention  to  the  preservation  of  health.  Jane's  good  sense  will,  I 
am  sure,  point  out  to  her  that  these  musty  precepts  import  nothing  but  kindness  to  her. 
Mr.  Palmer*  and  his  wife  dined  here  yesterday,  he  seemed  a  very  plain  sensible  man,  and 
she  a  very  unaffected  woman,  rather  agreeable  than  handsome,  I  believe  very  like  her 
mother.  She  did  not  mention  even  her  brother's  name,  but  I  heard  that  he  has  arrived 
in  England  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  an  estate  in  Devonshire.  Mr.  Palmer  says 
that  any  part  of  America  is  unfit  for  persons  of  small  fortunes  to  live  in.  The  Dowager 
Lady  Temple  pays  two  hundred  pounds  a  year  for  a  very  small  unfurnished  house  in 
Boston.  He  says  that  the  yellow  fever  is  continually  returning  to  every  part  of  America, 
and  he  attributes  it  to  the  climate.  It  made  great  havoc  in  Boston,  as  well  as  in  the  other 
parts  of  America.  Mr.  also  dined  here,  he  has  gotten  an  employment  of  five  hun- 
dred a  year,  and  now  sees  very  clearly  that  the  Union  will  not  be  prejudicial  to  Ireland. 


•Mr.  William  Palmer,  of  Boston,  married  Augusta,  the  daughter  of  Sir  John  Temple. 


Characteristics  of  the  Emmet  Children 


Mary  Anne  is  better,  and  the  various  complications  which  threatened  her  are  now 
subsiding.  Your  father  is,  thank  God,  extremely  well.  God  grant  that  changes  of  weather 
at  the  approach  of  winter  may  not  affect  him.  Your  children  are  all  well,  John  very  con- 
tent, but  growing  more  animated,  Tom  shrewd  and  firm,  and  if  the  little  one  gets  a  body 
equal  to  his  mind  he  will  equal  any  of  your  children.  Upon  reading  your  description  of 
Robert  at  receiving  his  cousin's  letter,  your  father  felt  strongly  inclined  to  open  a  corre- 
spondence with  him,  but  gave  up  the  idea  upon  reflecting  that  it  would  be  somewhat 
strange  that  he  should  hold  one  with  him  when  he  doesn't  with  you.  Mary  Anne  in  her 
letters,  I  dare  say,  expresses  Mr.  Holmes'  feelings;  he  is  not  apt  to  say  much,  buTT be- 
lieve there  is  not  a  man  alive  he  reveres  more  than  he  does  you.  I  am  sure  you  will  be 
glad  to  hear  from  myself  that  my  spirits,  which  were  much  depressed,  at  Jane's  leaving 
us,  are  now  much  better.  Necessity,  that  infallible  teacher,  has  brought  our  feelings  to 
submit  to  our  situation,  and  the  consciousness  we  have  of  your  happiness  conveys  to  us  the 
best  cordial  we  can  have  in  our  present  state  of  separation.  We  are  all  very  impatient 
until  John's  arrival,  and  by  your  not  mentioning  him  in  your  last  we  conclude  he  has  left 
you  and  will  be  soon  here.  Mrs.  Patten  is  at  Clontarf,  and  is  very  well.  You  cannot  say 
too  much  of  yourself,  Jane,  and  the  children.  Omit  nothing  that  you  can  crowd  into  a 
letter,  anything  you  can  say  will  be  food  for  us,  and  I  know  you  like  to  deal  food  to  the 
hungry  with  a  liberal  hand. 

May  every  blessing  attend  you  and  yours,  prays  your  truly  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


October  9th,  1800. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

Mary  Anne  and  I  have  received  a  letter  from  you,  and  are  happy  that  you  and  Jane 
and  two  of  the  children  are  so  well,  and  we  hope  to  hear  in  your  next  that  Margaret's 
complaints  are  all  over.  Great  must  your  pleasure  be  in  the  discharge  of  your  different 
occupations,  especially  when  assisted  by  such  an  usher.  I  perceive  it  will  be  necessary 
to  guard  yourself  against  Elizabeth ;  she  is  a  very  fascinating  child,  but  the  tenderness 
of  Robert's  tones  and  the  brightness  of  his  countenance  give  him  the  advantage  over  all 
the  other  children  whatever.  I  must  confess  that  the  caution  which  I  give  you  is  necessary 
here  at  home ;  the  two  youngest  ones  are  gaining  ground  so  fast  as  to  be  likely  to  distance 
poor  John,  who  is  certainly  a  very  honest,  good  tempered  fellow,  but  his  talents  are  of 
the  slow  kind,  he  may  nevertheless  hereafter  head  the  tribe,  for  we  know  that  the  battle 
is  not  to  the  strong,  nor  the  race  always  *o  the  swift.  Little  Tom  is  a  critical  observer, 
very  clear  in  his  ideas,  and  very  concise  in  the  delivery  of  them ;  the  young  one  promises 
to  be  like  our  Robert,  and  if  he  equals  him  in  talent  and  disposition  your  paternal  wishes 
need  not  desire  greater  excellence.  I  fill  my  paper  with  speaking  of  your  children,  suppos- 
ing that  you  will  not  be  tired  of  the  subject.  From  this  house,  so  void  of  anecdote  or 
incident,  you  cannot  hope  for  entertainment  from  our  letters.  Your  gratification  in  perus- 
ing them  must  arise  from  the  accounts  which,  thank  God,  I  can  give  that  we  are  all  well, 
going  on  with  uninterrupted  sameness,  and  bearing  our  separation  with  sufficient  fortitude, 
arising  chiefly  from  reflecting  upon  the  happiness  which  you  at  present  enjoy.  I  read  with 
great  pleasure  Jane's  letter  to  her  mother,  it  is  a  pity  she  should  be  so  averse  to  writing; 
it  will  indeed  not  be  pardonable  in  her  ever  to  shrink  from  any  occasion  which  demands 
the  use  of  the  pen,  when  she  makes  such  extremely  good  use  of  it.  We  have  not  received 
all  the  satisfaction  from  John  we  expected,  we  can  learn  nothing  with  respect  to  any  plan 
for  your  future  arrangements.  Whatever  tends  to  render  the  prospect  of  our  meeting 
uncertain  makes  us  all  unhappy.  I  strive  what  I  can  to  suppress  gloomy  thoughts,  which 
a  reflection  upon  this  subject  must  always  exert.  You  expect  that  we  should  make  the 
children  remember  you,  this  is  not  so  easy  an  affair.  I  just  now  asked  Tom  if  I  should 
give  his  love  to  you  all,  and  his  reply  was  that  he  loved  Murray,  he  will  always  I  believe 


288  Death  of  Lord  Bellamont 


try  to  keep  fair  with  those  who  hold  the  loaves  and  fishes.    You  may  remember  what 

Mrs.  C         and  Bell  often  told  us,  we  then,  my  dear  Tom,  attributed  to  prejudice  what 

we  now  find  to  be  a  fact.  I  suppose  Mrs.  Patten  has  informed  you  of  Miss  Ryal's  death, 
she  doubtless  has  fallen  a  victim  to  a  broken  heart,  most  sincerely  do  I  pity  the  poor 
prisoner  who  must  in  close  confinement  bear  this  severe  misfortune. 

You  will  perhaps  imagine  that  I  usurp  too  great  a  share  in  correspondence  when  I 
am  only  a  co-partner  in  it,  and  that  Mary  Anne  is  younger  and  much  better  able  to  sus- 
tain her  part  therein.  I  confess  I  feel  gratified  in  conversing  with  you,  even  on  paper, 
and  therefore  I  have  indulged  myself  in  becoming  the  secretary  of  this  day. 

Your  father,  who  is  taking  his  accustomed  wet  weather  walk  about  the  room,  joins 
in  the  strongest  assurance  of  the  warmest  affection  to  you,  Jane,  and  the  dear  children. 
The  rest  of  the  family  are  dispersed,  but  I  can  answer  that  their  most  cordial  wishes  for 
you  and  Jane  will  always  unite  with  those  of  your  ever  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

T.  A.  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


Oct.  30th,  1800. 

I  thank  you,  my  dearest  Tom,  for  the  increasing  tenderness  with  which  you  treat  all 
my  weakness,  of  which  you  have  given  me  a  great  instance  in  your  last  letter.  Your  lenient 
temper  administers  a  calm  for  every  malady.  We  are  happy  to  find  by  your  two  last  letters 
that  you  are  all  well,  and  that  Margaret  is  quite  recovered.  Dear  Robert's  letter  gave  us 
great  pleasure,  it  is  a  true  picture  of  his  heart,  overflowing  with  innocence,  honesty,  and 
good  nature.  May  he  give  to  you  and  his  mother  as  much  comfort,  without  the  pangs, 
as  you  have  given  us.  I  have  not  seen  Mrs.  Patten  for  some  days,  as  she  has  gone  to 
spend  a  week  at  Clontarf,  but  I  hear  with  pleasure  that  Jane  has  written  to  her.  John 
dined  here  on  Sunday  last,  he  kindly  remembers  us,  and  sometimes  gives  us  a  day,  but 
not  as  often  as  we  would  wish,  tho'  I  believe  as  often  as  he  can,  as  he  seems  to  have  much 
business  upon  his  hands.  Change  of  weather  has  not  as  yet,  thank  God,  had  any  bad  effect 
upon  your  father.  I  have  had  a  severe  cold,  which,  however,  has  quite  gone,  and  as  usual 
without  any  remedy  to  remove  it.  The  rest  are  all  very  well,  except  the  little  fellow, 
who  is  quite  delicate  in  spite  of  our  wishes  and  endeavours  to  have  him  otherwise;  he  is 
just  now  very  tolerable,  and  I  still  trust  a  great  deal  to  his  own  cheerfulness.  I  would 
not  have  you  imagine  that  I  am  partial  to  his  name ;  I  assure  you  that  he  is  a  great  favor- 
ite with  every  other  person  in  the  family,  as  with  me.  Little  Tom  is  also  a  charming 
child,  but  as  circumspect,  crafty,  and  faithful  to  his  own  interests  as  any  of  the  race  of 
Abraham  ever  were.  John,  tho'  last  named,  is  not,  I  assure  you,  ever  forgotten  by  us; 
he  looks  robust  and  hearty,  is  much  more  playful  and  lively,  but  still  your  father  thinks 
that  his  lungs  are  in  a  very  spongy  state ;  we  have  been  obliged  to  shave  his  head,  so  that 
he  will  continue  a  baldpate  for  the  winter.  You  may  be  sure  that  nothing  upon  our  part 
shall  be  omitted  that  we  think  may  tend  to  promote  his  health.  I  am  thus  minute  about 
your  children,  thinking  it  right  that  you  should  know  every  particular  concerning  them. 
Our  list  of  Peers  has  lost  three  of  its  members,  it  seems  as  if  they  were  grief-stricken, 
that  the  Peerage  is  merely  nominal.  Lord  Farnham  is  perhaps  the  most  to  be  lamented. 
Lord  Belamont*  has  left  a  lesson  behind  him,  upon  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  human 
life;  he  rode  his  own  horse  against  Mr.  R.  Latouch  on  Friday,  walked  about  the  streets 
of  Dublin  on  Saturday,  and  was  dead  before  Monday  morning. 

Your  father  desires  me  to  tell  you  that  he  does  all  he  can  to  throw  amusement  into 
those  hours  which  he  would  spend  in  happiness  if  you,  your  family,  and  brother  [Robert] 

"The  grandfather  of  this  peer,  bearing  the  same  title,  was  the  Colonial  Governor  of  New  York 
for  several  years  previous  to  1701.  He  was  charged,  with  James  Emott,  of  New  York,  and  Livingston, 
with  having  fitted  out  Kidd,  the  pirate,  and  with  having  shared  with  him  his  spoils.  The  truth  of 
the  story  would  seem  to  be  that  Bellamont  and  others  had  fitted  out  a  privateer  and  had  placed 
Kidd  in  command.  After  having  made  some  legitimate  returns  as  prizes  for  the  owners,  Kidd  at 
length  turned  pirate  for  his  own  gain. 


Dr.  Emmet  to  His  Son 


289 


were  around  him.  This  however  is  an  idea  which  we  must  not  dwell  upon,  but  tho'  wc 
endeavour  to  suppress  it  we  are  not  able  to  prevent  it  always  from  obtruding  itself. 
Mr.  Chamberlain  has  been  given  over,  but  is  now  recovering,  he  was  laid  up  at  the  same 
time  in  the  gout.  Your  father  had  lately  a  letter  from  St.  John  [Mason],  he  is  very  well, 
and  you  may  be  sure  affectionate  in  his  inquiries  about  you  and  yours.  So  are  numbers 
besides,  and  none  more  than  our  now  only  neighbours.  I  have  no  news  to  tell  you,  unless  I 
was  to  inform  you  that  our  loaf  is  growing  larger  and  our  potatoes  very  thin  in  the  ground. 
It  will  not  be  news  to  tell  you  how  much  we  all  love  you  and  your  fireside,  and  that  I  am 
most  truly  your 

ever  affectionate  mother, 

Elizabeth  Emmet. 

T.  A.  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 

In  another  handwriting,  and  probably  that  of  his  sister  Mary  Anne : 

My  dearest  Tom — 

I  send  you  two  glasses  of  number  nine,  which  the  opticians  say  is  your  number,  and 
will  send  another  in  the  next  letter. — 

The  following  letter  is  from  his  father; 

Nov.  13th,  1800. 

My  dear  Tom, 

Yesterday  your  mother  received  yours  of  the  25th  of  October,  wherein  you  express 
so  much  pleasure  at  receiving  her  former  superscriptions  by  me :  that  I  find  myself  bound 
by  mere  civility  and  etiquette  to  make  more  than  a  proxy  acknowledgment  of  thanks  to 
you,  and  impelled  by  paternal  affection  to  give  you  as  much  pleasure  as  is  in  my  power. 

I  take  up  my  pen  to  address  an  entire  letter  to  you,  and  on  gilt  paper  if  you  please, 
for  if  the  bare  superscription  of  a  letter  by  me,  affords  you  every  satisfaction  as  to  my 
health,  in  addition  to  the  reports  of  it  made  by  your  mother  and  Mary  Anne,  the  receipt 
of  an  entire  letter  from  myself  must  increase  that  satisfaction  more,  and  thus  much  for 
the  preamble. 

Now  as  to  the  subject  matter,  that  I  love  you  I  need  not  assure  you,  that  our  separa- 
tion has  thrown  gloom  on  my  evening  of  life  is  unnecessary  to  mention !  But  away  with 
this  sombre  commencement.  The  clouds  of  my  evening  are  not  as  pleasure-fringed  as  I 
could  wish,  but  they  are  not  sorrow-charged ;  if  not  gay,  they  are  at  least  serene,  and  they 
receive  reflections  of  satisfaction  even  from  Fort  George.  When  I  know,  if  you  are 
immured,  you  are  also  comfortably  lodged,  honourably  treated,  and  indulged  with  the 
companionship  of  a  beloved  and  love-deserving  Partner,  with  half  a  very  promising 
progeny  who  must  soon  grow  up  well  and  advantageously  accomplished  under  yours  and 
their  mother's  tuition. 

As  to  those  under  my  care,  they  must  certainly  fall  short  in  point  of  education,  but 
we  will  do  the  best  we  can.  John  is  at  a  crown  and  a  quarter  school,  where  he  tells  me 
he  makes  great  proficiency,  four  or  five  lessons  a  day  in  his  A,  B,  C,  but  as  yet  he  does 
not  couple  them  very  accurately.  John,  however,  is  a  very  well-disposed,  well-tempered 
child,  and  if  he  does  not  mount  into  the  Empyrean  Galaxy,  he  will  always  keep  the  Milky 
path  of  life,  and  never  tread  on  thorns.  Tom  has,  I  fear,  by  the  commentary  of  your 
letter,  been  rather  misrepresented  to  you;  he  seems  to  be  a  little  more  attentive  to  self, 
than  either  Robert  or  John,  but  he  has  right  good  material  to  be  wrought  upon,  solidity, 
circumspection,  attention,  and  love  of  approbation.  Little  Temple,  signa  fata  .  .  .  alter 
Marcellus  erit,  should  he  live  for  the  germs  to  open,  blossom,  and  ripen  into  fruit,  he 
will  equal  I  think  his  namesake  uncle.  But  of  this  no  more  now;  as  to  myself,  entering 
on  my  seventy-first  year  of  Life,  I  find  the  strength  of  constitution,  praise  be  to  the 
Donor,  reducing  a  disorder  to  a  mere  inconvenience  and  leaving  nothing  to  be  complained 
of  on  that  head.    I  eat,  drink,  and  sleep  very  sufficiently  and  comfortably;  boiled  bread 


/ 


290 


Castle -building  at  Casino 


and  milk  as  usual  for  breakfast,  the  chance  of  the  table  and  everything  welcome  at  dinner-, 
after  that  the  certainty  of  three  glasses  of  claret,  for  your  mother  insists  upon  it  that 
it  is  the  proper  wine  for  me,  and  that  you  know  decides  it,  for  in  point  of  Medical  regula- 
tion, Mihi  est  Magnus  Apollo.  If  the  weather  be  fine  and  sunny,  I  vibrate  a  pendulum 
walk  from  the  esplanade  to  your  study  for  half  an  hour,  or  longer  if  dry,  but  with  a 
western  wind  the  vibration  line  is  changed  from  the  Esplanade  to  the  mount  and  the 
time  shortened.  Now  as  to  amusement,  what  am  I  to  say?  Why,  a  recluse,  and  scarcely 
seeing  any  person  but  my  own  family,  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  saying  and  doing  the 
same  thing  over  and  over  again,  planting  one  tree,  pulling  up  another,  diruens,  edificans, 
mutatis  quadrate  rotundis;  sometimes  not  so  much  in  real  action  or  expense,  building 
castles  in  the  air,  travelling  and  planning  on  the  Loire  from  Nantz  to  Blois,  sometimes 
on  the  Seine  from  Havre  de  Grase  to  Paris;  sometimes  on  the  Villain  from  Roche- 
Bernard  to  Rennes.  But  seventy-one  years  of  age  and  a  very  comfortable  settlement  at 
Casino,  come  athwart  me  and  soon  fall  the  castles  and  all  their  improvements.  Luckily 
the  demolition  and  the  last  page  of  my  paper  coincide,  and  the  deficiency  of  imagination 
to  maintain  any  farther  Essays  happily  remains  undiscovered.  This,  the  only  letter  which 
you  have  had  written  to  you  by  me  since  your  arrest  you  will  probably  think  sufficiently 
compensatory,  by  its  length,  for  the  continued  silence ;  what  then  will  the  official  person 
think  of  it  when  he  wades  thro'  such  folly  and  nonsense?  He  must  e'en  think  the  best 
he  can.  Had  he  relied  on  my  good  sense  and  judgment  not  to  write  anything  that  was 
improper  for  official  inspection,  he  would  have  read  an  entertaining  chapter  in  Tristram 
Shandy,  or  any  other  equally  entertaining  book,  and  have  forwarded  this  unread.  If  he 
has  not  had  that  opinion  of  me,  he  rmist  blame  himself  for  the  consequences;  at  any  rate, 
if  it  affords  you  the  shadow  even  of  satisfaction  I  shall  feel  myself  compensated  for  my 
part  of  the  performance,  and  still  more  so  as  it  affords  me  the  opportunity  of  assuring 
you  that  I  am  with  the  most  sincere  and  undiminished  parental  affection,  yours  as  ever, 

Robert  Emmet. 

Casino,  Nov.  18th,  1800. 

The  late  King  of  Prussia  thought,  or  said,  that  the  postscript  was  the  only  part  of  a 
letter  worth  reading.   My  love,  and  all  our  loves,  to  Jane,  Robert,  Margaret,  and  Elizabeth, 

yourself  not  forgotten. 


December  12th,  1800. 

My  dear  Tom, 

On  Tuesday  last  I  received  yours  of  the  22nd  of  November,  and  to  show  you  how 
willing  I  am  to  continue  a  correspondence,  which  I  had  hitherto  declined  entering  into, 
merely  because  you  had  then  three  correspondents  in  the  family;  one  of  them  happily 
being  admitted  to  a  more  pleasing  intercourse  than  letter-writing,  I  shall  step  forward  m 
her  place  and  continue  you  to  the  jogg-trot  practice  with  three  correspondents.  Before 
the  receipt  of  your  letter  I  had  heard  of  the  circumstance  which  you  apprehended  would 
give  such  pleasure  to  your  mother.  It  has  indeed  afforded  very  great  pleasure  to  all  of 
us,  as  it  gives  you  an  opportunity  of  acting  as  you  have  done,  and  which  has  been  perfectly 
to  the  wishes  of  every  member  of  the  family;  you  are  quite  right,  I  think,  in  resolving  to 
curtail  both  correspondences.  Novel-writing  is  grown  into  a  common  practice  for  masters 
and  misses,  but  letter-writing,  I  think,  should  not  yet  be  committed  to  children ;  for  it 
would  do  worse  than  spoil  the  manner  of  forming  their  alphabetical  letters ;  it  would  give 
them  a  confidential  manner  of  communicating  nonsense  and  tiring  their  friends.  Not 
that  any  of  Robert's  have  been  so,  which  on  the  contrary  have  always  given  pleasure  to 
every  one  of  us  who  have  received  or  read  them.  His  representation  of  that  great  ugly 
Goat,  which  he  mentioned  to  Kitty,  as  getting  on  the  ramparts,  and  which  I  fancy  beat 
him  from  the  rear,  has  made  me  laugh  repeatedly;  and  tho'  I  do  not  in  general  approve 
of  children's  letter-writing,  yet  when  you  shall  think  his  hand  sufficiently  practised  for 
small  letter-writing  I  shall  be  extremely  glad  to  hear  from  him  by  a  letter  to  yourself, 


Brutus  and  Cassius 


291 


•     but  he  must  not,  therefore,  drop  his  preceding  correspondents,  grandmamas,  and  even 
Kitty,  may  grow  suddenly  jealous. 

I  do  not  know  whether  in  the  turmoil  and  agitation  of  public  and  private  affairs,  you 
have  been  made  acquainted  with  the  death  of  Sir  John  Temple.  Sir  Grenville  is  now 
in  London,  where  he  intends  to  pass  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring,  if  circumstances  admit 
it,  to  pass  over  into  France.  He  means,  if  the  reign  of  Democracy  and  villainy  shall  be 
over,  as  he  expresses  himself  to  his  aunt,  and  in  which  letter  he  desires  to  be  affection- 
ately remembered  to  all  this  Family,  including  his  mistaken  friend.  He  has  been  very 
lucky,  by  all  accounts,  in  the  Lottery  of  Marriage,  a  very  fine  young  widow  with  a  fortune 
of  sixty  thousand  pounds,  as  they  say,  but  Mrs.  Temple  or  Harriet  are  not  perfectly 
correct  in  arithmetic  calculations,  you  know,  and  half  the  sum  may  be,  perhaps,  the 
truth.  The  apprehensions  of  approaching  scarcity,  if  not  of  famine,  are  unhappily  too 
probable !  The  corn  harvest  has  certainly  been  sufficiently  productive,  and  if  no  more  of 
it  was  to  be  exported  I  am  certain  that  we  should  have  enough  for  home  consumption. — 
Were  it  not  that  our  potatoes,  which  you  know  are  the  chief  substance  of  three-fourths 
of  the  community,  have  turned  out  but  poorly,  and  consequently  must  increase  the  demand 
for  corn.  But  the  attention  of  Government  will,  I  trust,  procure  a  great  and  general  im- 
portation of  it;  and  as  Ireland  is  now,  no  longer  a  distant  Kingdom  from  England,  but 
an  integral  part  of  the  British  Empire,  I  hope  it  will  participate  in  the  advantages  of  not 
having  any  of  its  own  produce  drawn  from  it,  but  also  of  having  quantities  of  foreign 
corn  thrown  into  it.  My  line  of  living  and  amusements  continue  to  be  much  the  same; 
save  that,  as  the  weather  is  growing  very  cold,  my  walking  is  curtailed,  and  I  am  neces- 
sarily thrown  more  upon  books.  For  this  week's  reading  I  observe  with  great  pleasure 
how  Brutus  by  one  well-timed  act  defeated  the  enemy,  refuted  his  falsehood,  detected  the 
calumny  and  silenced  the  detraction  of  Cassius ;  for,  tho'  both  were  embarked  in  the 
same  cause  they  were  certainly  men  of  very  different  characters  and  acted  upon  very 
different  principles. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Tom,  may  every  blessing  of  my  heart  attend  you  and  yours,  and  may 
you,  in  your  children,  feel  all  the  comfort,  confidence,  and  satisfaction  which  I  do  in  mine. 
My  love  to  Jane,  Robert,  &c.  &c. 

Robert  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 
Fort  George. 


December  18th,  1800. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  have  received  two  or  three  letters  from  you  since  I  have  last  written,  but  since  the 
number  of  your  correspondents  have  increased,  my  turn  for  writing  does  not  so  often 
happen,  and  I  imagine  your  father's  letters  more  than  compensate  for  mine  being  less 
frequent.  It  is  not  of  much  import  who  holds  the  pen  provided  you  get  regular  weekly 
intelligence  from  this  quarter.  We  have  but  one  mind  towards  you ;  our  affectionate 
feelings  are  the  same  in  all,  and  can  be  as  well  expressed  by  one  as  by  another;  and 
whether  they  are  expressed  on  paper,  or  not,  I  trust  that  Jane  and  you  will  both  be  assured 
that  they  continue  undiminished  and  will  always  do  so. 

A  comparison  upon  the  approaching  season  and  those  we  have  passed  together  does 
not  tend  to  lay  them  asleep,  but  we  are,  however,  most  truly  grateful  when  we  reflect  how 
much  more  your  happiness  is  than  it  has  been  for  some  preceding  Christmas.  When  Kitty 
wrote  last  to  dear  little  Robert,  she  also  wrote,  from  an  impulse  of  her  own,  a  letter  to 
you,  wherein  I  find  the  poor  child  accuses  herself  of  vanity,  which,  believe  me,  she  does 
not  possess.  Jane  will,  I  am  sure,  acquit  me  of  any  partiality,  when  I  assure  you  that  I 
have  never  met  any  child,  with,  or  without  her  endowments,  farther  from  having  any  such 
disposition,  Jane  will  also  tell  you  that  she  is  humble-minded  and  modest.  She  is  very 
affectionate,  and  therefore  ready  to  oblige  her  friends;  this  temper  makes  her  solicitous 
to  obtain  their  approbation,  and  this  she  mistakes  for  vanity.   But  you  may  rest  satisfied 


292 


A  Privilege  Declined 


that  she  has  not  more  than  even  you  would  wish,  nor  of  any  other  bad  propensity  that  I 
know  of,  and  I  am  tolerably  attentive  to  all  her  dispositions.  I  also  find  that  you  have 
been  uneasy  about  little  Tom,  what  Mary  Anne  and  I  have  said  imported  nothing  more 
than  to  convey  to  you  an  idea  of  the  strength  of  his  intellect,  for  surely  you  did  not 
suppose  that  the  disposition  of  a  child,  not  four  years  old,  would  do  more  than  to  divert 
you,  instead  of  giving  you  sincere  alarm.  The  share  of  understanding  which  he  promises 
to  have  will  be  fully  sufficient  to  overcome  his  little  childish  dispositions,  and  without 
severity  he  will  do  what  is  right  by  only  pointing  it  out  to  him. 

This  we  even  already  find  to  be  the  case,  that  his  character  will  be  strongly  marked 
I  have  no  doubt,  but  I  am  also  sure  that  it  will  be  marked  for  rectitude  and  firmness. 
Finding,  however,  that  what  we  meant  only  to  amuse  has  given  you  uneasiness,  I  must 
request  in  future  that  you  will  not  infer  too  much  from  any  of  my  letters,  otherwise  I 
shall  be  obliged  to  write  with  a  caution  that  would  be  unpleasant  to  me.  There  have  been 
accounts  from  the  De  Fontenays  [the  Marquis  de  Fontenay  and  family]  from  Rotterdam; 
they  had  a  very  bad  passage  thither,  which  affected  him  so  much  that  she  was  uneasy 
about  his  life.  Most  sincerely  do  I  wish  that  he  may  be  able  to  embrace  his  family  before 
he  quits  this  uneasy  and  uncertain  life.  They  cannot  yet  have  reached  the  end  of  their 
journey,  even  tho'  she  should  have  been  able  to  proceed  much  sooner  than  could  well 
have  been  expected.  Your  father,  thank  God,  continues  well,  and  so  do  we  all,  the 
children  remarkably  so,  the  little  fellow,  whom  a  month  ago  we  did  not  expect  to  live, 
now  climbs  up  on  the  chairs. 

I  am  very  glad  that  Jane  continues  steadily  to  the  practice  of  going  every  day  out ; 
from  experience  I  can  tell  her  that  it  is  the  surest  way  of  preserving  health.  Mary  Anne, 
tho'  she  loves  her  much,  cannot  now  sympathize  with  her,  which  I  am  not  sorry  at  all  for. 

I  have  not  said  anything  of  your  declining  the  late  act  of  uncommon  kindness  which 
has  been  shown  to  you,  and  I  shall  only  say  now  that  we  have  always  the  fullest  con- 
fidence in  your  conduct;  and  from  hence  we  are  also  satisfied  that  you  have  taken  care 
that  your  refusal  should  not  appear  ungracious  to  the  person  whose  humanity  interested 
him  so  much  in  your  favour.*  Adieu,  my  dearest  Tom,  assure  yourself,  your  Jane,  and 
your  children,  of  the  warmest  affection  of  all  under  this  roof,  and  none  more  than  that 
of  your  ever  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

•Governor  Stuart  had  offered  to  let  Mr.  Emmet  go  beyond  the  bound9  of  the  fortress  to  visit 

different  persons  in  the  neighborhood  who  had  shown  some  kindness  to  Mrs.  Emmet  and  himself.  He 
wished  to  exact  in  return  his  honor  to  keep  within  certain  limits  as  to  distance  and  time  of  re- 
turning.   For  some  reason  now  unknown  he  declined  to  accept  the  privilege. 


Man  may  be  comparatively  civilized  by  conquest,  may  be  raised  above  the  brute,  but  in 
order  to  attain  the  true  dignity  of  his  nature  he  must  shake  off  the  conquest,  he  must 
dare  to  think  as  he  pleases  and  to  speak  as  he  thinks. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Ireland,  to  have  been  well  educated,  ought  to  have  been  left  to  herself,  to  work  her  own 
way  in  the  world  of  science  and  government  and  trade,  by  her  own  talents,  her  own 
spirits,  and  her  own  industry. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XV 

Correspondence  of  Dr.  Emmet  and  his  wife  with  their  son  continued. 


NDER  the  burden  of  uncertainty  as  to  their  son's  fate,  Dr. 
Emmet  and  his  noble  wife  made  every  effort  to  bear  up 
and  to  accept  with  courage  the  sorrow  which  had  come 
upon  them  in  their  old  age.  Nothing  could  be  more 
pathetic  than  the  following  letter  with  which  the  poor  old 
heart-broken  father  greets  his  imprisoned  son  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  New  Year : 

January  1st,  1801. 

My  dear  Tom, 

The  first  day  of  the  new  year  has  advanced  thus  far  without  our  customary  embrace 
and  mutual  expressions  of  heartfelt  affection;  but  tho'  the  form  has  been  precluded  the 
essence  of  our  sentiments  remains  happily  unimpaired;  and  separated  as  we  are  by  Lands 
&  Seas  our  cordiality  &  attachment  are  still  united  &  for  ever  will  remain  so.  Let  us, 
however,  preserve  even  the  forms,  as  much  as  we  can  and  for  this  purpose,  in  the  fullest 
effusion  of  my  heart,  I  assure  you  of  every  sentiment  of  paternal  affection  which  a 
father  ought  to  entertain  for  a  well  deserving  son,  could  I  express  them  stronger  I 
would.  Give  a  kiss  of  cordial  affection  to  Jane  on  my  part  and  the  same  to  Robert,  Mar- 
garet, and  Elizabeth, — tell  them  that  I  love  them  as  well  as  if  they  were  at  Casino,  but 
I  should  like  Casino  much  better  if  they  were  at  it.  Whatever  is,  however,  is  perhaps 
for  the  best,  and  true  wisdom  of  man,  it  may  be,  would  be  perhaps  always  to  think  so. 
At  least  to  act  as  if  he  thought  so,  and  consequently  to  factor  every  moment  of  time  to 
the  comfort  and  pleasing  enjoyment  of  the  present.  "Carpe  horam"  was  Horace's  ad- 
vice, "Vive  la  bagatelle"  that  of  Swift,  and  since  what  is  passed  cannot  be  recalled,  and 
what  is  to  come  may  never  reach  us,  our  prudence  would  seem  to  be — the  cheer- 
ful enjoyment  of  the  present.  May  you  and  yours  enjoy  it  in  its  fullest  extent. 

What  a  period,  my  dear  Tom,  for  abstract  thought  and  philosophic  contemplation, 
the  eigtheenth  century  has  closed,  but  the  Temple  of  Janus  not  shut,  on  the  contrary 
every  portal  thrown  open,  and  Bellona  issuing  forth  with  redoubled  rage  and  augmented 
fury?  Heavens,  when  will  it  end?  Long  had  I  hoped  that  ere  this  a  general  peace 
would  have  secured  the  tranquillity  of  the  world  for  the  currency  of  the  commencing 
century.  Consequently  that  I  should  have  had  the  happiness  of  clasping  you  to  my 
heart,  and  closing  my  course  of  years  in  the  same  land,  if  not  in  the  same  house,  with 
you,  and  of  leaving  you  as  my  substitute  and  guardian  of  the  dear  connections  I  should 
quit.  But  that  prospect  is  now  over,  or  at  least  too  far  removed  to  be  reasoned  upon 
with  probability.  But  no  more  of  that, — "Cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  present"  I  have 
stated  to  you  as  probably  the  best  of  human  wisdom,  and  1  am  resolved  to  adopt  the 
practice.   Thanks  to  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  all  things,  I  have  a  very  competent  share 

293 


294 


New  Year's  Wishes 


of  health  and  wealth;  the  proper  disposal  of  them  depends  upon  myself,  and  if  I  can, 
aequum  miki  animum  ipsa  parabo. 

There  is  not  anything  new  or  important  within  my  sphere  of  information  which  merits 
being  communicated  to  you ;  the  vicissitudes  of  human  life  are  too  frequent  to  be  a 
subject  of  news,  and  the  objects  frequently  too  insignificant  to  be  of  importance.  Such 
perhaps  you  may  consider  the  present  condition  of  the  unfortunate  Gifford,  formerly, 
as  you  know,  sheriff  of  the  city,  captain  in  a  corps  of  its  yeomanry,  who  after  having  been 
long  in  Coventry,  as  they  term  it,  with  the  regiment,  is  now  under  trial  for  having  dis- 
charged a  loaded  musket  at  Col.  Seabury,  his  commanding  officer,  and  the  consequence, 
it  is  thought,  will  be  fatal  to  him.  Your  letter  of  the  20th  of  December  to  Kitty  is 
this  moment  come  to  hand ;  the  contents  of  it  are  certainly  instructive,  and  will,  I  doubt 
not,  be  really  of  service  to  her;  not  that  she  has  one  atome  of  vanity  in  her  composition. 
She  has  indeed  ambition  of  knowing  a  great  deal,  but  no  ambition  of  making  a  display 
of  that  knowledge,  and  with  whatever  acquaintance  she  may  have  there  is  a  simplicity 
and  childishness  joined,  which  prevents  even  the  most  distant  appearance  of  vanity. — 
What  the  state  of  this  country,  in  the  approaching  spring  and  summer,  with  respect  to 
provisions,  is  very  doubtful,  if  not  probably  melancholy.  Our  shilling  loaf  at  present 
weighs  but  three  pounds,  and  mutton  sells  at  8d.  per  pound.  The  advancing  season 
will  considerably  diminish  the  size  of  the  former  and  increase  the  price  of  the  latter. 
But  to  what  extent  cannot  be  determined.  I  have  made  what  little  provision  I  could 
against  the  worst,  and  rely  on  God's  goodness  with  the  hopeful  expectation  of  the  best. 
That  thought,  my  dear  Tom,  takes  in  your  return  and  settlement  at  Casino,  which  wants 
but  that  one  circumstance  to  make  it  to  me  always  a  cheerful  and  happy  residence. 
Adieu ;  may  the  Almighty  take  you  into  most  special  protection,  may  he  bless  you  and 
yours  with  prosperity  and  many  returns  of  happy  years,  and  may  the  new  year,  at  most, 
restore  you  to  the  embrace  of  your  affectionate  father, 

Robt.  Emmet. 

His  mother  next  resumes  her  old  place  as  the  regular  weekly  corre- 
spondent : 

January  9th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

Without  a  new  sentiment  to  impart,  or  a  new  incident  to  relate,  I  sit  down  to  write, 
well  knowing  that  you  would  rather  have  the  same  thing  repeated  over  and  over  again, 
than  to  be  left  in  suspense  about  our  situation,  which  is,  thank  God,  in  every  respect 
but  that  of  separation  from  those  we  love  tenderly,  as  well  as  we  could  possibly  expect. 
Your  father,  the  first  object  of  our  solicitude,  is  better  than  he  has  been  for  the  last 
three  years,  and  tho'  he  goes  very  little  out,  his  spirits  continue  unbroken ;  he  amuses 
himself  very  much  with  the  children,  they  are  with  us  the  most  part  of  the  day,  and 
tho'  they  play  a  great  deal  he  does  not  complain  of  the  noise — a  sure  proof  that  his 
nerves  are  stronger,  as  well  as  that  they  are  great  favourites.  The  three  are  all  in  perfect 
health,  and  I  have  never  known  better  children.  The  little  fellow  engages  in  all  their 
plays  with  as  much  spirit  as  any  of  them,  and  he  forces  himself  into  notice  more  than 
the  others.  But  be  assured  they  are  all  equally  objects  of  our  care.  I  must,  however, 
confess  that  the  two  youngest  are  the  most  interesting.  John's  ideas  are,  however,  I 
think,  opening  more,  and  to  show  you  that  he  looks  beyond  the  present  time,  he  asked 
me  the  other  day,  with  great  sobriety  when  I  thought  he  would  be  fit  to  be  married.  I 
am  happy  to  hear  that  Margaret  has  so  good  a  capacity;  indeed  she  showed  marks  of 
shrewdness  "before  she  left  this,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  her  improvement  will  amply 
repay  the  care  that  is  taken  of  her.  My  namesake  ought  not  to  be  outdone,  for  I  am 
sure  she  has  talents  to  take  the  lead  of  most  children.  But  whatever  talents  they  may 
have,  it  will  not  be  easy  to  persuade  me  that  they,  or  any  of  your  children,  will  ever 
outstrip  Robert,  in  disposition  they  cannot  for  I  have  never  seen  a  finer  one  than  he  is 
blessed  with. 


Burial  of  Lord  Aldborough 


The  night  before  last  Lord  Aldbourough  was  interred  by  torchlight;  his  last  honours 
were  paid  to  him  by  the  performance  of  a  grand  Requiem  in  Thomas'  church.  How 
fleeting  are  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  this  life,  and  yet  they  are  sought  and  pursued 
with  as  much  zeal  and  solicitude  as  if  they  were  to  be  enjoyed  eternally.  His  titles  and 
estates  devolve  upon  his  brother  John,  and  Mrs.  Stratford,  she  at  least  will  enjoy  them 
to  the  utmost  as  long  as  she  can  hold  them. 

Tell  Jane  that  Betty  Lyne  was  married  on  Sunday  last  to  Mr.  Drew,  a  man  with 
eleven  hundred  pounds  a  year,  some  say  two  thousand,  but  which  ever  it  is  it  may  be 
sufficient  to  excite  unpleasant  sensations  in  the  minds  of  some  doomed  to  drag  on  a 
single  life,  some  against  their  inclination.  One,  I  am  sure,  thinks  tho'  she  does  not  say 
it,  "What  better  has  she  than  I?"  I  do  not  mention  either  Mrs.  Patten  or  John,  because 
Mrs.  Patten  writes  constantly  to  Jane;  you  therefore  must  have  your  accounts  from  the 
fountain.  John  is  so  much  engaged  in  business  of  his  own,  as  well  as  his  friends,  that 
we  do  not  see  him  half  as  often  as  we  wish.  I  need  not  repeat  to  you  the  usual  com- 
pliments at  the  commencement  of  our  New  Year.  You  are  well  assured  how  warmly 
we  wish  them  to  you,  to  Jane,  and  to  your  children.  There  is  but  one  wish  in  this 
throughout  the  house,  in  the  parlour  it  is  a  most  cordial  and  united  one,  and  even  descends 
to  the  kitchen.  Adieu,  my  dearest  Tom,  believe  me  always,  and  unalterable  your  truly 
affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


January  30th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  have  delayed  writing  these  two  days  hoping  to  get  a  letter  from  you,  but  as  the 
post  has  been  here  without  bringing  one  I  would  not  longer  run  the  hazzard  of  causing 
uneasiness  to  you  by  not  hearing  from  us.  It  is  needless  to  express  the  great  satisfac- 
tion we  have  felt  at  your  present  good  accommodations.  Every  circumstance  which 
relates  to  you  and  yours,  is  at  all  times  interesting  to  us,  but  much  more  so  now  when 
our  chief  enjoyments  are  derived  from  a  reflection  on  your  happiness,  joined  to  that  of 
your  wife  and  children.  I  am  glad  you  did  not  persist  in  your  project  of  sending  for 
little  Tom.  I  think  a  child  of  his  age  would  have  embarrassed  you  more  than  all  the 
others,  and  he  could  not  have  been  so  well  as  he  is  here,  where  he  can  have  the  fullest 
liberty ;  you  need  not  fear  that  he  is  not  attended  to  in  every  particular.  The  health  and 
dispositions  of  the  three  are  very  much  objects  of  our  care,  and  as  they  could  not  any 
of  them  reap  much  advantage  from  your  instruction  at  present,  I  think  it  would  be  wrong 
to  move  any  of  them  from  a  place  where  you  must  know  your  children  will  meet  with 
all  the  care  and  affection  which  you  can  possibly  wish  for  them,  and  which  they  deserve 
upon  their  own  account.  They  are  all  very  docile,  they  do  not  require  the  least  degree 
of  severity,  and  they  do  not  meet  that  kind  of  indulgence  which  is  generally  prejudicial 
to  the  tempers  and  dispositions  of  children.  I  find  Mrs.  Patten  has  compelled  me,  along 
with  herself,  to  express  a  little  jealousy  at  your  intending  to  send  for  Tom  in  prefer- 
ence to  John.  Jane  will  know  how  to  translate  this,  as  she  knows  that  her  mother  is 
partial  to  John,  and  that  I  do  not  profess  to  be  so,  tho'  I  assure  you  he  is  rising  very 
much  in  our  estimation.  He  gave  us  all  very  great  pleasure  the  other  day  by  an  instance 
of  self-conquest  and  firmness  which  would  have  done  honour  even  to  my  dear  little 
Robert ;  the  incident  is  too  trivial  and  too  tedious  to  make  a  part  of  my  letter,  but  it  would 
have  given  you  pleasure  to  have  seen  it.  Poor  Mr.  Mercer  died  on  Saturday  last,  much 
regretted  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  by  many  friends  his  loss  will  be  severely  felt.  His 
fortune  he  has  left  to  his  brothers  and  sisters.  His  will  was  hastily  made  last  summer, 
when  he  was  dangerously  attacked  in  the  country.  He  determined  to  have  altered  it 
when  he  came  to  town,  but  hoping  every  day  to  grow  better  he  deferred  it  from  day  to 
day  till  it  was  too  late  to  make  any  change  in  it.    His  intention  was  to  have  left  the 


296 


Tom  is  a  Good  Boy 


reversion  of  his  fortune  divided  among  his  friends,  in  which  number  he  mentioned  our 
friend  here,  for  whom  he  had  great  regard.  I  learn  from  Kitty  that  Harriet  has  written 
to  Sir  Grenville  [Temple]  in  a  manner  you  would  hardly  expect,  by  which  I  am  sure 
she  will  draw  upon  herself  his  strong  resentment,  a  passion  the  most  predominant  in 
his  mind.  Your  father  waits  for  an  answer  to  his  last,  and  will  not  write  again  until  he 
receives  one.  He,  thank  God,  continues  extremely  well,  and  along  wit*>  Mr.  Holmes, 
Mary  Anne  and  Kitty,  desires  to  assure  you  and  Jane  of  that  warm  aflection  which  is 
felt  for  you  all  under  this  roof.  Tom  desires  me  to  give  his  love  to  you  all,  and  to  tell 
you  he  is  a  good  boy,  and  that  he  said  his  lesson  to  cousin  very  well  to-day.  John  is  at 
school,  and  the  little  fellow  knows  ye  not.  Remember  me  in  the  kindest  manner  to  Jane 
and  the  children,  you  will  say  a  great  deal  if  you  say  what  I  feel  for  her,  and  them,  for 
you  I  will  only  say  that  I  feel  all  that  you  can  wish  from  your  most  affectionate  mother. 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 

Feb.  26th,  1801. 


My  dearest  Tom, 

Considering  the  distance  there  is  between  us  it  is  not  wonderful  that  we  should  feel 
uneasy  at  every  indisposition  you  may  have,  the  bare  relation  of  it  cannot  but  excite 
apprehension  in  a  mind  so  weak  and  so  deeply  interested  as  mine.  But  Jane's  second 
letter  to  Mrs.  Patten,  which  I  did  not  know  of  'till  yesterday,  has  set  my  mind  very 
much  at  ease,  and  has  prevented  the  anxiety  I  should  otherwise  have  felt  at  not  getting 
a  letter  either  this  day  or  yesterday.  The  attack  was  very  violent  indeed,  and  I  can 
very  well  conceive  that  Jane  must  have  suffered  in  her  short  agony.  I  hope  she  and  the 
children  have  not  been  as  heavily  visited  as  you  were.  Here,  thank  God,  all  enjoy  good 
health,  your  father  in  good  spirits,  and  creating  amusement  for  himself  by  forming  small 
plans,  some  of  which  he  executes,  and  others  he  destroys,  always,  however,  maintaining 
that  cheerfulness  which  determines  him  to  make  the  best  of  everything  and  to  submit 
patiently  to  what  he  cannot  either  prevent  or  cure.  This  happy  disposition  has  been  a 
wonderful  support  to  me,  who  certainly  am  not  naturally  of  so  good  a  temperature,  and 
but  for  this  constant  cheerfulness  must  long  since  have  sunk  under  all  that  had  befallen 
us.  It  also  contributes  much  to  his  health,  which  by  the  mercy  of  Providence  is  beyond 
anything  we  could  have  hoped  for.  Mary  Anne  is  better  than  I  have  seen  her  for  a 
length  of  time,  she  has  been  very  much  an  invalid,  but  she  seems  to  have  now  a  great 
increase  of  health,  strength,  and  spirits.  As  a  proof  thereof,  she  has  in  a  great  measure 
conquered  her  native  indolence,  and  can  even,  without  having  any  particular  object  to 
impell  her,  exert  herself  upon  common  occasions  with  tolerable  diligence  and  regularity; 
here  you  know  her  difficiency  always  lay,  for  upon  great  occasions  she  always  rose  above 
herself  and  above  other  people.  She  is  very  fortunate  in  having  a  husband  who  sees 
and  is  able  to  estimate  all  her  merits.  Your  children  are  all  in  perfect  health  and 
increasing  in  favour  every  day;  two  of  them  grow  fast  enough,  but  Tom  is  short  and 
does  not  appear  to  have  grown  a  hair's  breadth  since  his  mother  left  us,  but  what  he 
loses  in  height  he  gains  in  strength,  and  is  upon  the  whole  a  very  fine  boy  and  one  of 
the  most  ameanable  children  I  have  ever  met,  but  not  more  so  than  the  two  others.  The 
accounts  of  your  Scottish  children  afford  us  the  sincerest  pleasure,  it  gratifies  us  very 
much  to  hear  that  they  do  not  forget  us,  and  tho'  they  do  not  possess  one  token  of  my 
affection,  I  nevertheless  hope  that  they  will  continue  to  remember  with  some  degree  of 
interest  an  old  ungracious  grandmother,  who  often  treated  them  with  roughness,  but 
who  in  truth  always  felt  great  kindness  towards  both  them  and  their  mother.  All  here 
request  to  be  remembered  in  the  kindest  manner  to  Jane,  you,  and  the  dear  children. 
Kitty  is  very  well,  but  as  she  is  with  her  grandmother  she  cannot  write  at  present,  but 
John  assures  us  she  is  quite  well.  May  the  Almighty  and  Merciful  Providence  preserve 
you,  my  dear  Tom,  from  sickness,  or  further  misfortune,  and  spare  you  long,  very  long, 


Renewal  of  Habeas  Corpus  Act 


297 


to  your  deserving  wife  and  your  fine  children,  and  may  your  father  and  I  be  permitted 
to  spend  our  latter  days  in  the  midst  of  our  children.  I  am  most  truly  your  affectionate 
Mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 

At  length  the  Act  for  suspending  the  Habeas  Corpus  expired  by  limita- 
tion, so  that  the  Government  could  no  longer  hold  a  prisoner  without  ques- 
tion. This  freed  Lord  Cloncurry,  a  lifelong  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet,  and,  in 
"The  Life,  Times  and  Contemporaries  of  Lord  Cloncurry"  it  is  stated: 

On  the  morning  of  the  memorable  3rd  of  March,  1801,  when  it  became  evident  to 
the  ministers  that  a  further  suspension  was  totally  impracticable,  the  Duke  of  Portland 
seized  his  pen,  and  wrote  to  Lord  Cornwallis,  the  Viceroy,  apprising  him  of  the  fact: 

"My  Lord — Various  events  having  rendered  it  impossible  to  apply  to  Parliament  for 
a  renewal  of  the  Act  for  suspending  the  Habeas  Corpus,  Your  Excellency  must  be  sen- 
sible that  the  traitors  whp  are  confined  in  Fort  George  will  be  entitled  to  require  to  be 
remanded  to  Ireland.  You  will  therefore  not  be  surprised  at  hearing  of  their  return. 
I  must  not,  however,  omit  to  apprise  Your  Excellency  that  it  is  intended  that  a  bill 
should  be  brought  into  Parliament  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  permit,  for  the  further 
renewal  of  the  suspension,  and  from  the  favourable  account  which  has  this  day  been 
received  of  his  Majesty's  health,  I  trust  this  measure  will  not  be  long  delayed. 

I  am  &c, 

Portland". 

How  little  did  Lord  Cloncurry  think  when  elevating  his  withered  heart  in  thanks- 
giving to  God  on  the  fortuitous  termination  of  so  iniquitous  an  Act  that  it  was  the  full 
intention  to  introduce  a  bill  demanding  its  farther  renewal.  Thank  God,  circumstances 
did  not  prove  propitious  for  seven  and  forty  years,  notwithstanding  the  fond  hopes  of 
William,  Duke  of  Portland,  that  the  measure  would  not  be  long  delayed. 

Cloncurry  had  been  imprisoned  in  the  Tower,  London,  and  was  promptly 
released,  but  the  prisoners  in  Fort  George,  being  out  of  the  way  of  being 
aided  by  their  friends,  were  illegally  detained  in  prison  for  more  than  a  year 
longer. 

March  19th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

Our  minds  have  been  a  good  deal  occupied  here  in  consequence  of  a  current  report 
that  you  were  all  to  be  brought  over  to  Carrickfergus  Castle  'till  such  time  as  the  Habeas 
Corpus  Act  should  be  renewed  in  England;  it  is  also  said  that  preparations  are  making 
at  the  above  place  for  your  reception.  For  these  matters  we  have  no  authority  but 
that  of  common  report,  and  we  must  wait  the  issue  with  the  same  patience  that  we  are 
forced  to  exercise  upon  other  occasions.  I  withhold  all  opinions  on  the  subject,  farther 
than  to  say  that  I  should  not  much  admire  a  voyage,  tho'  it  is  but  a  short  one,  nor  a 
journey  through  the  Highlands  for  you,  your  wife,  or  children  at  this  boisterous  season 
of  the  year,  but  acquiescence  is  a  duty  we  must  and  do  perform.  John  delays  sending 
you  your  box  'till  he  can  learn  what  is  intended  by  Government  about  your  being  brought 
over  or  not.  Little  John  is  at  my  elbow  and  expressly  desires  me  to  tell  you  that  he  is  a 
very  good  boy;  that  he  has  gotten  a  new  spelling  book  from  his  grand  Mama  Patten, 
and  that  he  will  take  care  and  get  his  lessons  well ;  all  this  I  am  sure  he  has  sincere 
intentions  of  performing,  tho'  I  must  confess  that  in  his  spelling  book  he  is  not  very 
brilliant.  He,  however,  I  am  told,  performs  the  part  of  an  usher  in  the  school,  and 
acquits  himself  with  great  propriety.    Tom,  in  point  of  erudition,  cannot  be  much 


298  Education  of  the  Children 


boasted  of,  but  his  is  more  the  effect  of  laziness  than  want  of  capacity.  In  fact  what 
children  of  their  age  learn  serves  much  more  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  parents,  than  to 
edify  the  children.  Of  this  kind  of  vanity  I  have  felt  a  great  deal,  but  like  all  other 
vanities  under  the  sun  I  have  found  it  unsubstantial.  I  think  it  right  to  have  young 
children  in  the  habit  of  learning  something,  but  under  seven  it  need  not  be  more  than 
play.  John  I  think  is  much  better  at  school,  it  helps  to  enliven  him  and  in  some  measure 
opens  his  ideas;  he  does  not  learn  any  bad  habits,  and  he  is  very  fond  of  it;  at  home 
he  would  be  apt  to  grow  sluggish.  He  and  the  other  two  are  all  well,  so  is  your  father, 
Mary  Anne,  &c. 

When  I  have  said  this  much  you  can  easily  suppose  the  rest,  for  we  have  no 
domestic  changes  except  that  we  have  it  in  contemplation  to  take  Patrick  Delaney  as  an 
apprentice.  We  owe  it  to  the  father's  fidelity,  and  Murray  is  growing  very  deaf.  Your 
father  is  now  a  good  deal  out  of  employment,  he  has  executed  all  his  small  plans,  and 
has  been  projecting  others,  which  have  been  laid  aside  with  a  view  of  occupying  a  mind 
naturally  active,  but  deprived  of  the  objects  that  would  interest  and  support  it.  No 
person,  however,  can  bear  up  with  a  more  cheerful  fortitude  than  he  does  under  such 
uncommon  privations  which  would  bow  down  the  spirits  of  most  men  less  advanced  in 
years  than  he  is.  His  health  grows,  thank  God,  better,  and  his  firmness  continues 
unshaken.  Having  blotted  so  far  of  my  paper  without  saying  anything,  I  have  only  to 
conclude  in  the  same  manner  by  assuring  you  of  what  I  trust  you  are  already  convinced 
of,  that  I  am  most  sincerely  your  truly  affectionate  mother. 

E.  Emmet. 

Remember  us  in  the  warmest  manner  to  the  children. 


May  10th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

Tho'  it  is  not  exactly  the  time  for  writing,  nor  my  turn  for  holding  the  family  pen, 
I  could  not  forbear  committing  an  usurpation  upon  Kitty's  right,  as  I  wished  to  express 
the  greatest  pleasure  which  we  have  felt  at  the  happy  recovery  of  our  dear  Jane,  whose 
situation  it  was  most  kind  in  you  to  conceal  from  us,  as  it  would  undoubtedly  have 
occasioned  great  anxiety  to  us  all.  To  you  it  must  have  given  serious  alarm,  and  I  well 
know  what  you  must  have  felt.  Nor  am  I  much  surprised  at  the  agitation  which  caused 
it,  her  apprehension  did  not  exceed  the  reality.  Had  you  been  brought  over,  I  am 
assured  that  the  intention  was  to  make  your  confinement  very  rigorous,*  you  would  not 
have  been  allowed  any  intercourse  from  without,  you  would  have  been  denied  the  use 
of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  I  apprehend  that  neither  Jane  nor  the  children  would  have 
been  suffered  to  continue  with  you.  All  this  I  am  sure  she  foresaw,  and  felt  deeply; 
it  is  therefore  no  wonder  she  was  afflicted  in  the  manner  she  has  been,  and  very  fortunate 
it  is  that  the  loss  has  only  been  such  as  can  be  soon  repaired.  But  tho'  I  am  not  sur- 
prised at  what  has  now  happened  I  most  sincerely  wish  her  to  guard  in  future  against 
such  acute  feelings.  She  is  young,  and  with  so  long  a  life  as  I  hope  she  has  before  her, 
she  must  not  expect,  even  after  her  present  trials  cease,  that  as  a  wife  and  mother  she 
shall  not  always  be  subject  to  anxieties  of  various  kinds.  You  will  say,  and  with  justice, 
that  like  some  advisors  I  recommend  what  I  do  not  practice,  but  I  am  in  some  measure 
warranted  by  experience  in  what  I  now  say.  Solicitude  has  through  life  stuck  to  me 
like  an  inner  garment,  and  I  find  that  it  exceeds  even  those  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
it  is  a  habit  that  instead  of  wearing  by  time,  grows  stronger  by  constant  use.  I 
would  not,  however,  have  you  conclude  from  hence  that  I  am  ungrateful.  Be  assured 
that  I  feel  all  my  blessings  with  a  thankful  heart,  and  that  I  wish  to  discern  and  to  adore 
the  healing  hand  which  has  been  held  out  to  me  in  the  midst  of  trials  and  distresses, 
and  without  which  my  natural  infirmities  must  have  sunk  under  the  scenes  I  have  gone 
through ;  but  let  me  not  tire  you  with  egotism.    I  have  still  the  same  pleasing  account  as 


*From  this  letter  it  was  quite  evident  that  the  public  knew  that  the  severe  treatment  to  which 
Mr.  Emmet  was  being  subjected  in  prison  was  at  the  wish  of  the  Government. 


' '  The  Promises  of  Hope 


299 


when  I  wrote  last,  to  give  you  of  your  father  and  the  children.  Mary  Anne  indeed  begins 
to  complain  a  little,  but  without  waking  compassion  from  any  of  us.  The  kindness  which 
you  say  you  have  received  is  indeed  gratifying  to  us  as  well  as  to  you,  instances  of  the  kind 
exalt  human  nature,  and  we  are  thereby  made  to  feel  very  sensibly  our  relationship  to  our 
species.  When  you  and  Jane  are  known  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  always  meet  with  such 
conduct,  but  it  is  not  common  for  persons  in  your  situation  to  meet  such  from  strangers, 
and  it  is  my  belief  that  the  reverse  would  have  been,  as  it  was  before,  your  portion  in 
an  Irish  prison.  We  long  much  to  see  once  more  a  letter  from  our  dear  kind-hearted 
little  Robert,  whose  progress  in  improvement  gives  us  all  very  sincere  pleasure.  Mar- 
garet's diligence  is  also  to  be  much  commended,  and  I  should  be  glad  that  my  little  idle 
namesake  did  not  place  herself,  where  nature  did  not  intend  she  should  be,  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  family  group.  The  two  eldest  boys  desire  their  love  to  you  all,  John 
never  omits  desiring  me  to  read  your  letters  to  him,  and  I  generally  take  the  liberty  of 
framing  a  paragraph  for  them,  to  which  they  both  hearken  with  pleasure  and  attention. 

Mrs.  Patten  tells  me  that  Tom  is  grown,  but  I  do  not  perceive  it ;  neither  does  he 
increase  in  literature.  His  spelling  book  seems  so  burdensome  to  him  that  we  have  laid 
it  aside  for  some  months  lest  he  should  take  too  great  a  dislike  to  it,  notwithstanding 
this  he  is  a  very  fine  boy,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  make  a  very  learned  as  well 
as  a  very  fine  man.  I  asked  the  little  one  [Temple]  what  I  should  say  for  him;  his 
reply  was  that  he  was  a  very  good  boy,  and  this  you  may  believe  both  from  his  own  report 
and  from  mine.  We  are  in  the  act  of  painting  both  our  carriage  and  house,  the  latter  has 
caused  much  dirt,  but  we  could  not  defer  either  any  longer  without  injury  to  both,  and 
now  that  the  inconvenience  is  nearly  over,  we  find  that  all  we  do  only  excites  a  fond  and 
fruitless  wish  that  we  could  enjoy  all  our  comforts  in  the  midst  of  our  entire  family. 

Adieu,  my  dearest  Tom;  I  have  scarcely  left  myself  room  to  assure  you  that  I  am, 
with  the  tenderest  regard  to  Jane  and  the  children,  your  truly  affectionate  mother, 

Elizabeth  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


June  4th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  would  not  omit  writing  in  due  time,  tho'  I  have  nothing  but  the  old  story  to  relate, 
but  I  am  certain  that  it  cannot  be  ever  too  often  repeated  to  you,  that  we  all  are,  thank 
God,  well,  except  Mary  Anne,  who  is  just  gone  to  have  some  of  her  teeth  drawn,  which 
will  not  cause  much  more  uneasiness  to  you  than  it  does  to  us.  Jane's  sympathy  may 
indeed  be  excited,  she  having  so  often  suffered  from  the  same  cause,  and  it  is  not  very 
unlikely  will  again  be  visited  in  the  same  manner.  Most  sincerely  do  we  all  rejoice 
that  she  is  for  the  present  so  well  established  in  health,  long,  very  long  may  she  enjoy 
that  and  every  other  Blessing  which  this  world  can  give.  Your  father  desires  me  to  tell 
you  that  you  need  not  fear  that  he  wants  employment;  he  has  at  present  work  enough 
upon  his  hands.  He  is  gravelling  the  walks  completely  all  around,  he  is  raising  and  means 
to  finish  the  nursery  in  which  he  indulges  the  fond  hope  of  seeing  all  your  dear  children 
reassembled,  "the  promises  of  hope",  I  have  heard,  "were  better  than  the  gifts  of  fortune". 
This  I  am  convinced  of,  that  tho'  it  too  often  deludes  us  it  contributes  much  to  support 
us,  and  tho'  mine  has  ever  been  a  trembling  hope,  still  it  has  in  a  great  measure  kept  me 
from  totally  sinking. 

I  have  received  your  last  letter  in  due  time,  and  cannot  avoid  observing  that  you 
obliquely  charge  me  rather  unjustly  with  indulging  prejudices  against  America.  We  are 
seldom,  I  grant,  sufficient  judges  of  ourselves,  but  if  I  know  anything  of  myself,  I  am 
not,  I  think,  very  subject  to  prejudice.  What  I  have  said  of  America  has  been  collected 
either  from  natives,  or  persons  who  have  lately  been  there,  and  the  same  opinion  is  very 
general  here.    But,  independent  of  this  consideration,  it  is  sufficient  for  me  that  in  the 


300 


John  s  Buttons 


event  of  your  going  there  I  should  lose  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  you  again,  and  surely  the 
sternest  Philosophy  would  allow  me  to  feel  at  such  a  prospect. 

I  am  not,  my  dear  Tom,  so  weak  as  to  imagine  that  I  could  dissuade  you  from  any 
plan  which  you  may  form  for  the  advantage  or  happiness  of  your  wife  or  your  children, 
nor  if  I  could  would  I  attempt  it.  I  only  wish  that  when  you  have  the  power  of  choosing, 
this  consideration  may  be  thrown  in  the  balance.  I  have  farther  to  add,  in  reply  to  your 
last,  that  tho'  I  am  not  very  fond  of  attributing  the  faults  of  my  temper  to  the  weakness 
of  my  nerves,  still  if  I  have  any  nerves  at  all,  it  will  be  granted  that  I  have  enough  to 
disturb  and  shatter  them,  and  therefore  I  cannot  think  that  my  feelings  are  either  un- 
reasonable or  unnatural,  or  that  I  am  unthankful  to  Providence  for  having  my  right  arm 
tho'  I  may  feel  the  loss  of  my  left,  if  I  had  been  deprived  thereof.  Thus  much  I  have 
said  as  a  kind  of  justification  of  myself,  at  the  same  time  assuring  you  with  sincerity, 
and  I  am  too  old  for  affectation,  that  I  should  be  sorry  you  thought  so  ill  of  me,  as  I 
do  of  myself. 

The  only  news  I  have  to  relate  is  that  Mr.  Blackwood*  is  going  to  be  married  to 
Miss  Finlay,  daughter  of  Mr.  Finlay  of  the  Co.  Kildare,  and  niece  of  the  Banker;  he 
gets  very  little  fortune  at  present,  but  it  is  likely  to  be  a  good  match  in  future.  She  was 
to  be  presented  yesterday  to  Mrs.  Temple  and  Harriet;  he  paid  them  the  compliment  of 
consulting  them  before  he  had  spoken  to  the  lady's  friends. 

We  have  just  begun  to  bath  the  children;  they  are  all  well  and  often  speak  of 
Robert,  more  than  the  girls,  and  the  two  eldest  still  remember  their  mama.  God  bless 
you,  my  dear  Tom,  this  you  will  easily  believe  is  the  ardent  wish  of  all  here  and  none 
more  warmly  than  is  that  of  your  truly 

affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Assure  Jane  and  the  children  of  our  love  and  most  cordial  good  wishes. 
Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


June  25th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  have  the  happiness  to  inform  you  that  your  father  has  recovered  from  an  indis- 
position under  which  he  has  laboured,  more  or  less,  for  six  weeks  past.  It  seems  to 
proceed  from  indigestion  and  a  bilious  stomach,  sometimes  attended  with  irritation,  but 
no  tendency  to  spasms.  I  do  not  know  that  the  attacks  can  justly  be  attributed  to  cold 
or  over-exercise ;  at  least  he  is  not  willing  to  admit  that  it  was  occasioned  by  either. 
Knowing  the  energy  of  his  mind  as  you  do,  you  expect  too  much  from  us  when  you  desire 
us  to  restrain  him  in  any  of  his  projects  and  pursuits.  Whenever  he  has  an  object  in 
view  he  forgets  that  he  is  an  invalid  and  cannot  bear  to  be  watched.  How  I  have  felt 
for  nearly  two  months  you  and  Jane  can  easily  guess.  But,  thank  God,  my  fears  are 
over  for  the  present.  The  next  subject  that  I  am  sure  you  would  wish  me  to  mention 
is  your  children.  They  are  all,  I  can  assure  you,  in  excellent  health.  The  little  fellow 
was  somewhat  languid,  but  Bark  has  again  set  him  up,  and  he  is  now  growing  tall,  fat, 
and  strong. — John  is  not  long  returned  from  a  week's  visit  to  Mrs.  Patten,  who  has  made 
him  very  happy  with  entire  new  clothes  and  a  great  number  of  Buttons;  he  felt  very 
visibly  the  importance  he  had  acquired  by  his  visit  to  town,  for  as  soon  as  he  returned 
he  desired  that  John  Delaney  should  be  brought  in  to  play  with  him,  as  his  grandmama 
had  always  a  boy  on  purpose  to  play  with  him.  He  does  not,  I  assure  you,  want  either 
observation  or  intellect,  he  has  great  natural  justice  and  a  very  open  good-natured  temper. 
Tom  has  naturally  a  pensive  temper,  concise  in  his  expressions,  and  very  little  of  the 
prattle  of  a  child;  in  short  he  is  more  addicted  to  thinking  than  to  speaking,  he  is  very 

*Hans  Blackwood,  who  married,  in  1784,  Mehetabele,  daughter  of  Robert  Temple,  succeeded  his 
brother,  in   1799,  as  Baron  Dufferin.    For  his  second  wife  he  married,   in   1801,   Elizabeth,  the 

daughter  of  Henry  Finlay.    They  were  the  grandparents  of  the  present  Marquis  of  Dufferin. 


News  of  Friends 


301 


docile  and  mild,  and  would  suffer  himself  to  be  over-ruled  by  the  young  one  if  we  did 
not  prevent  it.  This  little  Brat  is  to  be  sure  the  chief  favourite  throughout  the  house; 
we,  however,  do  not  spoil  him,  and  I  assure  you  that  I  fondle  him  less  than  the  others. 
Mary  Anne  caresses  him  more  than  I  do,  but  at  the  same  time  treats  him  with  steadiness ; 
in  the  kitchen  he  would  be  commander-in-chief  if  we  did  not  prevent  it.  He  is  quite  a 
miniature  of  our  dear  little  Robert,  especially  when  he  holds  up  his  hands  and  says  he 
won't  be  bold  any  more.  Tom  is  beginning  to  shoot  up,  which  I  am  glad  to  observe, 
as  I  began  to  despair  of  his  stature.  Mrs.  Patten  goes,  as  I  suppose  you  already  know, 
to  the  North  of  Ireland ;  she  is  extremely  well,  and  growing  visibly  fat.  John,  with  his 
usual  goodness  of  heart,  comes  whenever  he  can  to  amuse  the  Doctor  and  to  sooth  me. 
How  often,  how  much  I  miss  Jane  I  need  not  say,  she  has  made  a  wide  gap  that  is  felt 
by  us  all,  but  by  none  more  than  me.  Your  father  and  Mary  Anne  are  both  blessed  with 
more  self-support  than  I  have,  for  alas,  I  am  a  tottering  fabrick,  built  originally  of  bad 
material,  and  therefore  require  more  props.  Jane  of  course  could  not  be  removed  from 
us  without  my  feeling  it  very  seriously  indeed ;  but  whatever  my  regrets  may  be  they  are  all 
turned  into  gratitude  when  I  reflect  upon  what  you  enjoy  in  her  society  and  that  of  your 
children.  She  has,  however,  deprived  me  of  a  great  gratification  in  not  reading  her 
letters,  for  ever  since  she  mentioned  that  they  were  written  exclusively  to  her  mother,  I 
have  not  thought  my  self  warranted  to  read  one  of  them.  And  to  say  the  truth,  tho'  I 
wished  to  release  her  from  the  necessity  of  a  correspondence  that  might  interfere  with 
Mrs.  Patten,  both  Mary  Anne  and  I  hoped  to  have  heard  from  her  occasionally,  tho'  not 
constantly.  I  admit  that  your  writing  is  sufficient,  and  the  drudgery  of  writing  to  us 
ought  most  certainly  to  devolve  upon  you,  whom  I  would  not  exchange  for  any  other 
correspondent,  but  this  would  by  no  means  destroy  my  relish  for  a  letter  from  Jane.  I 
beg  you  will  assure  her  that  we  all  love  her  tenderly,  as  well  as  the  dear  children.  I 
am,  dearest  Tom,  most  sincerely 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

I  have  just  now  the  pleasure  of  looking  out  and  seeing  your  father  with  a  rake  in 
his  hands. 


JutY  15th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  have  just  finished  a  letter  to  St.  John  Mason  which  will  probably  cause  this  to  be 
shorter  than  it  would  otherwise  be,  as  I  have  not  either  fingers  nor  eyes  for  writing  two 
letters  in  one  day.  I  would  not  however,  defer  writing  in  due  time  to  you,  lest  you 
should  thereby  be  rendered  uneasy  at  not  hearing  from  us  in  due  course.  Your  father 
is,  thank  God,  much  better  and  stronger  than  when  I  last  wrote;  your  children  are  all 
extremely  well,  Mary  Anne  and  the  rest  of  the  family  in  good  health.  Little  Tom  was 
some  days  ago  not  very  well,  but  a  timely  dose  of  senna  has  set  him  up  again;  he  is 
beginning  to  stretch  a  little,  which  in  general  produces  little  indespositions  that  are  often 
attributed  to  other  causes.  I  had  written  this  for  yesterday  when  I  was  interrupted  by 
a  visit  from  Miss  Fitzmaurice  and  Ally  Spring,  who  came  to  spend  the  day  with  us.  The 
latter  has  left  Farnham,*  which  has  now  become  the  seat  of  hospitality  and  magnificence, 
for  the  purpose  of  bathing,  and  which  under  Miss  Fitzmaurice's  quiet  roof,  has  been  of 
great  service  to  her.  She  talks  of  going  to  spend  some  time  in  Kerry,  from  whence  it  is 
not  likely  that  she  will  return,  at  least  for  some  time.  She  left  Lady  Anne  very  well, 
but  Mary  Herbertf  very  delicate ;  they  are  all  very  constant  and  very  affectionate  in  their 
inquiries  about  you  all.  St.  John  writes  me  word  that  he  has  almost  a  certainty  of 
gaining  the  lawsuit  in  which  he  is  engaged  with  Dr.  Lawlor  which  if  he  does,  will,  along 

*Farnham,  the  country-seat  of  Earl  Farnham,  Co.  Cavan. 

tit  is  not  known  who  was  the  father  of  Mary  Herbert,  nor  what  was  her  connection,  if  any  ex- 
isted, with  the  Emmet  family.  An  artist  bearing  the  name  of  Herbert  painted  the  portrait  of  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet  and  that  of  Dr.  Macneven  before  their  arrest.  He  was  probably  a  friend  of  Mr. 
Emmet  and  the  father  of  Miss  Herbert  referred  to  by  Mrs.  Emmet. 


302 


St.  John  Mason's  Lawsuit 


with  another  farm  which  will  be  out  of  lease  in  May  next,  add  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  a  year  to  his  income.  It  is  a  pity  that  his  feelings  and  his  income  are  not  better 
suited  to  each  other;  as  it  is  at  present  they  produce  constant  irritation  to  him,  and 
subject  him  to  constant  mortification  and  depression,  which  renders  his  many  virtues 
of  very  little  use  to  himself,  or  to  mankind. 

Mr.  William  Colville  is  returned  from  the  North,  where  he  left  Mrs.  Patten  and  his 
mother  in  perfect  health,  with  only  a  little  fatigue  after  their  journey.  Our  kind-hearted 
friend,  John,  comes  to  us  whenever  he  can  do  a  friendly  office,  but  it  is  not  in  his  power 
to  come  half  as  often  as  we  wish  to  see  him;  his  visits  afford  us  more  comfort  than  we 
can  now  possibly  receive  from  any  others.  Our  worthy  friend  Richards  and  his  pretty 
unaffected  wife  are  to  dine  with  us  to-morrow. 

I  am  but  just  returned  from  town  and  it  is  near  dinner  time,  which  will  prevent  my 
filling  up  my  paper.  I  must,  however,  observe  that  a  letter  from  you,  which  was  due  in 
the  course  of  last  week,  has  by  some  means  miscarried.  But  we  have  been  saved  from 
uneasiness  by  one  from  Jane  to  Mrs.  Patten  which  John  opened.  Tell  my  dear  Robert 
and  his  sisters  how  happy  we  should  be  to  see  them  all  under  a  cherry  tree,  and  Jane 
and  you  looking  at  them;  but  it  is  much  easier  to  form  wishes  than  to  believe  in  the 
probability  of  their  being  gratified.  We  are  all  in  the  hands  of  a  Supreme  Being,  in  him 
is  my  hope  and  trust,  and  upon  this  Pillar  I  must  rest.  Give  my  most  cordial  love  to 
Jane  and  the  children,  in  which  this  little  circle  all  sincerely  join. 

I  am,  my  dearest  Tom,  your  ever  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 
Fort  George. 


[The  United  Irishmen]  stated  as  their  "heavy  grievance"  that  they  had  no  "national 
go"jernment,  but  ruled  by  Englishmen  and  the  servants  of  Englishmen",  and  as 
its  effectual  remedy  they  pledged  themselves  .  .  .  to  endeavor  by  all  due  means 
to  procure  a  complete  and  radical  reform  of  the  representation  of  the  people  in  Parlia- 
ment, including  Irishmen  of  every  religious  persuasion. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


This  institution  [United  Irishmen],  which  from  its  very  outset  looked  towards  a  republican 
government,  founded  on  the  broadest  principles  of  religious  liberty  and  equal  rights; 
that  this  institution,  the  consequences  of  which  are  yet  to  be  read  in  the  history  of 
Ireland,  was  not  the  cabal  of  ambitious  leaders  or  artful  intriguers  or  speculative  en- 
thusiasts. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XVI 

Continued  correspondence  of  Doctor  Emmet  and  his  wife  with  their  son  at  Fort  George 
—Letters  of  T.  A.  Emmet  to  his  family  on  leaving  Fort  George  intercepted  by  Major 
Sirr  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Lord  Hope — Letter  from  the  Governor  of  the  Fort  announc- 
ing the  release  of  the  prisoners  and  their  arrival  at  Hamburg. 


August  6th,  1801. 

Y  DEAREST  TOM, 

I  have  not  received  the  week's  letter  which  in  due  course  I 
expect  will  be  addressed  to  me,  but  as  punctuality  is  almost  my 
only  merit,  I  would  not  defer  writing  to  you  beyond  the  ac- 
customed time,  well  knowing  how  anxious  you  and  Jane  are  to 
hear  from  this  side  of  the  water;  and  I  am  happy  in  telling  you 
that  your  father  and  your  children  are,  thank  God,  all  well,  Mary 
Anne  as  she  should  be,  and  the  rest  of  us  in  good  health.  It 
was  in  compliance  with  your  father's  injunction  that  we  did  not 
inform  you  in  the  beginning  of  his  illness.  I  proposed  doing  it, 
but  he  would  not  suffer  me.  May  our  Supreme  and  Merciful 
Being  shield  me  from  suffering  what  I  have  done.  I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence 
that  part  of  your  letter  relative  to  Jane  not  writing  to  us.  It  is  a  very  bad 
compliment  either  to  our  good-nature,  or  to  our  judgment,  that  we  should  avowedly 
do  so,  and  her  humility  is  in  truth  a  satire  upon  us.  We  none  of  us  have  dispositions 
to  criticize  the  letters  of  others,  and  surely  our  conduct  to  Jane  has  never  left  room  to 
suppose  that  we  should  exercise  the  talents  towards  her.  Your  father's  tenderness  to 
her,  she  well  knows,  and  tho'  I  am  not  blessed  with  so  gracious  a  manner  I  have  not  felt 
less  affection  for  her,  and  in  Mary  Anne  she  always  found  a  sister.  Which  of  us,  then, 
can  she  fear?  I  know  not  how  Mary  Anne  writes,  never  having  had  an  opportunity  of 
receiving  letters  from  her  since  she  was  a  child  and  those  she  wrote  to  others  I  have  never 
seen.  I,  however,  suppose  that  she  expressed  herself  sufficiently  for  all  the  purposes  of 
correspondence,  but  I  am  sure  she  is  no  writer,  and,  if  she  were  so  disposed,  Jane  need 
not  shrink  from  the  comments  of  any  person,  much  less  from  Mary  Anne.  For  my  own 
part  I  am  neither  qualified  nor  disposed  to  criticize,  I  am  myself  a  very  careless  and  very 
incorrect  letter  writer.  I  desire  no  more  than  that  I  should  be  understood,  and  it  is  of 
no  importance  to  me  how  I  write,  provided  I  can  convey  what  I  feel  to  those  I  love.  Me, 
then,  she  cannot  fear,  but  surely  Jane  must  know  that  she  posesses  an  uncommon  faculty 
in  writing,  and  that  no  person  can  express  themselves  with  more  ease,  eloquence  and 
correctness  than  she  does.  What  I  have  written  is  not  with  a  design  to  force  her  into 
a  correspondence  with  us,  but  merely  to  say  that  the  reason  she  gave  for  not  doing  so  bore 
too  hard  upon  us  all.  Kiss  the  dear  children  three  times  over  for  their  affectionate  and 
interesting  representation  of  us  all.    Margaret  seems  to  be  manager  of  the  Fort  George 

303 


304 


Temple  a  Great  Favorite 


theatre,  and  a  very  early  and  judicious  capacity  she  displayed  in  casting  her  characters, 
it  is  truly  flattering  to  us  to  live  in  their  memories.  May  they  through  life  be  exempt 
from  those  trying  scenes  we  have  been  engaged  in,  and  are  still  likely  to  endure.  Your 
father  is  at  this  instant  engaged  in  his  old  work  of  raking  the  new  graveled  walks,  which 
will  show  you  that  he  feels  himself  well.  The  little  fellow  has  been  cutting  two  jaw 
teeth,  which  has  kept  him  in  a  very  delicate  state  for  about  a  fortnight,  but  within  these 
two  days  he  has  pulled  up.  Mary  Anne  goes  every  second  week  to  the  salt  water  and 
takes  two  of  them,  in  their  turn,  which  is  as  many  as  she  can  manage,  at  other  times  they 
bath  in  the  tubs  at  home. 

Since  I  began  the  above  I  have  received  yours  of  the  26th  of  July,  and  this  will  serve 
as  an  answer  to  that  said  about  John.  I  shall  show  him  your  letter,  as  your  father  and 
Mary  Anne  seem  to  think  I  ought.  O  that  it  were  in  our  power  to  pay  you  a  visit,  but 
you  well  know  that  the  situation  of  your  father  and  mine  renders  it  impossible  for  us, 
and  the  purses  of  others  do  nearly  the  same  thing.  We  must  therefore  acquiesce  and 
console  ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  you  are  happy  in  having  your  wife  and  children 
with  you.  To  the  Almighty  Being  whose  attributes  are  power,  wisdom,  justice,  and 
mercy,  I  commend  and  commit  you  and  all  that  is  dear  to  us  upon  Earth,  humbly  trusting 
that  he  will  protect  and  bless  you  and  every  individual  of  my  beloved  family.  Assure 
Jane  of  our  united  and  most  cordial  good  wishes,  and  best  affections  for  her,  and  the 
dear  children,  and  assure  yourself  that  I  am  truly 

Your  ever  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq. 


August  27th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  expect  before  I  finish  this  letter  to  receive  one  from  you,  and  I  am  sure  it  is  not  your 
fault  if  I  do  not.  Your  affection  and  your  punctuality  never  feel  a  lapse.  The  old,  the 
young,  and  the  middle-aged  under  this  roof  are,  thank  God,  well,  and,  having  told  you 
this  one  important  article,  what  more  have  I  to  say?  We  cannot  go  beyond  the  old 
topics;  we  have  no  new  material  to  manufacture,  and  the  old  ones  have  been  so  much  in 
use  that  I  find  it  somewhat  difficult  to  work  up  a  letter  out  of  such  threadbare  patches. 
I  might  as  well  put  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  form  of  a  letter  as  to  repeat  what  our 
feelings  towards  you  are,  they  being  both  equally  familiar  to  you,  but  however  barren 
I  may  be  of  matter  wherewith  to  fill  a  letter,  I  have  not  had  recourse  to  your  expedient 
of  writing  my  lines  very  far  asunder. 

Your  father  has  nearly  worked  himself  out  of  employment;  the  walks  are  all 
gravelled,  the  nursery  finished,  and  a  noble  one  it  is,  but  alas  it  is  an  unfinished,  unoc- 
cupied room.  We  are  now  in  a  dead  calm,  which  does  not  well  accord  with  anxious, 
irritable,  and  deeply  interested  feelings.  I,  however,  have  enough  to  keep  my  attention 
awake  in  watching  your  father's  looks ;  whatever  they  indicate  decides  what  my  feelings 
are  to  be.  Of  late,  thank  God,  they  have  been  much  better,  but  for  some  months  they 
kept  me  in  constant  alarm.  Mary  Anne  has  given  up  going  to  the  water;  she  found  it 
fatigued  her  too  much,  the  children  therefore  could  not  be  sent,  but  Harriet  promises 
to  spend  a  month  with  us  for  the  purpose  of  sea-bathing,  and  they  shall  go  under  her 
protection.  The  little  fellow,  however,  we  have  been  obliged  to  desist  from  bathing,  in 
either  salt  or  fresh  water,  as  neither  of  these  agree  with  him.  His  appetite  and  spirits 
are  both  excellent,  but  his  looks  are  delicate,  occasioned  somewhat  perhaps  by  growth 
as  he  promises  to  be  taller  than  the  others.  Tom  is  much  more  cheerful  than  he  was, 
and  John  continues  always  at  a  steady  gait,  never  very  high,  nor  ever  low-spirited. 

I  hope  you  do  not  attribute  a  pensiveness  in  Tom  to  any  partiality  in  favour  of  the 
younger  one.  Below  stairs  I  must  confess  that  he  is  too  great  a  favourite,  which  we 
do  all  we  can  to  prevent,  as  he  has  been  nearly  spoiled  by  the  indulgence  he  meets  there, 
but  in  the  parlour,  I  assure  you  Tom  is  much  more  noticed.    He  has  very  quick  observa- 


Visitors  at  "Casino" 


305 


tion,  but  he  has  never  been  a  prattling  child,  the  young  one,  however  prates  enough  for 
both,  and  they  agree  so  well  together  that  it  would  be  wrong  to  separate  them,  at  least 
'till  Tom  outgrows  his  present  system  of  education.  You  hurt  us,  my  dear  Tom,  in 
supposing  that  your  children  can  be  any  trouble  to  us,  I  beg  that  neither  Jane  or  you 
will  suffer  such  an  idea  to  pass  through  your  minds.  Are  not  our  children's  children 
the  same  as  our  own?  Why  don't  you  permit  my  dear  little  Robert  to  write  us?  I 
know  not  whether  you  have  taught  him  to  write  a  good  hand,  but  I  am  sure  you  have 
greatly  improved  his  masterly  hand.  I  suppose  you  have  seen  in  the  papers  that  Lord 
Rossmore  has  finished  his  career  in  this  life.  His  fortune  he  has  disposed  of  as  was 
expected  to  his  lady  during  her  life,  and  at  her  death  to  Mrs.  Gunn,  encumbered  with 
ten  thousand  pounds  to  be  divided  between  her  sister  Taylor  and  the  children  of  her 
sister  Crook.  This  event  has  removed  all  anxiety  from  the  mind  of  our  worthy  friend, 
Mrs.  Frankland. — It  would  be  endless  for  me  to  mention  the  many  and  very  cordial  in- 
quiries that  are  made  about  you  and  Jane ;  sufficient  to  say  that  you  are  as  affection- 
ately remembered  by  all  whose  remembrance  would  gratify  you,  as  your  heart  can 
wish.  Give  Jane  and  all  the  children  as  many  kisses  as  you  please  for  me,  and  assure 
them  of  my  best  affections,  in  which  I  am  joined  by  the  rest  of  the  Family.  I  am,  my 
dearest  Tom,  most  sincerely  your  ever  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Mrs.  Patten  is  not  yet  returned ;  poor  Miss  Lennox  is  dead,  her  anxieties  are  all 
over, — in  this  manner  may  all  rest  assured  our  tribulations  will  all  have  an  end,  if  not 
in  any  other. 

T.  A.  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George. 


September  17th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  have  withdrawn  myself  from  a  larger  circle  than  we  have  of  late  been  accustomed 
to,  in  order  to  write,  I  know  not  what,  to  you.  Harriet  has  been  back  and  forward 
with  us  for  about  a  fortnight,  and  is  now  here.  Ally  Spring  came  to  us  yesterday,  to  stay 
'till  Lady  Anne's*  return  to  town,  and  we  are  in  hopes  St.  John  may  come  to  spend  a  little 
time  with  us,  but  for  him  there  is  no  answering,  the  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  we 
know  as  much  the  cause  thereof  as  we  do  of  poor  St.  John's  movements.  You  may 
perhaps  expect  that  an  increase  of  family  will  enable  me  to  write  somewhat  above  the 
common  dog-trot  gait,  but  no  such  thing  I  assure  you,  on  the  contrary  I  find  that  a  little 
morning  conversation  has  quite  exhausted  me.  We  have  been  of  late  a  very  silent  family, 
at  which  you  will  not  be  surprised  when  you  remember  that  in  fine  weather  your  father  is 
mostly  out,  Mary  Anne  deaf,  and  growing  more  so,  Mr.  Holmes  either  in  town  or  in  his 
study,  and  Kitty  generally  employed  about  her  own  particular  business,  so  that  speech 
has  in  some  measure  been  a  qualification  for  which  we  have  had  but  little  occasion;  an 
enlarged  circle  is  therefore  an  acquisition  to  us  all.  Of  your  father  I  shall  only  tell  you 
that  he  is  at  present  employed  in  close  examination  of  all  the  trees,  many  of  which  have 
sentence  passed  upon  them  and  are  doomed  to  die  betwen  this  and  Christmas.  I  shall 
gladly  compound  for  having  them  only  decimated,  but  before  October  and  November  are 
over  I  apprehend  they  will  be  sacrificed  without  mercy.  From  this  account,  however,  you 
will  be  able  to  collect  with  pleasure  the  present  state  of  your  father's  health  and  spirits. 
Your  children  are  all  well,  they  have  had  a  kind  of  pock  attended  with  some  degree  of 
fever,  which  has  been  general  among  children,  and  in  some  instances  fatal.  Dr.  Browne 
has  lost  his  only  son  in  it,  and  his  three  daughters  were,  I  am  told,  at  one  time  given  over 
in  the  same  complaint.  Ours  were  for  some  time  so  peeking  as  to  give  us  some  uneasiness, 

•Lady  Anne  Fitzgerald  has  been  referred  to  by  Mrs.  Emmet  several  times  in  these  letters.  She 
was  a  sister  of  the  Earl  of  Kerry  and  the  widow  of  Maurice  Fitzgerald,  the  "Knight  of  Kerry".  She 
had  been  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Emmet  Family  since  her  marriage.  After  the  arrest  of  Robert 
Emmet  her  house  was  searched  by  the  police.  She  made  an  effort  to  establish  her  loyalty  with 
the  Government,  and  an  interesting  letter  from  her  pen  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in  the  memoir 
of  Robert  Emmet. 


306 


Old  Trees  to  Go 


but  they  are  now  quite  well  and  in  very  good  spirits.  Mrs.  Patten,  John,  &c,  are  all  re- 
turned. I  have  not  seen  them,  but  I  am  told  they  are  all  well.  I  suppose  it  will  not  be 
news  to  tell  you  of  Lord  Downshire's  very  sudden  and  unexpected  death,  in  him  I  am  told 
his  tenantry  have  lost  an  excellent  landlord,  and  his  neighbouring  poor  a  great  benefac- 
tor. Of  all  his  greatness  these  alone  will  follow  him;  all  his  other  marks  of  distinction 
are  become  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals.  This  truth  so  familiar  to  us,  seems 
to  be  but  of  little  practical  use,  for  in  all  countries  and  in  all  climates  riches,  honours,  and 
pleasures  are  pursued  with  as  insatiable  a  thirst  as  if  they  were  to  be  of  eternal  dura- 
tion. 

When  I  write  to  you  I  always  fancy  I  am  conversing  with  you,  and  commit  my  ideas 
to  paper  just  as  they  arise  in  my  mind,  without  order  or  arrangement,  but  I  am  per- 
suaded that  whatever  I  write  will  to  you  not  be  unwelcome.  When  will  you  suffer  my  dear 
little  Robert  to  gratify  us  with  seeing  a  letter  from  him?  Has  our  dear  Jane  yet  had  the 
toothache?  She  I  hope  is  well  convinced  of  the  interest  we  take  in  all  that  relates  to 
her.  You  cannot  gratify  us  more  than  in  being  very  minute  in  your  account  of  her  and 
the  children.  I  hope  you  have  not  relaxed  in  anything  that  can  promote  your  health  and 
theirs.  Your  letter  of  this  week  has  not  yet  arrived,  and  has  been  expected  for  some 
days,  which  never  happens  without  some  degree  of  anxiety  to  me.  May  the  God  of 
health  preserve  yours  and  that  of  your  wife  and  children.  I  am  like  a  very  weak  garrison 
that  can  be  assailed  in  many  points,  but  the  Almighty  Being,  whose  mercifull  eye  is  over 
all,  will,  I  trust,  preserve  all  those  who  are  much  dearer  to  me  than  life.  Mary  Anne 
goes  on  very  well,  she,  her  father  and  the  entire  of  this  family,  sojourners  and  others, 
all  join  in  the  most  affectionate  remembrance  to  you  all. 

I  am,  my  dearest  Tom,  your  unceasing  affectionate  Mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq. 


October  2nd,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

Kitty  has  been  in  town  for  some  time  past  with  her  grandmother,  she  has  taken 
Harriet's  place  in  town  and  I  take  hers  in  writing  to  you,  and  I  sit  down  with  a  more 
tranquil  heart  than  I  have  done  for  some  time  past,  as  I  am  able  to  assure  you  that  your 
father  is,  thank  God,  to  all  appearance  in  better  health  than  he  has  been  since  his  last 
illness.  The  improvement  in  his  spirits  and  appetite  I  attribute  in  a  great  measure  to 
the  employment  of  his  mind,  which  at  present  is  occupied  in  his  favourite  amusement  of 
removing  trees,  against  which  I  have  ceased  to  remonstrate.  Tho'  from  the  earliness  of 
the  season  and  the  age  of  the  trees,  I  despair  of  ever  seing  a  leaf  upon  any  of  them,  but 
as  we  have  a  great  demand  for  pea-rods  they  will  not  be  useless.  Your  children  also  are 
better  than  they  were  during  the  whole  summer,  neither  they  nor  their  grand  Father  have 
been  as  I  wished  for  months  past,  but  praise  to  the  Giver  of  health  they  are  all  much 
better,  and  that  they  may  continue  so  is  the  united  and  fervent  Prayer  of  us  all  however 
dispersed,  we  are  sure  to  meet  in  this  point.  The  summer  is  now  over;  God  grant  that 
the  unceasing  terrors  and  gloom  I  have  suffered  may  have  disappeared  along  with  it,  and 
that  the  tranquillity  which  I  have  felt  only  within  these  few  days,  may  be  of  some  con- 
tinuance. I  have  often  compared  myself  to  the  Sensitive  Plant,  which,  tho'  it  shrinks  at 
every  touch  is  not  of  either  use  or  ornament,  and  as  it  bears  neither  flowers  nor  fruit 
might  as  well  be  out  of  the  greenhouse.  Ally  Spring  is  delighted  with  the  dispositions 
of  your  three  children.  Tom  she  thinks  the  finest  child  you  have,  and  he  is  certainly  a 
very  fine  boy.  He  does  from  a  sense  of  right  what  the  other  two  do  from  a  native  feel- 
ing, but  it  is  injustice  to  the  rest  to  specify  one,  as  they  are  in  truth  equally  good,  and  yet 
I  cannot  resist  transgressing  this  rule  of  right  by  relating  a  trait  of  the  little  fellow, 
which  however  foolish  it  may  appear  to  those  who  are  privileged  to  read  our  letters,  will,  I 
am  persuaded,  give  you  as  much  pleasure  as  it  did  me.  Mr.  Holmes  sometimes  takes  them 
on  his  back,  in  consequence  of  which  the  young  one  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to  take 


Choice  of  Residence 


307 


him  upon  mine.  I  told  him  that  my  back  was  old,  but  in  a  little  time  I  offered  to  take  him, 
which  he  stoutly  declined  two  or  three  times,  and  when  I  asked  him  why  he  would  not 
he  replied  in  a  tone  of  great  tenderness,  "because  you  have  a  pain."  The  next  night  I 
again  asked  him  if  he  would  come  on  my  back,  and  he  at  once  said  he  would  if  I  had  not 
a  pain.  The  disposition  of  all  your  children  must  afford  you  and  my  dear  Jane  the 
happiest  prospects.  May  it  please  Divine  Providence  to  grant  you  the  enjoyment  of  the 
ripened  fruit  as  well  as  the  pleasure  that  must  arise  from  beholding  the  blossoms.  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  Mrs.  Patten,  who  seems  to  have  laid  in  a  store  of  health,  which  I 
sincerely  hope  she  will  enjoy  for  many,  very  many  years.  She  has  grown  fat,  which 
she  began  to  do  before  she  went  to  the  country.  Our  dear  kind  John  is  also  well,  and 
continues  to  show  us  all  the  attention  and  good-nature  which  we  could  expect  from  an 
affectionate  son.  I  wish  from  my  heart  that  he  could  be  disengaged  more  from  his  desk, 
his  close  application  to  it  must  injure  his  health.  At  this  season  of  the  year  you  cannot 
expect  a  visit  from  him  at  Fort  George,  whatever  you  may  do  early  in  the  next.  You  may 
suppose  that  the  entire  of  this  family  desire  their  best  love  to  you  and  Jane.  She  and  the 
children  are,  I  trust,  assured  of  mine.  I  should  have  rebuked  Kitty  if  she  had  awk- 
wardly begun  her  letter  on  the  wrong  side,  for  myself  I  will  only  hope  that  whatever 
graces  my  letter  may  want  it  will  nevertheless  be  received  with  pleasure  by  you,  as  being 
the  only  vehicle  through  which  I  can  at  present  convey  my  expression  of  that  tenderness 
which  is  felt  for  you  here,  and  especially  by 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq. 

You  need  not  notice  anything  I  have  said  about  the  destruction  that  awaits  the  trees, 
but  knowing  the  season  and  the  propensity  you  may  recommend  caution.  He  is  as  keen 
at  the  work  as  ever  you  knew  him  and  I  know  of  no  medicine,  except  your  returning,  that 
could  be  so  effectual  to  the  promoting  of  his  health,  which  is  ample  amends  for  the  loss 
we  may  have. 


October  8th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

The  present  period  will  account  for  my  having  taken  the  pen  out  of  our  established 
course.  But  before  I  make  further  use  of  it  I  shall  inform  you  that  I  have  never  known 
so  great  an  amendment  in  so  short  a  time  as  there  is  in  your  father.  His  health,  spirits, 
appetite,  and  energy  of  mind  seem  all  restored  to  him;  for  this  blessing  our  united  and 
fullest  gratitude  is  due.  Your  children  are  also  much  better  than  they  were  even  when 
last  I  wrote.  Now,  my  dear  Tom,  the  time  is  at  last  arrived  when  I  trust  you  will  be 
permitted  to  choose  the  place  of  your  future  residence,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me 
premature  in  what  I  am  going  to  write,  especially  when  1  tell  you  that  I  do  it  by  your 
father's  direction.  We  are,  you  may  suppose,  ignorant  of  the  intentions  of  Government 
and  we  do  not  wish  to  interfere  in  your  decision,  but  we  both  think  it  may  not  be  unim- 
portant to  you  to  know  beforehand  that  beyond  England  your  father  thinks  he  cannot 
venture  to  go.  If,  therefore,  you  shall  happily  be  left  to  a  freedom  of  choice,  he  desires 
me  to  tell  you  that  in  any  part  of  the  South  of  England,  Caermarthen,  South  Wales,  to 
choose,  he  will  join  you  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness  and  gratitude  to  Heaven  for  the 
prospect  of  happiness  which  would  thereby  be  open  to  him.  You  will  easily  perceive  that 
he  specifies  the  southern  part  of  England,  or  Wales,  chiefly  for  climate  and  also  for 
another  reason,  which  is  not  altogether  unimportant,  that  of  their  contiguity  to  Bath  or 
Bristol.  Where  perhaps  he  may  be  induced  to  spend  a  couple  of  winter  months,  which 
he  would  not  be  apt  to  do  if  he  was  at  any  distance  from  them,  as  land  travelling  he 
thinks  not  fit  for  him,  nor  does  he  much  like  it.  I  shall  only  further  say  upon  this  subject 
that  besides  the  happiness  of  our  living  together,  what  we  should  be  thereby  enabled  to 
contribute  may  not  be  unworthy  your  consideration.  This  I  mention  because  I  know  that 
pecuniary  matters  are  seldom  thought  of  in  your  determinations.    The  depression  of 


308 


America  as  a  Place  of  Exile 


spirits  under  which  I  have  for  some  time  laboured  has  been  very  great,  my  mind  has 
been  sorely  burthened  indeed.  When  your  father's  spirits  were  low  he  seemed  deter- 
mined not  to  quit  this  country,  and  I  was  resolved  not  to  urge  him  to  do  it.  But  the 
eagerness  with  which  he  embraces  this  plan,  and  the  pleasure  which  it  seems  to  give 
him,  has  relieved  my  mind  from  a  weight  of  gloom  which  you  cannot  well  conceive  and 
which  I  am  not  able  to  express.  That  this  plan  may  not  be  frustrated  by  government,  by 
you,  or  by  any  misfortune,  is  the  ardent  wish  of  my  too  anxious  heart.  Harriet  is  not 
with  us  now,  but  I  hope  she  will  soon  return.  Ally  Spring  has  left  us  for  a  few  days  to 
attend  Mrs.  Browne,  who  is  ill  of  a  nervous  fever,  but  I  hope  not  in  any  danger.  When 
Ally  comes  I  shall  show  her  your  letter.  Of  St.  John  [Mason]  I  can  tell  you  little  more 
at  present  than  that  he  is  still  St.  John,  and  I  much  fear  he  will  continue  so  to  the  end 
of  his  days.  Mary  Anne  is  very  well,  and  thank  God  so  are  all  under  this  roof,  every 
one  of  them  deeply  interested  in  the  result  of  the  present  crisis,  that  it  may  be  productive 
of  happiness  to  us  all  is  the  united  wish,  as  well  as  the  prayer,  of  all  here.  I  need  not 
add  that  it  is  also  that  of  your  truly  affectionate  mother, 

E.  Emmet. 

Be  sure  to  remember  us  all  with  the  most  cordial  affection  to  Jane  and  the  children. 
We  shall  not  advertise  the  place  'till  we  know  how  matters  stand,  but  if  they  shall  happily 
turn  out  as  we  wish  we  shall  not  lose  a  moment  in  doing  so. 


October  15th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

At  this  time  you  will  not  be  surprised  at  my  having  superseded  your  other  corre- 
spondents here,  nor  will  you,  I  hope,  be  displeased  that  I  should  impart  to  you  the 
various  feelings  of  my  mind,  so  fully  occupied  with  what  relates  to  you,  your  amiable 
wife,  and  your  children.  When  I  wrote  last  I  was  under  the  first  impulse  of  very  ardent 
feelings,  my  first  impulses  are,  I  confess  always  much  too  ardent.  Since  then  I  have 
reflected,  and  have  been  able  to  think  of  and  to  look  at  the  worst,  and  find  myself  more 
composed  since  I  have  done  so. 

Some  of  your  friends  say  that,  supposing  you  were  permitted  to  reside  in  England, 
or  Wales,  you  ought  rather  to  go  to  America,  as  it  would  tend  more  to  the  advantage  of 
your  family;  of  this  you  are  the  best  judge.  Your  father  and  I  both  unite  in  desiring 
you  to  act  as  if  we  were  out  of  the  question,  consulting  only  what  you  think  will  be  most 
likely  to  make  you  and  them  most  happy.  We  are  very  sure  of  what  your  inclinations 
would  lead  you  to,  but  for  my  own  part  I  declare  to  you  that  I  should  not  feel  happy,  even 
in  your  society,  if  I  caused  in  any  respect  sacrifice  of  your  interest,  your  peace  of  mind, 
or  your  security.  I  speak  of  myself  as  the  weaker  vessel,  of  your  Father's  firmness  you 
can  have  no  doubt. 

One  point,  however,  I  must  entreat  that  you  will  weigh  well  before  you  decide  in 
favour  of  America,  and  that  is  the  disadvantages  of  the  climate,  which  by  everything  I 
can  hear  is  not  congenial  to  European  constitutions.  Capt.  Palmer*  mentioned  to  us, 
independent  of  the  yellow  fever,  he  had  perceived,  and  it  was  he  said  a  general  observa- 
tion in  America,  that  after  the  first  two  years  Europeans  generally  decline  in  health. 
Do  not  call  this  a  prejudice  of  mine.  It  has  been  mentioned  to  us  that  in  America  you 
could  not  follow  your  profession,  but  upon  this  head  you  will  recollect  that  Sir  Grenville 
Temple  said,  when  he  was  last  here,  that  a  lawyer  there  could  not  by  the  profits  of  his 
profession  pay  for  the  expenses  of  his  books.  Add  to  this  that  a  prohibition  law  did  exist, 
which  perhaps  may  have  been  since  repealed,  that  any  stranger  intending  to  profess  the 
law,  must,  previous  to  his  doing  so,  be  a  resident  for  five  years  in  the  country. 

I  have  now  said  everything  I  mean  to  say  upon  the  subject  until  you  have  taken  your 
final  determination.  That  it  may  lead  you  to  happiness,  and  the  advantage  of  your  family 
I  shall  never  cease  to  wish  and  pray,  and  whatever  our  feelings  may  be  we  shall  have  the 


*See  footnote  to  letter  of  Sept.  19,  1800,  p.  286. 


Ireland  No  More! 


309 


consolation  of  having  them  unmixed  with  self-reproach.  I  mentioned  in  my  last  the 
great  amendment  in  your  father's  health,  which  I  thank  God  still  continues  and  has  been 
during  the  last  fortnight  beyond  what  we  could  expect.  Your  children  are  all  well  except 
Tom,  who  looks  somewhat  peeking,  tho'  his  appetite  is  very  good,  and  he  is  a  strong- 
bodied  child.  Your  father  and  the  entire  family  desire  to  be  most  cordially  remembered 
to  you,  to  Jane,  and  the  dear  children.  They  are  all  warmly  interested  in  what  may  be 
the  event  of  the  present  period,  but  we  must  all  practice  patience,  that  virtue  so  necessary 
to  mankind  in  general,  and  particularly  so  to  your  truly  affectionate  mother, 

Elizabeth  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 


October  26th,  1801. 

My  dearest  Tom, 

I  have  received  your  letter  in  due  course,  the  contents  of  which  did  not  surprise  me, 
and  you  will  see  by  my  last,  previous  to  the  receipt  of  yours,  that  I  am  prepared  for  the 
worst.  I  have  long  foreseen  that  your  determination  would  be,  and  ever  since  Jefferson 
has  been  chosen  I  have  expected  that  in  America  you  would  reside.  From  some  hints 
that  John's  [Patten]  soothing  disposition  threw  out  with  a  wish  of  administering  balm  to 
my  mind,  I  was  fondly  led  to  hope  that  perhaps  you  would  think  Wales  an  eligible  place 
to  live  in,  but  this  vision  has  been  dismissed  even  before  your  last  letter  came.  My  con- 
solation I  must  derive  from  your  having  adopted  a  measure  in  itself  right.  I  have  never 
entertained  a  hope  that  you  would,  in  the  event  of  a  peace,  return  to  this  country,  and  I 
have  never  cherished  a  wish  that  you  should  live  dishonoured  in  this  or  any  other ;  with 
these  sentiments  you  need  not  have  any  uneasiness  about  my  feelings.  Be  assured  that 
they  are  such  as  will  not  hurt  me,  and  they  shall  not  cast  a  gloom  around  me.  I  know 
that,  however  feeble  my  support  is  in  itself,  it  is  nevertheless  deemed  important  by  your 
father,  and  he  shall  have  it  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  and  tho'  we  are  to  be  separated 
from  the  first  prop  of  my  old  age,  the  Polar  Star  by  which  I  at  least,  who  often  want 
direction  and  support,  wished  to  steer  for  the  remainder  of  my  life.  Yet,  tho'  your  light 
will  be  denied  to  us,  I  trust  in  that  just  God,  whom  you  have  so  truly  served,  that  he  will 
cause  you  to  shine  to  advantage  in  another  hemisphere.  But  you  cannot  expect  that  I  shall 
not  remember  that  between  you  and  us  there  will  be  a  gulph  over  which  we  cannot  pass. 
I  have  only  to  add  with  respect  to  your  three  dear  children,  now  under  this  roof,  I  am 
sure  you  will  not,  and  I  think  you  ought  not,  to  separate  them  from  your  others.  But 
admit  that  you  would,  I  love  them  too  well  to  withhold  them  from  the  benefit  of  having 
their  mind  formed  and  educated  by  you,  no,  not  even  a  Temple  Emmet  would  I  wish  to 
retain  under  such  circumstances.  I  have  very  little  doubt  but  that  leave  would  be  given 
to  you  to  come  over  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  your  father  and  settling  your  affairs  here, 
but  I  am  not  sure  that  you  will  avail  yourself  of  such  a  permission.  This  point,  however, 
like  all  others,  must  be  decided  by  you  alone.  The  pleasure  we  should  have  in  seeing 
Jane,  tho'  very  great,  would  I  am  sure  be  more  than  over  balanced  by  the  pain  we  should 
feel  at  parting  with  her.  Yet,  as  I  am  sure  Mrs.  Patten  wishes  it  very  much,  she  ought 
to  be  gratified,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  think  it  right  that  she  and  the  dear  children  should 
come  over  and  spend  as  much  time  here  as  she  can  before  your  final  departure.  Under 
this  roof  she  will  meet  the  warmest  of  affection  and  an  admiration  of  her  conduct,  very 
little,  if  at  all,  short  of  what  she  can  receive  from  her  mother.  You  know  your  father, 
and  you  judge  rightly  of  him,  he  feels  with  extreme  tenderness,  but  he  bears  the  evils 
which  have  befallen  him  with  truly  practical  Christian  patience.  I,  therefore,  need  only 
say  of  him  that  the  great  return  of  health,  strength,  and  cheerfulness  which  he  has  had 
within  this  last  month  still  continues,  even  under  the  certainty  of  your  future  destination. 
His  affecion  for  you  I  have  no  need  to  inform  you  of,  but  you  are  not  a  more  careful 
guardian  of  your  unsullied  honour  and  fame  than  he  is.    The  reason  why  we  did  not 


310 


Major  Sirr's  "Curiosities" 


inform  you  of  the  real  state  of  his  health  during  the  summer  was,  that  we  did  not  think 
it  necessary  to  add  to  the  gloom  of  a  Prison.  I  have  now  said  all  that  I  can  say,  and  I 
shall  not  write  for  some  time  lest  anything  should  issue  from  my  pen  that  might  cause 
emotion,  or  any  kind  of  uneasiness  to  you.  Your  children  are  all  very  well,  your  friends 
most  cordially  interested  and  affectionate  towards  you,  Jane,  and  the  children. 
I  am,  my  dearest  Tom,  most  truly  your  affectionate  mother, 

Elizabeth  Emmet. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 

Fort  George,  Scotland. 

From  the  date  of  the  above  letter  a  break  in  the  correspondence  occurs, 
and  we  are  left  in  ignorance  for  some  fourteen  months  of  all  relating  to  the 
inmates  of  Fort  George  and  their  friends  in  Ireland.  This  letter  in  fact 
closes  the  correspondence,  as  Mr.  Emmet  and  his  family  were  in  the  interval 
released  from  prison. 

It  is  only  through  these  letters  that  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  any 
insight  into  the  prison  life  of  those  confined  at  Fort  George,  or  any  knowledge 
of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet's  family  during  the  same  period. 

It  is  not  necessary,  therefore,  to  offer  either  an  apology  for  the  number 
of  these  letters  or  for  the  great  space  which  they  occupy. 

Among  the  letters  and  other  "curiosities"  found  in  the  collection  made 
by  Major  Sirr  and  now  in  the  Trinity  College  library  was  a  letter  written  by 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  his  sister  and  another  to  his  niece,  the  daughter  of 
Temple.  These  letters  had  been  intercepted  while  passing  by  the  regular  route 
from  Fort  George  and  held  as  "curiosities". 
Dr.  Madden  gives  a  copy  of  them  and  writes : 

What  will  the  reader  think  of  the  mean,  dastardly  malignity  displayed  by  this  Dog- 
berry of  a  town-major,  in  thus  retaining  the  private  letters  of  a  respectable  citizen  in  the 
unhappy  circumstances  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  to  his  sister  and  another  female  member  of  his 
family,  and  thus  depriving  them  of  the  only  gratification  they  could  then  have — that  of 
hearing  from  a  beloved  relative? 

From  T.  A.  Emmet  to  His  Sister,  Mrs.  Holmes. 

Saturday,  21st  November,  1801. 

My  dearest  Mary  Anne, 

By  your  letter  of  the  13th,  which  I  received  yesterday,  it  is  evident  that  one  of  mine 
has  miscarried ;  whether  that  accident  was  owing  to  any  part  of  its  contents  it  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  say,  but  if  it  was  this  letter  may  perhaps  be  more  fortunate  from  the 
entire  absence  of  anything  that  might  deserve  the  name  of  contents.  This  style  of  writ- 
ing it  is  I  believe  the  best  policy  to  adopt,  where  the  only  object  is  to  transmit  home 
regular  accounts  of  oneself  and  friends,  but  in  this  instance  I  do  not  use  it  from  pru- 
dential motives.  The  first  ideas  that  occurred  to  me  in  hearing  of  the  peace  being  made 
known  to  you,  have  lost  their  novelty ;  and  no  new  room  has  been  given  for  expectation 
or  conjecture  by  a  development  of  the  intention  of  the  Government.  In  this  state  of 
things  my  letters  may  very  well  hope  to  escape  under  the  protection  of  their  insignificance. 
You  are  right  in  supposing  that  Jane  has  recovered  her  sore  throat,  and  notwithstanding 
the  severity  of  the  weather,  which  is  exceedingly  tempestuous  at  present,  she  is  very 
tolerable.  No  one  can  set  a  higher  value  than  she  does  on  your  love  and  that  of  all  your 
circle,  or  be  more  grateful  for  the  enjoyment  of  it,  but  not  even  the  force  of  that  senti- 


Mr.  Emmet  to  Lord  Hope  311 

tnent,  nor  the  severity  of  this  climate,  could  induce  her  to  remove  from  Fort  George  while 
I  remain  here,  although  I  proposed  it  to  her,  when  I  hoped  it  might  contribute  to  ex- 
pedite our  arrangements  and  be  of  service  to  herself.  She  does  not,  however,  read  with 
indifference,  nor  does  she  admit  of  the  truth  of  your  expression,  that  her  happiness  is  now 
forever  independent  of  your  circle.  That  can  never  be  so  long  as  we  are  inhabitants  of 
this  earth.  The  spheres,  indeed,  in  which  we  may  hereafter  move  may  nowhere  join,  but 
they  will  always  be  within  the  influence  of  each  other's  attraction.  Imagination,  and 
memory,  and  hope  you  know,  are  not  fettered  in  the  spot  on  which  we  live — neither  the 
Atlantic  nor  the  Alleghanies  could  obstruct  their  flight,  nor  prevent  their  being  trans- 
ported to  your  firesides  and  mingling  in  your  round  of  occupations  and  enjoyments; 
but  it  is  not  merely  from  their  illusions  that  we  should  derive  pleasure  or  pain.  The 
packets  from  Europe  would  certainly  not  be  objects  of  indifference,  and  in  the  domestic 
accounts  they  would  convey,  who  should  not  fail  to  find  what  would  most  powerfully 
operate  on  our  circle    .    .  . 

Several  concluding  lines  and  the  signature  of  Mr.  Emmet  are  wanting. 
The  letter  was  directed  to — "Mrs.  Holmes,  Dr.  Emmet's,  Miltown,  Dublin." 

The  only  letter  found  among  Mr.  Emmet's  papers  of  this  period  was  the 
first  draft  of  a  letter  to  an  old  friend  and  college-mate,  while  a  student  at 
Edinburgh,  Lord  Hope,  then  the  Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland,  and  was  as 
follows : 

Fort  George,  14th  of  December,  1801. 

My  dear  Lord, 

I  am  obliged  to  trouble  you  in  consequence  of  Mrs.  Emmet's  uneasiness,  from  a 
paragraph  which  she  read  in  a  public  paper  reporting  that  we  were  to  be  sent  to  Botany 
Bay.  If  you  have  any  reason  to  believe  that  the  report  is  without  foundation  you  will 
of  course  take  no  further  notice  of  the  contents  of  this  letter  than  what  your  kindness 
may  lead  you  to  do,  by  enabling  me  to  set  Mrs.  Emmet's  mind  at  ease.  If  you  entertain 
a  different  opinion  of  that  rumour,  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  read  the  following  detail, 
and  make  such  use  of  it  as  you  may  think  called  for  by  your  sense  of  national  honour 
and  public  faith.  I  will  not  add  to  these  motives  any  claims  of  private  friendship,  but 
leave  them  entirely  to  your  own  feelings. 

After  the  insurrection  had  lasted  for  some  time  in  Ireland,  a  negotiation  [as  we  have 
seen]  was  set  on  foot,  by  some  of  the  State  prisoners,  with  the  Government,  to  stop  the 
further  effusion  of  blood  on  the  scaffold  and  in  the  field.  In  the  course  of  that  business, 
a  proposal  was  made  by  Government,  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Secretary  Cooke  to  Mr.  Dobbs 
(who  was  the  organ  between  both  parties)  that  the  prisoners  should  consent  to  go  to  such 
country  as  should  be  pointed  out  to  them.  This  with  the  other  parts  of  the  proposal  was 
rejected  by  the  prisoners,  who,  however,  in  the  hope  that  matters  might  still  be  adjusted, 
appointed  deputies  to  communicate  directly  with  the  Government:  of  these  I  was  one. 

In  our  interview  with  Lord  Castlereagh,  the  chancellor,  and  Mr.  Cooke,  we  again 
objected  to  the  proposal — because  it  gave  us  no  negative  upon  the  country  to  which  we 
might  be  sent;  and  added  that  it  might  be  construed  as  if  Government  could  send  us  to 
Botany  Bay.  At  the  mention  of  that  place  Lord  Castlereagh  expressed  the  utmost  abhor- 
rence of  the  idea;  and  assured  us,  that  when  Government  made  the  proposal,  it  had  no 
worse  place  in  contemplation  than  the  United  States  of  America.  To  remove,  however, 
all  such  apprehensions,  it  consented  at  once  to  give  us  the  negative  we  required. 

There  was  an  expression  used  by  Lord  Clare,  at  that  interview,  which  will  never  be 
effaced  from  my  mind.  When  we  were  expressing  some  doubt  about  the  entire  execution 
of  the  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  as  our  part  of  it  was  to  be  first  per- 
formed, his  Lordship  said :  "Gentlemen,  it  comes  to  this — a  Government  that  broke  its 
faith  with  you  should  not  stand,  and  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  stand." 

I  have  now  stated  facts  on  my  own  authority,  which,  however,  I  am  not  afraid  of 


312  Government's  Broken  Pledge 


being  contradicted  in  any  quarter.  What  follows  I  can  give  you  on  the  authority  of  an 
act  of  Government.  We  entered  into  an  agreement,  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy,  and  in 
which  the  words,  relating  to  our  exile  are,  "To  emigrate  to  such  country  as  shall  be 
agreed  on  between  them  and  Government."  This  compact,  Government  fully  authenti- 
cated by  two  acts — first  they  sent  Mr.  Dobbs,  accompanied  by  popular  and  influential 
United  Irishmen,  to  whom  they  gave  papers  of  protection,  to  the  county  of  Wicklow, 
where  the  insurrection  still  continued,  to  make  the  insurgents  acquainted  with  it,  and  to 
persuade  them  to  come  in  under  it.  This  gentleman  and  his  companions  accordingly 
repaired  to  the  Marquis  of  Huntley's  and  General  Moore's  camp,  from  whence  they  went 
among  the  insurgents,  and  actually  persuaded  all  but  a  few  deserters,  for  whose  security 
they  would  not  pledge  themselves,  and  a  very  few  of  their  associates  to  submit.  In  the 
north,  General  Nugent,  the  commander  of  that  district,  published  our  agreement  in  a 
proclamation  which  he  issued  in  August,  1798,  and  called  upon  all  those  who  chose  to 
take  advantage  of  it  to  come  in  accordingly.  As  he  published  it  nearly  verbatim,  with 
some  of  the  names  annexed — among  which  was  mine — it  has  therefore  become  a  docu- 
ment incontestably  authenticated  by  Government.  After  these  transactions  an  act  of 
parliament  indeed  was  passed,  purporting  to  be  pursuant  to  an  agreement,  but  of  which 
I  shall  not  permit  myself  to  express  to  you  what  I  think  of  its  merits:  suffice  it  to  say,  it 
was  passed  when  we  were  all  kept  in  close  custody.  As  far  as  it  goes  beyond  the  agree- 
ment, it  plainly  contradicts  the  document  which  was  transmitted  by  Government  to 
General  Nugent,  and  authenticated  by  his  proclamation.  This  is  also  farther  to  be  said, 
that  those  who  signed  the  agreement  have  almost  all  (myself  and  my  fellow-prisoners  ex- 
cepted) been  either  allowed  to  remain  at  large  in  Ireland,  or  permitted  to  emigrate  to 
Germany,  Portugal,  or  America;  according  to  their  own  choice. 

This  statement  I  hope  you  will  not  think  too  long;  the  inferences  from  it  are  ob- 
vious. I  ask  only  for  that  for  which  I  and  my  fellow-prisoners  gave  a  very  important 
consideration,  and  to  which  Government  stands  pledged,  if  there  be  such  a  virtue  as 
public  faith. 

I  am  convinced  that  neither  Lord  Pelham,  nor  any  of  the  English  administration, 
can  be  acquainted  with  the  particulars  I  have  detailed  to  you,  if  there  be  any  intention 
of  acting  towards  us,  or  any  of  us,  in  a  manner  different  from  what  I  require. 

Believe  me,  &c, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

This  incident  has  been  presented  elsewhere,  showing  how  little  the  Gov- 
ernment regarded  the  obligation  of  good  faith ;  and  in  connection  with  Lord 
Clare's  expression  of  the  obligation,  the  quotation  from  the  letter  of  Marquis 
of  Buckingham  to  Lord  Grenville  will  be  read  with  interest.  This  letter  is 
dated,  "Dublin,  August  28th,  1798"  :— 

You  will  have  seen  the  details  of  the  debate  respecting  the  manifesto  of  Emmet, 
O'Connor  and  Macneven.  The  house  was  unanimous  (even  the  most  violent  anti-attainters) 
in  the  necessity  of  excepting  these  three  from  the  indemnity  and  giving  them  "up  to 
trial"  [packed  jury].  Lord  Castlereagh  was  the  only  dissenter,  which  between  ourselves 
is  not  very  wise ;  and  stated  that  they  had  been  immediately  confined  as  close  prisoners. 
This  manifesto  has  evidently  occasioned  very  great  ferment,  and  ought,  according  to  my 
poor  ideas,  to  be  pursued  at  the  overt  act  of  endeavouring  to  bring  the  King,  his  parlia- 
ment and  his  Government  into  odium  and  contempt;  which,  in  itself,  is  a  new  treason  to 
which  the  compact  of  the  Government  with  them  could  not  apply* 

Castlereagh  with  all  his  double  dealing  in  the  service  of  the  English 
Government  shows  now  and  again  some  appreciation  of  honesty  and  good 


•Report  on  the  manuscripts  of  J.  B.  Fortescue,  Esq.,  preserved  at  Dropmore,  Vol.  IV,  p.  290. 


Mr.  Emmet  to  His  Niece 


313 


faith,  while  Clare,  although  he  had,  as  shown  by  Mr.  Emmet's  letter,  claimed 
to  recognize  the  obligation,  never  offered  the  slightest  protest  to  the  expres- 
sion of  the  majority  on  this  occasion. 

Lord  Clare  may  have  been  the  more  sincere  and  honest  of  the  two,  for, 
as  already  stated,  Mr.  Emmet  alone  was  subjected  in  the  most  rigorous  solitary 
confinement  that  Trevor,  who,  as  he  asserted,  acted  under  orders  from  Castle- 
reagh,  could  devise.  No  time  was  lost  after  Mr.  Emmet's  arrest  and  convic- 
tion in  punishing  him  for  his  rejection  of  office  at  the  beginning  of  his  career, 
when  it  was  sought  to  make  him  a  Government  partisan.  That  he  did  not 
succumb  to  the  severity  of  his  treatment,  as  did  many  State  prisoners  who 
could  not  be  convicted,  was  due  solely  to  the  vigor  of  his  constitution.  By 
his  course  with  Mr.  Emmet  Castlereagh  showed  that  he  never  forgot  or  for- 
gave. It  may  have  been  the  remembrance  of  some  of  his  work  that  caused 
him  to  cut  his  own  throat  after  gaining  everything  he  had  aspired  to. 

Among  one  of  the  last  letters  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  before  leaving  Fort 
George  was  one  to  his  niece,  Miss  Emmet,  the  daughter  of  his  brother  Temple. 
This  was  forwarded  to  the  government  authorities  to  be  sent  to  its  destina- 
tion. By  some  means  it  came  into  Major  Sirr's  possession,  who  held  it  as  one 
of  the  "curiosities"  of  his  collection,  as  has  been  stated.  By  this  act  Major 
Sirr  deprived  Mr.  Emmet's  family  of  any  knowledge  of  his  movements  for 
several  years,  while  the  war  continued  between  France  and  England. 

Fort  George,  30th  May,  1802. 

My  dearest  Kitty, 

I  sit  down  to  write  you  a  few  lines  in  acknowledgment  of  yours  of  the  13th  inst, 
which  I  only  received  last  Monday.  Our  correspondence  has  of  late  considerably  slack- 
ened in  consequence  of  our  suspense  and  want  of  subject  matter,  but  as  the  fault  may  be 
in  some  measure  my  own,  I  feel  it  necessary  not  to  let  slip  this  post,  though  no  better 
furnished  with  epistolary  material  than  heretofore,  and  particularly  as  I  find  that  Jane's 
occupation  as  a  nurse  will  greatly  interfere  with  her  punctuality  as  a  correspondent. 
I  have  no  doubt  of  the  pleasure  which  you  and  my  other  friends  felt  at  hearing  of  her 
safe  delivery,  and  both  she  and  I  have  to  compliment  and  thank  you  for  the  very  gallant, 
elegant,  and  if  I  did  not  know  the  sincerity  of  your  affection,  I  should  say  flattering  man- 
ner in  which  you  spoke  of  her.  You  are  not  much  mistaken  when  you  suppose  the  new- 
comer to  be  a  favourite,  but  both  you  and  the  objects  of  our  love  may  rest  assured  she 
will  never  supersede  or  weaken  our  previously  formed  and  well  grounded  affection. 
She  must  be  content  to  fall  into  her  place  at  the  end  of  the  train,  unless  she  can  hereafter 
produce  better  pretensions  to  preference  than  her  name. 

My  mother,  I  find  is  so  much  at  a  loss  to  account  for  our  remaining  here,  that  she 
thinks  the  delay  may  have  been  caused  by  waiting  till  Jane  should  be  able  to  travel.  If  I 
thought  that  were  the  cause  I  should  indeed  be  vexed  at  detaining  so  many  others;  but  I 
am  convinced,  and  so  may  she,  that  what  ever  may  have  occasioned  our  protracted  con- 
finement, it  had  no  connection  with  Jane's  situation.  Government  knew  perfectly  well 
that  she  has  been  able  to  travel  perfectly  well  long  since.  Though  we  are  here  on  the 
Borders  of  the  highland,  we  are  in  a  bad  place  for  executing  my  father's  commission  of 
plaids — Sterling  being  the  place  where  they  are  manufactured  in  the  greatest  variety. 
We  will,  however,  discharge  it  to  the  best  of  our  power  whenever  we  have  an  oppor- 
tunity.   You  will  easily  perceive  that  I  have  written  this  in  a  great  hurry;  the  fact  is,  I 


314 


Release  from  Fort  George 


have  had  scarcely  time  to  finish  it,  and  can  assure  you,  and  all  our  friends  at  home,  of 
the  sincere  affection  of  this  family — 

Ever  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Monday: — I  have  just  heard  from  such  authority  as  leaves  no  question  that  we  are 
shortly  to  be  sent  in  a  King's  ship  to  Hamburgh.  I  can  state  nothing  more  particularly  at 
present,  but  must  request  an  immediate  remittance  of  flOO. 

Mr.  Emmet  also  wrote  a  few  lines  to  his  sister : 

My  dearest  Maryanne, 

I  can  only  write  you  a  few  lines  at  present,  as  I  deferred  doing  it  last  night  owing  to 
a  severe  cold  in  my  head,  which  made  stooping  disagreeable,  and  this  morning  I  have  no 
time  to  write  at  any  length.  Indeed  Robert  [his  son]  undertook  to  relieve  me  this  time 
by  writing  to  Kitty. 

(Miss  Emmet,  Dr.  Emmet's,  Miltown,  Dublin.) 

The  following  letter  from  the  Governor  was  addressed  to  the  State 
Prisoners — : 

Fort  George,  31st  May,  1802. 

Gentlemen, 

As  it  may  be  of  consequence  to  your  private  concerns  I  lose  no  time  in  informing  you 
(although  I  cannot  do  so  officially)  that  I  have  very  good  grounds  for  saying  that  I 
believe  a  pardon  is  now  making  out  by  Government,  upon  the  condition  specified  in  the 
Irish  Act  of  Pardon  and  Banishment,  and  that  as  soon  as  it  is  completed  a  King's  ship 
will  be  sent  to  some  convenient  port  to  conduct  the  gentlemen  to  Hamburg.  Although  I 
am  not  warranted  to  give  this  information  officially,  I  am  very  certain  of  the  fact,  and 
the  gentlemen  will  make  what  use  they  judge  proper  of  the  communication. 

I  am,  gentlemen, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Stuart,  Lt.  Gov. 

To  the  State  Prisoners  at  Fort  George. 

Continued  influence  to  effect  the  release  of  the  State  prisoners  was  exerted 
during  a  long  period,  until  at  length  the  British  Government  decided  to  release 
them,  after  having  kept  them  in  custody  for  four  years  in  direct  violation  of 
their  agreement.  When  the  warrant  directing  the  discharge  of  the  prisoners 
by  name  was  received  from  Eondon,  it  was  found  that  Mr.  Emmet's  name  had 
been  omitted,  and  this  was  done  doubtless  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  him 
prisoner  for  an  indefinite  period  and  was  probably  Castlereagh's  work.  Gov- 
ernor Stuart  sent  for  Mr.  Emmet,  and  after  relating  the  circumstance,  said: 
"Mr.  Emmet,  you  shall  go;  I  will  take  all  hazards  and  all  responsibility.  You 
shall  go  to-morrow  with  the  rest  of  the  prisoners,  and  I  will  stand  between 
you  and  the  Government".  It  is  believed  that  this  noble  act  cost  Governor 
Stuart  his  place,  as  he  was  removed  from  his  position  a  short  time  afterwards. 


National  independence  by  no  means  necessarily  leads  to  national  virtue  and  happiness, 
bat  reason  and  experience  demonstrate  that  public  virtue  and  general  happiness  are 
absolutely  incomparable  tvith  a  state  of  provincial  subjection. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Whenever  a  clashing  of  interest  between  the  two  islands  was  perceived  or  apprehended, 
Ireland  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  overbearing  ascendancy  of  an  insatiable  and  jealous 
rival.  Her  commerce  was  fettered,  her  manufactures  surrendered,  her  raw  material 
delivered  over,  her  population  drained,  her  resources  exhausted,  her  agriculture 
neglected — all  to  aggrandize  the  power  from  which  her  government  was  derived, 
and  with  which  her  governors  are  connected. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XVII 

Review  of  Mr.  Emmet's  relation  with  the  Government  during  his  imprisonment — Dr. 
Macneven's  statement — Pitt's  effort  to  force  the  Irish  people  into  rebellion — Cruel  and 
barbarous  treatment  of  the  Irish  people — The  Society  of  the  United  Irishmen  contained 
over  half  a  million  sworn  members — These  were  held  from  outbreak  for  over  eighteen 
months  during  the  period  Mr.  Emmet  was  at  the  head  of  the  organization — He  received 
the  support  of  all  the  leaders  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  O'Connor — Mr.  Emmet  was 
opposed  to  receiving  aid  from  France,  as  he  believed  that  Ireland  would  thereby  become  a 
French  province — Mr.  Emmet  expected  to  bring  about  the  needed  reforms  through  the 
influence  exercised  by  the  number  enrolled  in  favor  of  these  reforms — As  Mr.  Emmet 
could  not  be  bribed  or  his  influence  weakened  with  the  people,  he  and  all  the  leaders  were 
arrested  without  evidence  to  convict  them,  and  with  new  leaders  in  favor  of  open  rebellion 
at  the  head  of  the  United  Irishmen,  Pitt  was  able  to  carry  his  wish  with  regard  to 
establishing  the  Union  with  England — The  Government  feared  Mr.  Emmet's  influence 
too  much  to  release  him,  but  did  all  in  its  power  to  underrate  his  influence  with  the 
people,  as  well  as  his  importance  as  a  leader — An  obscure  reference  made,  indicating  that 
Mr.  Emmet  may  have  written  something  which  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Government 
from  the  search  made  of  the  quarters  of  the  United  Irishmen — This  seems  only  possible 
in  case  the  manuscript  of  the  Memoir  addressed  to  the  Hon.  Charles  James  Fox,  was 
returned  to  Mr.  Emmet  before  the  book  was  bound,  which  was  suppressed  by  the  Govern- 
ment and  possibly  destroyed.  It  shows  how  this  communication  to  Mr.  Fox  and  a  portion 
of  Irish  history  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  now  form  the  opening  pages  of  this  volume. 

It  is  held  by  the  author  that  Mr.  Emmet  was  a  more  important  man  as  a  leader  in  the 
Rebellion  of  1798,  than  the  English  Government  has  allowed  it  to  appear. 


T  becomes  necessary  here  to  pass  in  review  Mr.  Emmet's 
status  with  the  Government  prior  to  his  release  from 
imprisonment  and  the  spiteful  and  unrelenting  punish- 
ment which  accompanied  it.  That  Mr.  Emmet  was  sub- 
jected to  a  course  of  treatment  different  from  that 
received  by  the  other  Irish  leaders  seems  to  have  attracted 
no  attention,  and  to  have  been  unknown  except  to  his 
family. 

To  the  writer's  knowledge  all  the  older  members 
of  his  family  were  able  to  recall  hearing  in  their  childhood  that  the 

315 


316 


Pitt's  Policy 


Government  hated  their  father  and  treated  him  cruelly.  He  can  also 
remember  in  his  early  manhood  that  Dr.  Macneven  had  stated  shortly 
before  his  death  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  been  punished  by  the  Government 
for  the  writing  of  some  paper.  Unfortunately  the  circumstances  calling 
forth  the  statement,  as  well  as  all  means  by  which  the  special  paper, 
claimed  to  have  given  offence,  could  now  be  identified,  have  been  forgotten. 
While  it  is  possible  that  the  writing  of  some  such  paper  influenced  the  treat- 
ment he  received,  the  author's  investigations  have  fully  satisfied  him  that  the 
chief  cause  was  the  vindictive  feeling  entertained  towards  Mr.  Emmet  by 
Pitt  and  the  Irish  Government  for  refusing  to  accept  office  as  a  bribe.  He 
alone  of  all  the  Irish  leaders  was  able  to  exercise  influence  enough  to  restrain 
the  people  from  open  rebellion  and  this  influence  he  exerted  for  over  a  year. 

There  can  no  longer  exist  a  doubt  that  after  the  recall  of  the  Viceroy,  Lord 
Fitzwilliam,  Pitt,  the  British  Minister,  determined  to  bring  about  a  "Union" 
between  Ireland  and  England,  at  any  cost.  His  purpose  could  not  have  been 
accomplished  by  either  English  legislation  or  brute  force,  for  the  world  at 
large  would  have  denounced  the  open  use  of  both  in  the  case  of  Ireland,  which 
was  recognized  as  a  separate  kingdom.  But  the  craft  of  Pitt  dictated  the 
method  by  which  the  Irish  people  themselves  should  be  forced  to  bring  about 
the  Union  and  their  doing  so  appear  a  voluntary  action.  What  Pitt  desired 
was  at  length  accomplished,  but  only  after  the  country,  by  means  of  the  most 
brutal  cruelty,  had  been  forced  into  open  rebellion.  After  over  one  hundred 
thousand  men,  women  and  children  had  been  slaughtered  in  an  apparent  effort 
to  exterminate  the  Irish  race  (for  the  English  soldiers  were  instructed  to 
bring  in  no  prisoners,  and  comparatively  few  were  killed  in  battle),  the  tacit 
consent  of  the  exhausted  people  was  gained.  Then,  to  give  the  transaction  a 
pinchbeck  glaze  of  legality,  through  the  illegal  action  of  the  Irish  Parliament, 
in  a  body  where  the  people  had  no  representation,  the  so-called  "Act  of  Union" 
was  passed,  but  only  after  every  voter  had  been  bribed  by  English  agents, 
with  misappropriated  Irish  money;  and,  by  means  of  corruption,  in  violation 
of  every  precept  of  the  Decalogue.  This  was  all  accomplished  under  the 
direction  of  Pitt,  who  certainly  laid  no  claim  to  having  employed  moral  suasion 
in  the  course  of  his  political  life.  Yet  the  English  people  to  this  day,  an 
avowedly  civilized  and  God-fearing  race,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Pharisee,  justify 
the  course  of  their  government  in  Ireland  during  1798  and  the  ensuing  years 
to  establish  the  devil's  bond,  claimed  by  the  English  to  be  a  "Union"  between 
the  two  countries. 

The  Society  or  Union  of  United  Irishmen  contained  over  half  a  million 
men,  the  greater  portion  of  whom  were  initiated,  through  the  influence,  direct 
or  indirect,  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet ;  hence  he  was  known  to  a  greater  number 
of  individuals  than  any  other  leader  in  the  organization,  and  his  personal  in- 
fluence even  among  those  who  were  not  immediately  connected  with  the  United 
Irishmen  was  not  equalled  by  any  other  man  in  Ireland.  It  is  not  known  that 
Mr.  Emmet  had  anything  whatever  to  do  with  the  beginning  of  the 
organization.    This  work  was  accomplished  by  Tone,  Neilson  and  others 


Mr.  Emmet  and  Insurrection 


317 


in  Belfast.  But  it  is  known  beyond  question  that  at  an  early  day  and 
for  several  years  before  he  took  the  oath  as  a  United  Irishman,  he  was  secretly 
busy  in  organizing  new  branches ;  and  after  he  became  a  member  he  continued 
this  special  service  of  initiating  new  members,  that  as  far  as  was  possible  the 
other  leaders  should  be  unknown  to  the  spy  and  informer  who  joined  and  had 
to  be  sworn  in.  The  early  policy  of  the  United  Irishmen  in  trusting  to  peace- 
ful measures  was  adhered  to  until  Mr.  Emmet's  arrest.  It  was  believed  that 
through  his  influence  their  purpose  could  be  accomplished  without  loss  of  life, 
but,  through  the  influence  exerted  by  the  large  numbers  of  the  enrolled  mem- 
bers, all  were  ready  to  resort  to  arms  in  case  this  course  became  finally  neces- 
sary. 

It  was  thought  that  after  the  great  majority  of  Irishmen  had  been  enrolled, 
the  English  would  not  dare  to  refuse  to  make  the  reforms  demanded.  During 
the  examination  of  the  members  of  the  Directory  after  their  imprisonment,  it 
was  stated  that  there  would  have  been  no  outbreak  save  for  the  action  of  the 
Government  in  arresting  the  leaders  who  were  able  to  keep  the  people  in  check. 

At  no  time  did  Mr.  Emmet  advocate  an  outbreak  against  the  English  Gov- 
ernment, for  he  regarded  it  as  a  hopeless  undertaking,  unless  aided  by  France. 
He  only  altered  his  opinion  after  the  Government  had  resorted  to  every  means 
in  forcing  rebellion,  whereupon  he  became  an  advocate  of  total  separation  from 
England,  and  the  creation  of  a  republican  form  of  government  for  Ireland. 
This  was  to  be  attempted  as  soon  as  an  arrangement  could  be  made  with  France 
whereby  the  number  of  French  landing  in  Ireland  should  be  limited.  Mr. 
Emmet  feared  that  without  some  restriction  Ireland  would  be  made  a  French 
province,  and  all  rights  of  the  Irish  people  would  be  disregarded.  Before  any 
plan  had  been  devised  by  which  the  two  countries  could  act  together  simply  as 
allies,  the  English  Government  forced  the  issue  by  arresting  all  the  Irish 
leaders. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven  and  Mr.  Arthur  O'Connor  be- 
came United  Irishmen  they  were  elected,  together  with  two  others  who  refused 
to  serve,  as  members  of  the  executive  directory,  and  by  the  vote  of  Mr.  O'Con- 
nor and  Dr.  Macneven,  Mr.  Emmet  became  the  head  of  the  whole  organization. 
Soon  finding  that  he  could  not  dictate  the  management  and  policy  of  the  society, 
Mr.  O'Connor  took  no  further  interest  in  its  affairs  beyond  opposing  to  the  ex- 
tent of  his  limited  influence  every  effort  made  by  Mr.  Emmet.  For  nearly 
eighteen  months,  with  the  devoted  aid  of  his  colleague,  Dr.  Macneven,  Mr. 
Emmet  labored  and  finally  succeeded  in  influencing  the  exasperated  members 
of  the  organization  throughout  the  country,  thus  checking  the  expected  out- 
break. There  were  many  like  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,  the  commander  of  the 
military  portion  of  the  organization,  who  had  no  faith  in  any  effort  but  a  mili- 
tary one,  yet  so  great  was  the  confidence  in  Mr.  Emmet  that  all  but  Mr.  O'Con- 
nor willingly  yielded  their  individual  judgment  as  to  the  time  and  mode  of 
action  to  that  of  their  chief. 

Mr.  Emmet's  extensive  influence  and  its  effect  were  well  known  to  the  Gov- 
ernment.   As  its  action  had  long  defeated  every  effort  to  force  a  rebellion, 


318 


Government's  Fear  of  Emmet 


Pitt,  Lord  Castlereagh  and  Lord  Clare  would  have  gladly  availed  themselves 
of  the  slightest  evidence  for  getting  him  out  of  the  way  by  means  of  the  hang- 
man's rope.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  case  would  have  been  easily 
managed  with  a  "devil's  brief"  and  a  packed  jury.  But  Mr.  Emmet  was  a  man 
of  too  extensive  an  influence,  and  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  law  and  fear- 
less nature  made  him  one  who  was  not  to  be  trifled  with  or  restrained  save  by 
strictly  legal  measures.  Under  these  circumstances  the  Government  long  feared 
to  take  any  step,  but  at  length,  apparently  regardless  of  consequences  and 
blinded  by  determination  to  command  the  situation  at  all  hazards,  it  ordered  a 
general  arrest,  despite  the  fact  that  it  was  not  in  possession  of  the  slightest 
evidence  on  which  any  leader  could  be  legally  condemned. 

As"was  anticipated,  the  direction  of  the  United  Irishmen  immediately  passed 
into  other  hands,  and  in  less  than  a  week  the  whole  country  was  in  a  condition 
of  disorder.  Several  of  the  leaders  were  at  once  placed  on  trial  and  put  to 
death  ;  on  perjured  evidence  and  by  a  packed  jury,  was  the  assertion  of  the  Irish 
people.  Among  those  condemned  to  death  was  Mr.  Bond,  a  man  whose  in- 
fluence was  feared  by  the  Government  almost  as  much  as  that  of  his  friend, 
Mr.  Emmet.  As  determined  at  the  time  of  his  trial,  all  the  Irish  State  prison- 
ers who,  without  legal  evidence  of  their  guilt,  were  confined  in  Dublin  prisons, 
were  allowed,  before  the  day  of  execution,  to  come  to  an  understanding  with 
the  Government,  the  chief  provision  of  which  was  the  cessation  of  the  slaughter 
of  the  people.  By  this  means  Mr.  Bond's  life  was  to  have  been  spared,  but  the 
plan  was  frustrated  by  his  sudden  death.  The  Government,  as  has  been  stated, 
gave  the  cause  as  apoplexy,  but  common  belief  ascribed  it  to  poison. 

From  the  time  of  Mr.  Emmet's  arrest  he  was  subjected  to  the  ill-will  of  the 
Government,  and  the  feeling  towards  him  was  particularly  indicated  by  sys- 
tematic and  unceasing  misrepresentation  of  his  work  and  influence  with  the 
people,  until  eventually  this  view  of  him  became  accepted  by  the  world  in 
general.  The  course  of  the  Government  was  dictated  only  by  the  desire  to 
weaken  Mr.  Emmet's  influence  with  the  people.  Since,  with  no  evidence  of 
treason  against  him,  he  could  not  be  put  to  death,  his  release  from  prison  must 
have  followed  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  his  undiminished  influence  with  the 
people  caused  the  Government  to  act  with  its  customary  bad  faith  and  to  hold 
him  in  close  confinement  for  years. 

As  has  been  shown,  the  members  of  the  Directory  were  subjected  to  a 
special  examination,  before  a  committee  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  and 
another  from  the  House  of  Lords.  This  was  undertaken  with  the  hope 
of  thus  gaining  some  evidence  against  the  prisoners,  from  a  memorial  to  Gov- 
ernment prepared  by  Emmet,  O'Connor  and  Dr.  Macneven,  acting  as  a  commit- 
tee appointed  by  the  other  prisoners.  As  Mr.  Emmet  had  been  requested  by 
them  to  prepare  the  paper,  Mr.  O'Connor  had  taken  no  part  in  its  compila- 
tion; but  when  the  time  came  to  sign  it  Neilson,  Sweetman  and  others,  friends 
of  Mr.  Emmet,  persuaded  Mr.  O'Connor  to  be  the  first  to  attach  his  name. 
In  this  manner  his  vanity  was  appeased,  and  he  remained  a  nominal  member 
of  the  committee,  but  thenceforth  Mr.  Emmet  and  Dr.  Macneven  were  con- 


"  O'Connor's  Manifesto  " 


319 


vinced  that  Mr.  O'Connor  had  made  his  peace  with  the  Government  and  that 
he  took  no  further  interest  in  Ireland's  welfare,  if  indeed  he  was  not  afterward 
a  spy  in  the  Government  employ. 

Mr.  Emmet  also  believed  that  Mr.  O'Connor  was  sent  as  an  ostensible  pris- 
oner with  himself  and  others  to  Fort  George,  his  purpose  being  to  secure  some 
evidence  on  which  Mr.  Emmet  could  be  brought  to  trial  and  convicted.  Fortu- 
nately Mr.  Emmet's  character  and  understanding  were  such  that  much  more 
than  a  mere  claim  to  the  possession  of  such  evidence  would  have  been  neces- 
sary to  win  credence.  Mr.  O'Connor  doubtless  informed  the  authorities  that 
he  had  nothing  to  do  with  writing  the  paper  and  had  only  signed  it  for  the 
sake  of  appearances,  but  in  order  to  lessen  Mr.  Emmet's  prestige  the  authori- 
ties gave  Mr.  O'Connor  all  the  credit  for  its  composition.  This  document, 
which  was  fully  appreciated  and  regarded  as  being  most  valuable  from  an 
historical  standpoint,  is  still  officially  recorded  as  "O'Connor's  Manifesto". 

The  Government  soon  after  issued  as  an  official  report  a  statement  so  de- 
void of  truth  that  the  State  prisoners  replied  at  once  with  an  indignant  denial. 
As  though  Government  had  never  before  been  accused  of  such  a  procedure, 
as  that  with  which  they  were  charged  by  the  prisoners,  many  members  of 
Parliament,  overcome  with  a  sense  of  rectitude,  which  they  found  difficult  to 
formulate,  demanded  that  the  prisoners  should  be  immediately  put  to  death 
or  otherwise  severely  punished.  It  was  officially  stated  that  all  the  prisoners 
were  thereupon  placed  in  solitary  confinement  on  bread  and  water.  This  state- 
ment was  based  on  the  fact  that,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Emmet,  all  were 
confined  to  the  range  of  their  rooms,  but  subject  to  no  other  inconvenience. 

Mr.  Emmet,  however,  was  placed  in  a  dungeon  beneath  the  prison,  scarcely 
long  enough  for  him  to  stretch  out  in  at  full  length  and  in  total  darkness  ex- 
cept when  once  a  day  the  door  was  opened,  admitting  sufficient  light  to  show 
a  person  standing  within.  Here  he  was  confined  for  nearly  two  months  on 
bread  and  water,  which  on  no  day  was  in  sufficient  quantity  to  fully  satisfy 
his  hunger  or  thirst.  The  brutal  turnkey  would  place  it  anywhere  on  the 
floor,  and  he  seldom  withdrew  without  cursing  his  prisoner  for  some  paper 
he  had  written.  This  circumstance,  as  held  by  family  tradition,  has  always 
puzzled  the  writer,  as  he  knew  of  no  paper  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  in  relation 
to  the  Government  but  that  which  the  reader  has  already  seen.  But  this  had, 
at  least  in  the  beginning,  been  received  as  a  valuable  contribution  on  the  his- 
torical condition  of  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Emmet  had  certainly,  until  after  his  ex- 
amination, been  treated  with  courtesy.  The  reader  will  recall  that  on  the  day 
of  the  publication  of  the  circular  the  Government  demanded  that  the  prisoners 
should  publish  a  full  denial  of  their  previous  statement,  but  this  they  peremp- 
torily refused  to  make.  They  were  then  informed  that  if  they  published  any- 
thing more  for  the  public,  general  slaughter  and  executions  throughout  the 
country  would  immediately  be  resorted  to,  and  by  this  threat  the  prisoners 
were  silenced  and  compelled  to  hold  their  peace  until  after  their  release. 

It  is  possible  that  at  this  juncture  Mr.  Emmet  prepared  in  the  name  of  the 
prisoners,  some  communication  to  the  Government,  which  was  immediately  sup- 


320 


Report  of  Emmet's  Examination 


pressed  and  which  caused  him  thenceforth  to  be  the  special  victim  of  the  en- 
mity of  the  Irish  officials. 

Within  a  recent  period  the  author  made  careful  examination  of  the  pages 
of  the  "Dublin  Journal"  for  1798,  the  official  vehicle  for  the  publication  of  all 
notices  and  documents.  From  the  great  variety  in  style  it  seems  evident  that 
different  writers  were  detailed  to  this  paper  for  the  purpose  of  creating  public 
opinion,  as  well  as  to  supply  misleading  information  under  any  circumstances. 
In  it  was  found  the  full  and  what  must  be  accepted  as  the  only  official  report 
of  the  incidents  which  have  just  been  under  review.  This  report  contains  an 
obscure  reference  which  may  possibly  allude  to  another  paper : 

August  23,  1798.  In  the  Irish  House  of  Commons,  Lord  Castlereagh  presented  a 
report  from  the  Secret  Committee. — Arthur  O'Connor  and  Dr.  Macneven  as  Secretaries 
of  the  Executive  Directory  of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen  had  already  been  twice 
before  the  Committee. 

The  following  is  the  official  report,  as  taken  from  the  "Dublin  Journal" : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Barrister  at  Law,  in  addition  to  the  testimony  in  which  he 
detailed  the  same  facts  as  the  other  witnesses  confessed  "that  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Directory  of  the  Union,  being  appointed  in  January,  1797,  and  continued  till 
May  in  the  same  year;  and  afterwards  from  his  being  re-elected  in  January,  1798,  until 
the  time  of  his  arrest.  The  first  communication  with  France  which  came  to  his  immediate 
knowledge  was  in  April,  1797,  when  in  order  to  establish  a  constant  intercourse  with  the 
French  Directory,  an  agent  was  sent  from  Ireland  to  reside  in  France,  where  he  still 
continues. 

"He  knew  that  France  sent  to  this  country  assurance  of  her  assistance,  etc.,  that 
it  became  necessary  to  apply  to  France  for  a  larger  quantity  of  arms  than  were  promised 
at  first,  in  order  to  supply  those  given  up  to  the  government.  He  was  certain  that  France 
gave  assurance  that  the  Armament  in  the  Texel  in  the  summer  of  1797  was  intended  to 
come  to  Ireland,  and  that  a  promise  of  assistance  in  April,  1798,  was  made  by  the 
Directory.  .  .  .  He  accounts  for  the  loyalty  of  the  lower  orders  in  Munster  during 
the  Bantry  Bay  invasion,  by  the  Union  having  taken  no  pains  to  prepare  their  minds  for 
the  French,  as  they  had  been  amused  with  contradictory  accounts  from  France,  and  it 
was  always  determined  to  avoid  an  insurrection  until  the  French  should  come,  had  not  the 
severe  measures  adopted  in  Kildare  by  the  King's  Ministers  urged  the  alternative  of 
rising  or  yielding  up  the  cause.  He  believed  had  they  waited  until  the  French  came,  the 
rising  would  have  been  more  general  and  more  formidable. 

"It  was  intended  to  raise  a  general  fund  for  the  service  of  the  Union  by  the  confisca- 
tion of  the  Church  property,  and  that  of  all  of  those  who  did  not  join  them ;  the  persons 
of  the  latter,  if  they  did  not  actually  oppose  the  Union,  were  to  be  only  held  as  hostages 
until  it  would  be  convenient  to  transport  them ;  and  their  wives,  if  they  were  not  hostile  to 
the  new  order  of  things,  were  to  be  supported  by  a  stipend  out  of  their  husband's 
property — the  rest  belonged  to  the  Republic. 

"He  is  persuaded  that  the  bulk  of  the  people  do  not  care  about  or  understand  Reform 
and  Emancipation,  but  they  are  become  anxious  for  them,  having  been  told  that  they  lead 
to  the  abolition  of  tythes.  It  was  determined  to  have  no  Ecclesiastical  Establishment,  nor 
any  distinction  of  Rank. 

"Witness  being  asked  as  to  the  practicability  of  Ireland  being  a  separate  State  from 
Great  Britain,  when  she  had  not  means  to  build  a  Navy,  and  must  be  dependent  upon 
England  for  the  mere  article  of  coals.  He  replied  that  he  thought  Ireland  was  fully 
able  to  stand  alone  as  an  Independent  Republic ;  her  wealth  and  population  had  infinitely 
increased  within  the  last  century,  and  though  she  might  be  much  crippled  by  the  Fleets 


Prisoners  denounce  Government  Report 


and  Power  of  England,  yet  the  strength  of  the  British  Navy  would  soon  fall  when 
Ireland  ceased  to  act  with  Great  Britain;  and  as  to  the  article  of  fuel,  the  extension  of 
Inland  Navigation  would  soon  remove  the  necessity  of  importation. 

"It  appeared  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  all  these  witnesses,  that  as  every  individual 
concealed  his  own  arms,  no  depot  or  collection  of  arms  for  the  Union  existed". 

(Such  is  our  faint  sketch  of  the  most  important  State  paper  which  has  for  many  years 
been  made  public.  We  have  already  said  that  it  occupied  two  hours  in  the  reading;  it  is 
therefore  obvious  that  the  above  must  be  a  very  brief  extract,  but  our  desire  to  present 
as  early  as  possible  to  the  public  a  document  of  such  importance,  has  induced  us  to  hazard 
perhaps  a  very  imperfect  but  we  trust  an  honest  Report.  We  hope  soon  to  be  able  to  give 
it  in  its  more  authentic  form.) 

In  the  "Dublin  Journal"  of  September  S',  1798,  the  following  report  appears : 

Irish  Parliament 
House  of  Commons — Friday,  Sept.  7,  1798 

A  Message  was  brought  from  the  Lords ;  it  was  the  Report  of  their  Lordships'  Second 
Secret  Committee,  and  was  as  follows : 

"The  Lords'  Committees  appointed  to  examine  the  matter  of  the  sealed  up  Papers 
received  from  the  Commons  on  the  23d  of  July  last,  and  to  report  the  same  as  they  shall 
appear  to  them  to  this  House;  having  seen  an  Advertisement  in  the  public  prints  signed 
Arthur  O'Connor,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  William  James  McNeven  in  the  following 
words.  'Having  read  in  the  different  Newspapers,  publications  pretending  to  be  Abstracts 
of  the  Report  of  the  Secret  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  four  Depositions 
before  the  Committee  of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  we  feel  ourselves  called  upon  to  assure 
the  public,  that  they  are  gross  and  to  us  astonishing  Misrepresentations,  not  only  un- 
supported by,  but  in  many  instances  directly  contradictory  to  the  facts  we  really  stated 
on  these  occasions.  We  further  assure  our  friends  that  in  no  instance  did  the  name  of 
any  individual  escape  from  us;  on  the  contrary,  we  always  refused  answering  such  ques- 
tions as  might  tend  to  implicate  any  person  whatever,  conformably  to  the  Agreement 
entered  into  by  the  State  Prisoners  with  Government. 

Arthur  O'Connor, 
'Thomas  Addis  Emmet, 
'William  James  McNeven,* 
"have  thought  it  their  duty  to  examine  the  said  Arthur  O'Connor,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet, 
and  William  James  McNeven,  with  respect  to  such  Advertisement,  to  the  end  that  it 
might  be  ascertained  whether  they  or  any  of  them  intended  to  contradict  or  retract  any- 
thing which  they  had  heretofore  deposed  before  your  Committee.   And  your  Committee 
subjoin  the  several  Examinations  on  Oath  of  the  said  Arthur  O'Connor,  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet  and  William  James  McNeven,  this  day  made  and  signed  by  them  respectively 
upon  that  subject,  as  follows,  viz." 

Then  follows  the  deposition  of  Arthur  O'Connor  and  Dr.  Macneven  which 
does  not  differ  essentially  from  Emmet's,  viz. : — 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.,  Sworn,  Admits  that  the  Advertisement  which  appeared 
in  the  "Hibernian  Journal  and  Saunders'  News  Letter"  of  Monday,  the  27th  of  August 
last,  under  the  signatures  of  Arthur  O'Connor,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  William  James 
McNeven,  was  published  by  their  authority; — says  he  does  not  mean  to  contradict  any- 
thing stated  by  him  before  this  Committee  or  the  Secret  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons— but  is  willing  to  authenticate  the  whole  of  the  evidence  which  he  gave  on  those 


*Macneven  is  Irish  and  so  spelt  always  by  the  family — the  government  and  the  English  papers  have 
always  given  McNeven. 


322         Indignation  of  the  "Dublin  Journal" 


occasions  in  any  manner  that  may  be  thought  fit. — Declares  that  the  said  Advertisement 
alluded  solely  to  Misrepresentations  in  the  Newspapers — says  that  he  has  read  the 
evidence  stated  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Report  of  the  Secret  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  as  having  been  given  by  him  before  that  committee,  and  admits  that  the 
evidence  so  stated  expresses  nothing  but  the  Truth,  but  omits  many  reasons  which 
he  gave  in  justification  of  his  own  conduct  and  of  that  of  the  Members  of  the  Union 
at  large. — Says  he  does  not  mean  to  contradict  anything  which  has  been  so  reported  with 
respect  to  the  Military  Organization  of  the  United  Irishmen  in  this  Kingdom,  of  the 
Nature  or  object  of  it,  which  was,  after  they  had  despaired  of  obtaining  a  Reform  in 
Parliament  by  peaceful  means,  to  effect  a  Revolution  by  subverting  the  Monarchy,  separat- 
ing this  country  from  Great  Britain  and  erecting  such  Government  in  Ireland  as  might 
be  chosen  by  the  People. — Says  he  does  not  mean  to  contradict  the  Details  given  in  the 
said  Report  of  the  Correspondence  and  connection  of  the  Irish  Union  with  the  Govern- 
ment of  France,  as  far  as  he  has  any  knowledge  thereof,  and  which  Details  he  so  far 
admits  to  be  accurate.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

The  "Dublin  Journal"  of  March  13,  1798,  after  giving  the  usual  account 

of  the  arrest  of  the  delegates  at  Bond's  house,  states: 

At  the  same  time  we  understand  Dr.  McNeven  was  apprehended  at  his  lodgings 
near  the  Four  Courts ;  Counsellor  Emmet  in  Stephen's  Green,  John  Sweetman  in  Francis 
Street  and  Henry  Jackson  and  Son  in  Church  Street. 

From  the  "Dublin  Journal" — Tuesday,  August  28th,  1789. — 

As  the  best  answer  to  an  insulting  advertisement  signed  by  three  confessed  Traitors, 
McNeven,  O'Connor  and  Emmet,  we  have  this  day  inserted  the  full  and  authentic  Report 
of  that  evidence  which  they  have  endeavoured  to  deny  by  a  cowardly  insinuation,  truly 
characteristic  of  the  whole  tenor  of  their  conduct. 

The  indecency  of  a  publication,  signed  by  three  confessed  Traitors  which  appeared 
in  the  Morning  Prints  of  yesterday,  notwithstanding  the  notorious  characters  of  the 
parties,  we  own  astonished  us.  Of  what  class  in  Ireland  are  their  friends  whom  these 
Traitors  think  it  necessary  to  address?  Do  they  consist  of  the  outstanding  Traitors,  or 
those  admitted  to  mercy?  Or  do  they  hope  that  it  may  reach  and  animate  the  invading 
foe,  with  whom  by  their  own  confessions,  they  have  long  secretly  corresponded? 
Wretched  men !  have  you  not  been  satisfied  with  the  blood  you  have  been  the  principal 
cause  of  spilling?  Have  you  no  gratitude  for  the  mercy  extended  to  you?  Consider 
your  situation;  your  discomfited  ranks,  thinned  by  the  valour  of  Irish  loyalists,  have 
implored  and  received  pardon;  do  you  wish  to  lead  them  a  second  time  to  destruction? 
The  Press  which  teemed  with  audacious  Treasons  has  been  destroyed ;  do  you  seek  to 
make  an  important  attack  on  Government,  under  an  equivocating,  mean  cover  of  attacking 
newspaper  statements?  If  you  are  wise,  desist;  do  not  listen  to  the  interested  designs  of 
notorious  agitators  who  visit  your  prison;  be  assured  that  the  flame  of  Treason  is  too 
much  extinguished  for  your  weak  breaths  to  revive. 

The  "Dublin  Journal"  (August  30th,  1798),  contained  the  following: 

So  utterly  unworthy  have  the  imprisoned  Traitors  proved  themselves  of  the  lenity 
which  they  have  of  late  experienced,  and  so  obviously  was  their  last  outrage  intended  to 
encourage  and  foment  a  new  Rebellion,  that  Government  is  not  only  justified,  but  entitled 
to  the  thanks  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  in  having  remanded  them  to  their  former  strict 
imprisonment,  etc.,  etc. 

In  the  same  editorial  it  is  stated : 


What  did  Mr.  Emmet  write? 


323 


Singularly  correspondent  with  the  late  Proclamation  of  the  Irish  Directory,  is  a 
paragraph  in  the  [London]  "Courier"  of  Friday  last : 

"It  is  not  true,  as  has  been  reported,  that  the  State  Prisoners  have  drawn  up  a  detail 
of  their  former  proceedings,  tending  to  criminate  themselves.  On  the  contrary,  Arthur 
O'Connor,  Dr.  McNeven  and  Counsellor  Emmet,  have  made  out  what  is  considered  by 
the  whole  of  them  as  a  fair  statement  of  their  conduct,  by  no  means  tending  to  criminate 
any  of  them.  It  fills  twenty-eight  sheets  of  paper,  and  has  been  sent  to  Government  [by 
the  police] ;  and  the  prisoners  have  bound  themselves  [doubtless  an  untruth]^  not  to 
publish  it  in  any  form  whatever.   It  is  understood  to  be  a  masterpiece  of  writing". 

While  we  submit  this  paragraph  to  the  indignitation  of  our  readers,  we  cannot  avoid 
asking  of  what  nature  can  the  justification  be?  A  set  of  men,  in  order  to  escape  the 
impending  justice  of  the  Law,  made  a  voluntary  (though  it  seems  not  a  full)  confession 
of  their  turpitude;  they  avow  that  they  have  been  traitors;  they  acknowledge  that  they 
have  committed  perjury  in  falsifying  their  oath — their  oft-repeated  oath  of  allegiance; 
they  admit  that  they  have  excited  a  rebellion  the  most  savage  in  the  annals  of  Ireland; 
they  brand  themselves  with  all  the  murders  of  men,  women  and  children — old  and  young — 
resisting  and  unresisting — with  the  ruin  of  hundreds  and  misery  of  thousands;  all  these 
things  they  confess  out  of  their  own  polluted  mouths ! — Confess  that  they  have  acted  thus 
to  gratify  their  own  diabolical  ambition,  and  yet  they  and  their  agents  talk  of  justification! 
The  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  was  justified  as  a  measure  of  State  policy,  while  its 
actors  were  blasted  with  reprobation ;  the  massacre  of  1641  has  been  justified  as  a  great 
attempt  of  one  enemy  to  overturn  another;  but  who  ever  justified  the  barbarians  who 
plunged  unoffending  thousands  into  the  grave? — yet  now  are  the  murders  of  the  last 
six  years  and  the  massacres  of  1798,  not  only  defended — but  the  Prime  Murderers — the 
Arch  Traitors — the  Chief  Assassins  talk  of  Justification ! ! ! 

The  question  which  here  presents  itself  is,  what  was  the  document  referred 
to  by  the  London  newspaper  as  "a  masterpiece  of  writing",  which  gave  the 
Government  great  offence  and  caused  Mr.  Emmet  to  be  subjected  to  relentless 
punishment?  The  same  day  on  which  the  Irish  Directory  published  their  pro- 
test and  contradiction  of  the  untruthful  report  of  their  examination,  as  issued 
by  the  authorities,  the  persons  and  quarters  in  Kilmainham  of  O'Connor,  Emmet 
and  Macneven  were  thoroughly  searched,  all  their  papers  being  carried  off, 
among  them  the  manuscript  of  a  history  of  Ireland  on  which  Mr.  Emmet  had 
been  for  some  time  engaged,  and  he  was  put  in  solitary  confinement  immediately 
after  his  examination  by  the  committee  from  the  House  of  Commons  and 
House  of  Lords.  Fortunately,  the  first  part  of  the  history  had  been  sent  out 
to  be  bound,  and  a  letter  he  had  written  with  great  care  to  be  presented  to  the 
Hon.  Charles  James  Fox,  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  was  to  be  engrossed. 
Both  were  thus  saved  and  now  form  the  opening  pages  of  this  work. 

The  question  must  rest  on  the  possibility  that  Mr.  Emmet's  original  manu- 
script, after  it  had  been  engrossed,  was  returned  to  him  before  the  volume  had 
been  bound  for  presentation  to  Mr.  Fox,  and  thus  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
Government,  while  the  engrossed  copy  remained  in  the  keeping  of  the  family 
outside,  until  it  was  sent  to  New  York  years  after.  The  authorities  seem  to 
have  destroyed  the  history,  and  would  have  dealt  in  the  same  manner  with  the 
letter  to  Mr.  Fox,  as  the  party  feeling  was  at  that  time  intense.  The  Govern- 
ment may  have  heard  of  the  engrossed  copy,  and  Mr.  Emmet  have  been  kept 
in  confinement  for  fear  that  if  released  he  would  rewrite  it. 

This  is  the  only  explanation  of  the  theory  that  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  something 


324  O'Connor's  Opposition  Friends 


additional,  of  which  the  public  was  not  informed.  The  lengthy  memoir  he 
prepared  for  Parliament  and  the  examining  committees  was  well  received  and 
printed  by  the  Government,  while  the  offending  advertisement  issued  by  the 
leaders,  consisted  of  but  a  few  lines  and  was  never  printed  officially.  For  the 
first  time  this  subject  has  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public  together 
with  all  the  information  to  be  gleaned  in  connection  with  it.  As  no  copy  of 
the  "Courier"  for  1798  has  been  found  at  the  British  Museum  or  elsewhere, 
despite  the  writer's  exhaustive  search,  and  no  additional  information  obtained, 
it  is  likely  that  no  explanation  will  ever  be  forthcoming. 

The  Dublin  Journal,  Sept.  4,  1798 

From  The  Times 

Mr.  O'Connor  and  his  Opposition  Friends 

The  political  mania  of  the  present  day  may  for  a  time  support  itself  by  the  help  of 
sophistry  and  the  intrigues  of  faction,  but  must  sink  into  contempt  and  abhorrence  from 
the  evidence  of  plain  facts.  The  following  statement,  faithfully  extracted  from  the 
Report  of  the  Secret  Committee  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  on  the  subject  of  the 
late  Conspiracy,  and  from  the  State  Trials  at  Maidstone,  will  enable  the  Public  to  come 
to  a  fair  decision  on  the  nature  of  the  political  connexion  between  Mr.  Arthur  O'Connor 
and  the  Members  of  the  English  Opposition. 

Report  of  the  Committee 

Mr.  A.  O'Connor  stated  in  the  Committee  "That  he  was  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Directory;  he  had  been  a  United  Irishman  from  1796  and  a  Member  of  the  Directory 
until  January,  1798  ;  and  began  his  communications  with  France  in  the  year  1790". 

The  Report  also  says  "That  Arthur  O'Connor  and  the  late  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald 
proceeded  to  Hamburg  and  Switzerland,  but  did  not  enter  France,  lest  the  government 
of  this  country  should  receive  information  of  their  so  doing;  that  at  Frankfort  they  had 
an  interview  with  General  Hoche,  where  they  settled  the  intended  descent,  which  it  was 
agreed  should  take  place  in  December". 

Evidence  given  on  the  State  Trials  at  Maidstone 

Mr.  Fox. — Mr.  O'Connor  lived  chiefly  with  my  friends,  who  are  called  the  Oppo- 
sition, and  he  also  lived  in  esteem  and  confidence  with  me,  and  I  believe  with  others. 
I  always  considered  him  as  a  person  well-affected  to  his  country.  I  considered  him  as  a 
man  highly  enlightened  and  firmly  attached  to  the  principles  which  seated  the  present 
family  on  the  throne,  and  to  which  principles  we  owe  all  our  liberty. 

Mr.  Sheridan. — Mr.  O'Connor's  character  is  remarkable  for  its  openness;  he  con- 
versed on  the  politics  relating  to  both  England  and  Ireland  with  great  frankness. 
.  .  .  I  never  met  any  man  in  my  life  who  so  much  reprobated  the  idea  of  any  party 
in  this  country  desiring  French  assistance. 

The  Earl  of  Suffolk. — I  so  much  admired  his  political  character,  that  two  years  ago 
I  introduced  him  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  and  Serjeant  Adair. 

Mr.  Erskine. — I  never  had  any  reason  to  think  that  his  principles  differed  from  my 
own  as  well  on  public  as  on  private  subjects. 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk. — From  what  I  know,  I  considered  him  as  a  Gentleman  warm 
in  the  political  line,  and  attached  to  the  Constitution  in  the  same  manner  as  myself. 

Mr.  Michael  Angelo  Taylor. — From  all  I  know  of  Mr.  O'Connor,  I  think  him  the  last 
man  who  would  favour  an  invasion  of  his  country. 


Salt  Tax 


325 


Lord  John  Russell. — I  am  acquainted  with  Mr.  O'Connor;  /  never  had  occasion  to 
discover  that  he  would  favour  an  Invasion  of  the  French. 

Lord  Thanet. — I  have  the  highest  opinion  of  Mr.  O'Connor's  political  character. 

Lord  Oxford. — The  character  of  Mr.  O'Connor  is  that  of  a  perfectly  loyal  man. 

Mr.  Whitbread. — I  know  Mr.  O'Connor;  his  character  is  amiable,  and  his  political 
principles  the  same  as  my  own. 

To  these  honourable  testimonials  must  be  added  that  of  Mr.  Tierney  in  favour  of 
Mr.  O'Connor,  delivered  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  24th  of  April  last. 

Mr.  Tierney  avowed  himself  the  friend  of  Mr.  O'Connor;  he  had  long  been  his 
friend;  he  was  proud  of  that  friendship,  and  agreeing  with  him  always  in  political  senti- 
ments, before  he  could  believe  Mr.  O'Connor  guilty  he  must  first  have  it  proved  by  the 
verdict  of  our  English  jury;  if,  however,  he  should  be  found  guilty,  then  he  (Mr.  Tierney) 
would  look  back  on  his  friendship  with  regret  and  shame. 

Query? — Has  Mr.  Tierney  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  Mr.  O'Connor,  and  do  these 
patriotic  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen  still  confide  in  the  openness  of  character  and  political 
integrity  of  the  Ex-Director  of  the  Irish  Union? 

This  long  dissertation  in  the  'Dublin  Journal"  is  the  only  instance  within 
the  knowledge  of  the  writer  where  the  Government  ever  permitted  the  publica- 
tion of  its  own  loss  of  temper,  whereupon  its  agents,  the  Irish  officials,  seized 
the  opportunity  to  show  their  vindictive  feeling  against  the  members  of  the 
Directory  of  the  United  Irishmen.  The  display  of  feeling,  however,  was  in- 
tended for  Mr.  Emmet  alone.  O'Connor  was  probably  recognized  as  the  secret 
friend  of  the  Government,  and  Macneven  as  a  quiet  and  unobtrusive  man,  whose 
value  as  a  leader  was  unknown,  and  he  was  supposed  to  take  but  little  interest  in 
any  measure  beyond  that  of  Catholic  Emancipation. 

After  the  loss  of  several  crops,  for  the  soil  could  not  be  properly  cultivated 
during  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country,  there  was  naturally  a  scarcity  of 
food,  and  in  some  sections,  famine.  A  large  portion  of  the  people  along  the 
west  coast  had  to  subsist  on  certain  wild  weeds  and  grass,  which  were  rendered 
more  palatable  and  even  healthy  for  food,  by  the  free  use  of  rock  salt  as  a 
condiment.  Fortunately,  and  no  doubt  for  the  benefit  of  the  landlord's  cattle, 
this  article,  which  had  a  market  value  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  shillings  a  ton, 
had  for  Ireland  but  the  nominal  duty  of  one  shilling  and  its  use  was  therefore 
within  the  means  of  all.  At  the  very  time  this  exhibition  of  "injured  inno- 
cence" on  the  part  of  the  Government  was  being  published,  some  one,  assuredly 
not  actuated  by  charity  towards  the  people  in  the  famished  districts,  called  at- 
tention to  the  low  duty  placed  on  salt,  doubtless  with  a  statement  as  to  its 
special  use  by  the  people  at  that  time.  At  once  the  duty  on  the  crude  article 
was  raised,  and  that  on  the  table  salt  was  made  eighty  shillings  per  ton !  The 
market  value  of  the  ordinary  rock-salt  was  unfortunately  not  given,  but  this 
can  be  assumed,  as  the  value  of  the  best  article  was  generally  about  double  that 
of  the  crude  salt. 

At  this  prohibitory  price,  which  could  yield  no  return  to  the  Government, 
the  poor  were  no  longer  able  to  use  the  article  and  the  writer  has  learned  from 
other  sources  that  many  died  from  dysentery  and  other  intestinal  disorders  in 
consequence  of  this  legislation,  spiteful  and  uncalled  for,  but  certainly  an  ex- 
pression of  the  vindictive  feeling  of  the  Government  towards  the  people. 


326 


Lord  Kingsborough 


History  has  nowhere  recorded  this  instance  of  cruel  injustice  exercised  in 
1798  through  English  influence.  Yet  it  is  true  in  every  detail,  and  is  but  one 
among  a  countless  number  of  instances  as  wilfully  inflicted  during  centuries 
whenever  the  Government  dared  make  use  of  an  opportunity.  The  lower  offi- 
cials representing  the  English  Government  in  Ireland  seem  either  to  have  been 
of  a  different  race  from  either  the  English  or  the  Irish  people,  or  the  service 
has  called  forth  the  most  merciless  and  barbaric  acts  ever  performed  by  any  race 
having  the  slightest  claim  to  any  form  of  civilization.  No  better  example  of 
this  can  be  cited  than  the  well-known  character  most  active  at  this  time  and 
entitled  to  bear  the  name  of  Lord  Kingsborough.  He  was  probably  best  known 
as  the  commander  of  the  "Cherubs",  as  they  termed  themselves,  a  body  of 
Orangemen,  who  formed  the  North  Cork  yeomanry.  This  worthy,  their  com- 
mander, was  the  inventor  of  the  "pitch  cap",  a  man  who  never  took  a  prisoner 
or  did  any  fighting,  but  cowardly  put  to  death  every  unarmed  Irishman,  woman 
or  child  within  his  reach.  With  those  in  his  command  he  committed  every 
known  crime,  but  all  as  a  loyal  servant  of  the  Government. 

The  "London  Courier"  was  a  Whig  paper  opposed  to  the  Government  and 
supported  by  the  same  individuals  whose  names  have  been  just  given  as  self- 
declared  friends  of  Arthur  O'Connor.  In  London  they  openly  professed 
political  views  which,  in  Ireland,  had  caused  many  thousand  Irishmen  to 
be  put  to  death  without  trial  and  merely  on  suspicion  of  their  holding  such 
views. 

The  "Dublin  Journal"  for  July  6,  1799,  incidentally  states  that  Lords  Clare 
and  Castlereagh  had  obtained  a  verdict  of  one  thousand  pounds  for  libel  against 
the  "London  Courier."  For  reasons  not  known  the  Government  allowed  this  list 
of  O'Connor's  English  friends  to  be  published,  and  the  list  seems  to  have  been 
put  together  by  some  one  connected  with  the  journal  and  for  some  special 
purpose. 

At  length,  not  being  able  to  break  Mr.  Emmet's  spirit  by  the  donjon  im- 
prisonment on  bread  and  water,  nor  exact  from  him  any  expression  of  regret, 
he  was  returned  at  the  end  of  six  weeks  to  his  room  and  treated  as  the  other 
prisoners  as  to  his  food  and  freedom  to  visit  the  yard  and  certain  portions  of 
the  building.  Shortly  afterwards,  as  has  been  stated,  his  wife  having  been  al- 
lowed to  see  him  refused  to  leave  his  room,  and  to  annoy  Mr.  Emmet  it  was 
ordered  to  keep  her  there  in  close  confinement.  On  March  17,  1799,  his  sister 
learned  that  her  brother  was  to  be  removed  on  the  following  day  and  that  his 
wife  would  not  be  allowed  to  accompany  him.  His  sister  was  not  permitted  to 
see  him  until  late  at  night,  and  only  after  she  had  brought  to  bear  all  the  out- 
side influence  which  she  was  able  to  enlist.  Information  as  to  the  destination 
of  the  prisoners  was  denied  and  when  she  and  his  wife  bade  him  farewell  it  was 
feared  they  were  never  to  meet  again,  and  as  far  as  his  sister  was  concerned, 
this  was  true. 

While  Mr.  Emmet  was  being  held  in  solitary  confinement  the  following 
was  published  by  the  "Dublin  Journal,"  September  25th,  1798 : 


Kindness  of  Colonel  Stuart  327 


Datis  Vadibus;  or 
•  Signed,  Sealed,  and  Delivered 

Long  time  had  old  Nick  hovered  over  the  gibbet, 
And  sharpen'd  his  claws  with  the  patriot  hope 

That  a  day  or  two  more  would  in  public  exhibit 
The  heroes  of  unity  stretching  the  rope. 

When  thus  to  his  Come-Rogues  spoke  Dr.  McNeven: 

"Sad  symptoms  I  see  that  I  tremble  to  tell ; 

Old  Beelzebub's  claw  disunites  us  from  heaven, 
And  th'  Executive  waits  to  transport  us  to  hell. 

"Behold  him  preparing  to  make  his  attack  on 

The  few  that  have  scap'd  from  the  gallows  and  sword ; 

Poor  Sampson  and  Emmet,  O'Connor  and  Jackson, 
The  Director  is  waiting  to  take  you  on  board." 

Old  Nick  overheard;  and — "Have  done  with  your  quaking; 

Dear  Doctor",  the  fiend  grimly  replied; 
"I'm  in  no  such  vast  hurry  my  cargo  for  taking, 

So,  my  boy,  you  may  sleep  without  fear  of  your  hide. 

"Come,  cheer  up,  brave  Tommy,  be  merry,  O'Connor, 
No  cause  have  you  yet  to  sink  down  and  despond, 

A  while  I  will  leave  you,  not  doubting  your  honour; 
Old  Nick  for  your  coming  has  taken  a  Bond". 

On  the  arrival  at  Fort  George  Mr.  Emmet  was  the  only  one  of  the  eighteen 
State  prisoners,  as  they  were  termed,  who  was  put  strictly  in  close  confinement 
as  directed  by  the  Government.  When,  after  a  few  days,  Mr.  Stuart,  the  governor 
of  the  Fortress,  had  become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Emmet,  he  was  released  on  his 
honor  from  all  restraint  and  admitted  to  all  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  other 
prisoners.  Mrs.  O'Connor  had  been  allowed  to  accompany  her  husband,  who 
was  not  subjected  to  the  slightest  restraint,  but  allowed  to  go  abroad  and  visit 
any  of  his  acquaintances  in  the  neighboring  country,  and  to  return  at  his  will. 

Mrs.  Emmet  having  been  refused  the  privilege  of  accompanying  her  hus- 
band, with  three  of  her  eldest  children,  set  out  for  London.  Here  she  secured 
an  interview  with  the  Duke  of  Portland,  who  rudely  refused  her  permission  to 
visit  her  husband.  Mrs.  Emmet  always  described  the  Minister's  manner  to  her 
as  brutal.  She,  however,  was  not  discouraged,  and  after  several  weeks  spent  in 
London,  through  the  influence  of  the  Temple  family  and  some  other  friends, 
she  finally  obtained  permission  to  see  her  husband. 

It  was  well  known  that  Mrs.  Emmet  was  in  full  sympathy  with  her  hus- 
band's views,  and  she  had  been  a  help-mate  from  the  beginning.  Colonel  Stuart, 
however,  was  exceedingly  indignant  on  receiving  his  instructions  from  the 
Government,  and  after  he  had  become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Emmet's  history, 
would  not  be  a  party  to  what  he  considered  a  persecution.  Possibly  as  a  Scotch 
Highlander,  he  was  at  heart  somewhat  in  sympathy  with  the  Irish  movement. 


328         Importance  of  Mr.  Emmet's  Services 


He  sent  the  children  to  his  own  house,  and  he  proved  a  good  friend  to  them, 
as  he  maintained  as  close  a  personal  relation  afterwards  with  Mr-  Emmet  as 
discipline  and  his  official  position  would  allow. 

The  British  Government  beyond  doubt  wished  Mr.  Emmet  to  be  subjected 
to  close  imprisonment  at  Fort  George,  and  it  was  anticipated  that  he  would  die 
in  prison,  this  being  the  only  means  by  which  the  Government  could  be  relieved 
of  the  influence  of  a  man  whom  they  dared  not  release. 

Finally,  it  has  been  shown,  that  when  the  warrant  arrived  for  the  immediate 
discharge  of  the  prisoners,  his  name  was  omitted,  and  Colonel  Stuart,  without 
the  authority  of  the  Government,  allowed  him  to  depart  with  the  others.  In  con- 
nection with  Mr.  Emmet's  statement  it  is  evident  that,  prompted  by  spite, 
the  Government  had  decided,  notwithstanding  its  pledge  to  the  contrary,  to 
keep  him  in  prison  all  his  life,  since  they  could  not  convict  him  and  they  feared 
the  influence  he  would  wield  if  set  at  liberty. 

One  circumstance  after  another  has  been  brought  to  light  during  the  writer's 
investigation,  showing  Mr.  Emmet  was  certainly  a  man  of  more  importance 
than  history  has  represented  him  and  this  has  been  a  natural  result,  produced 
by  the  English  Government  and  accepted  by  the  public,  which  knew  nothing  to 
the  contrary.  In  accord  with  the  settled  policy  of  that  Government  every 
official  disparaged  and  concealed,  as  far  as  possible,  Mr.  Emmet's  importance, 
and  attributed  to  Mr.  O'Connor  and  to  others  the  special  work  it  has  been  easy 
to  show  Mr.  Emmet  alone  accomplished.  Unfortunately,  Mr.  Emmet,  himself, 
contributed  much  to  ignorance  of  his  work,  for  nothing  gave  him  more  satis- 
faction than  to  have  attributed  to  others  what  he  had  done,  and  he  thus  avoided 
as  far  as  possible  that  he  himself  should  receive  any  credit.  In  proof  of  this 
statement  the  reader  has  but  to  read  the  opening  pages  of  this  volume,  written 
by  Mr.  Emmet,  which  give  an  account  of  the  United  Irishmen  during  the  period 
when  he  was  most  active,  and  at  times  the  only  person  whose  influence  held 
the  organization  together,  while  at  no  time  was  his  personal  influence  in- 
operative. Yet  he  does  not  make  the  slightest  reference  to  himself  and  no  one 
would  judge  that  he  was  more  than  a  close  observer  of  passing  events. 

Long  before  Mr.  Emmet's  arrest  the  Government  had  begun  to  fear  the  in- 
fluence exerted  by  him  over  the  Irish  people  throughout  the  country,  and  in  a 
measure  it  even  exaggerated  the  extent  to  which  it  could  be  exercised.  It  was 
known  that  he  alone  kept  the  people  from  open  rebellion  for  nearly  eighteen 
months,  and  could  not  be  bribed  to  throw  the  country  into  the  disorder  wished 
for  by  Pitt,  so  he  and  the  other  leaders,  as  already  shown,  were  arrested  to 
break  up  that  influence.  Finding  afterwards  that  Mr.  Emmet's  influence  with 
the  people  had  been  but  little  diminished,  as  his  teaching  was  followed  to  a 
great  extent  after  his  imprisonment,  the  Government  was  obliged  to  keep  Mr. 
Emmet  in  prison  indefinitely,  fearing  to  release  him. 

Writers  of  recent  date,  however,  have  been  inevitably  misled  as  to  Mr. 
Emmet's  work,  since  they  relied  on  the  so-called  official  records,  published  at 
the  time  for  the  purpose  of  misleading.  For  many  years  free  access  was  given 
to  the  State  papers  in  Dublin,  but  recently  this  privilege  has  been  withdrawn 


Disappearance  of  Irish  State  Papers  329 


and  copies  of  papers,  well  known  to  have  been  on  deposit  in  the  Dublin  record 
offices  but  a  few  years  ago,  are  no  longer  available.  It  is  an  open  secret  that 
since  Mr.  Balfour  was  in  office  every  valuable  State  paper,  especially  those  re- 
flecting on  the  Government,  have  been  taken  to  England  and  of  their  existence 
there  the  English  official  now  knows  nothing.  The  papers  are  secreted,  if 
they  are  not  destroyed,  and  centuries  must  elapse  before  the  true  history  of 
Ireland  can  be  written,  unless  these  papers  can  be  found. 


Ireland — her  destitution.  .  .  .  Her  uncultivated  fields,  her  unemployed,  houseless, 
starving,  uneducated  peasantry,  had  long  been  the  theme  of  sorro'W  to  the  patriot,  and 
of  contempt  to  the  unthinking. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Necessity  is  called  the  tyrant's  plea;  it  must  be  worse  than  tyranny  that  cannot  plead 
even  necessity. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XVIII 

Mr.  Emmet  and  his  family  land  in  Holland — The  English  Government  having  broken 
its  agreement  with  him  and  the  other  prisoners,  he  now  feels  free  to  act  in  the  interest 
of  the  Irish  people  and  delay  his  departure  to  America — Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Archibald 
Hamilton  Rowan — Letters  to  Dr.  Macneven  on  their  prospects  and  plans — Mrs.  Emmet's 
health  not  satisfactory — His  plans  for  settling  in  the  United  States — The  advisability 
discussed  as  to  publishing  a  true  version  of  the  terms  agreed  upon  between  England 
and  the  State  prisoners,  made  necessary  by  Government's  issuing  a  false  statement — The 
close  relation  existing  between  Mr.  Emmet  and  his  brother  Robert — Their  full  accord 
in  all  political  matters. 


OVERNOR  STUART  had  earned  the  deep  gratitude  of 
the  State  prisoners,  and  their  parting  with  this  good  man 
was  a  sad  one  indeed,  for  they  realized  that  they  were 
never  to  meet  again.  The  Emmet  children  were  heart- 
broken at  the  parting  and  throughout  their  long  lives  they 
bore  a  most  affectionate  remembrance  of  him,  who  seemed 
to  have  filled,  for  them,  the  place  of  their  grandfather,  Dr. 
Robert  Emmet. 

The  prisoners  were  transported  on  the  frigate 
"Ariadne",  and  landed  in  Holland  on  July  4th,  1802.  Mr.  Emmet  had  with 
him  his  wife  and  their  three  eldest  children — Robert,  Margaret,  Elizabeth, 
and  an  infant,  Jane  Erin,  who  had  been  born  in  Fort  George, 
April  18th,  1802.  After  a  short  visit  to  Hamburg,  Mr.  Emmet  settled 
down  in  Brussels,  and,  uncertain  of  his  future  movements,  occupied  himself 
in  educating  his  children.  He  had  expected  to  emigrate  to  the  United  States, 
in  case  France  did  not  offer  assistance  to  Ireland,  but  as  war  at  that  time 
seemed  probable  between  France  and  England,  he  was  unable  to  decide  upon 
his  future.  After  gaining  his  freedom,  and  as  England  had  not  kept  her  ob- 
ligation, Mr.  Emmet  felt  that  he  was  free  to  take  any  action  against  the  Eng- 
lish Government  that  might  advance  the  interests  of  Ireland,  so  he  delayed  his 
departure  for  America. 

In  the  appendix  of  Dr.  Drummond's  Memoir  of  Rowan  appears  the 
following : 

When  Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan  in  1802  wrote  to  the  State  prisoners,  offering  his 
services,  he  received  the  following  letter,  in  reply,  from  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  who  of 
all  the  expatriated  Irishmen  was  the  most  distinguished  for  his  talents  and  virtues : 

330 


Letters  to  Macneven 


331 


8th  July,  1802. 

My  dear  friend — I  received  your  kind  letter  yesterday,  just  as  I  was  sitting  down  to 
dinner,  which  prevented  my  answering  it  directly.  Since  then  I  have  shown  it  to  Dowl- 
ing,  Chambers,  and  some  others,  with  whom  you  were  formerly  connected  in  intimacy. 
They  all  desire  me  to  assure  you  of  their  affection  and  esteem.  We  were  in  some 
measure  apprised  of  your  situation,  and  of  the  injury  you  might  possibly  sustain  by 
holding  intercourse  with  us;  we  therefore  voluntarily  deprived  ourselves  of  the  pleasure 
we  should  enjoy  in  your  society,  and  declined  calling  on  you  directly  on  our  arrival. 
For  my  part  it  would  give  me  the  utmost  pain  if  your  friendship  towards  me  were  to 
lead  you  into  any  embarrassment,  or  subject  you  to  any  misrepresentation  on  a  point  of 
such  material  importance  to  yourself  and  family.  I  am  certain  that  if  I  really  stood  in 
need  of  any  act  of  kindness  from  you  it  would  be  instantly  done ;  but  at  present  that  is 
in  no  respect  the  case. 

My  health  and  spirits  are  extremely  good ;  in  consequence  of  relaxation  from  busi- 
ness, both  are  very  much  improved.  As  to  my  future  destination  you  will,  I  dare  say, 
condemn  it,  for  I  know  your  dislike  to  America.  But  with  the  views  I  take  of  Europe 
I  have  scarcely  an  alternative.  I  shall  not  go  out  big  with  expectation,  and  shall  therefore 
perhaps  escape  disappointment;  but  America,  with  all  its  disadvantages,  opens  to  me  the 
fairest  field  of  honourable  employment.  My  stay  here  will  probably  be  very  short,  as  I 
wish  to  let  Mrs.  Emmet  recruit  after  a  two  years'  imprisonment  and  a  very  fatiguing 
journey,  and  if  I  can  to  receive  some  letters.  From  hence  I  shall  probably  go  into 
Holland,  and  perhaps,  if  I  find  it  advisable  into  France,  to  meet  my  three  little  boys,  that 
are  still  in  Ireland.  This  is  in  fact  all  I  can  say  of  my  own  intentions,  which  are  far  from 
settled. 

Wishing  you  and  yours  every  prosperity  and  happiness, 

I  remain,  my  dear  friend,  in  all  sincerity  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

To  A.  H.  Rowan,  Esq., 
Altoona. 

Among  the  Macneven  papers  were  found  the  following  letters  from  Mr. 
Emmet : 

Brussels,  8th  November,  1802. 

My  dear  Macneven, 

Under  no  circumstance  must  you  infer  from  my  want  of  punctuality  a  want  of  af- 
fection ;  and  as  on  the  last  occasion,  if  you  had  done  so,  you  would  have  been  entirely 
mistaken,  so  you  will  be  on  any  future  one  if  you  shall  be  tempted  to  draw  that  conclusion. 
The  letter  you  wrote  me  from  Munich  to  Amsterdam,  I  never  received,  and  what  makes 
that  the  more  extraordinary  is  that  I  wrote  long  since  to  the  director  of  the  poste  restante 
of  that  city,  desiring  all  my  letters  to  be  forwarded  here,  and  have  actually  received  one 
from  my  sister  that  was  lying  there.  Yours,  however,  is  not  the  only  one  which  I  know  to 
have  miscarried ;  and  at  this  very  time  I  apprehend  some  such  accident,  as  I  have  not 
heard  from  my  family  these  six  weeks. 

What  you  mention  of  the  manner  in  which  the  impartial  on  the  continent  are 
disposed  to  view  our  conduct,  gives  me  great  pleasure.  That  they  should  approve  of  our 
designs  is  sufficient ;  and  it  is  natural  that  they  should  disapprove  of  our  connection  with 
France.  Perhaps,  when  our  cause  shall  have  ultimately  succeeded,  we  and  our  friends 
may  obtain  their  more  unqualified  applause.  I  feel  equally  anxious  with  you  that  a  true 
account  should  circulate,  where  a  perverted  one  had  been  able  to  make  so  little  of  an 
injurious  impression;  but  I  do  not  look  upon  the  postponement  to  which  we  have  sub- 
mitted as  in  any  respect  an  abandonment  of  our  original  intention  in  that  respect.  And, 
although  we  may  each  of  us  engage  in  some  other  work  with  that  view,  I  still  think 
that  the  narrative  should  be  published  and  the  enemy  assaulted  in  as  many  ways  as  possi- 
ble.   But  in  looking  over  my  papers  in  consequence  of  your  letter  I  was  very  much  sur- 


332  Difficulty  of  Publishing 


prised  to  find  that  the  narrative  was  not  among  them.  The  account  which  I  drew  up  in 
Kilmainham  was  there,  but  the  one  we  all  agreed  upon  in  Fort  George  was  not.  You 
certainly  imagined  I  had  it  when  you  gave  me  in  Hamburgh  a  paragraph  to  be  inserted 
in  it,  but  as  I  am  certain  none  of  the  papers  I  packed  upon  our  departure  from  Fort 
George  are  missing,  you  must  have  the  copy  which  did  not  go  to  Ireland ;  and  I  think 
I  have  a  faint  recollection  of  your  getting  it  from  me.  My  history  has  lately  languished 
for  want  of  materials;  but  if  I  get  them  in  time  I  hope  to  publish  the  first  part  before 
I  leave  Europe.  I  should  be  very  glad,  like  you,  to  make  a  little  money  by  my  pen,  but  I 
cannot  say  my  expectations  are  very  sanguine,  because  the  booksellers  in  England  (where 
it  would  sell  best)  may  be  afraid  of  meddling  with  it  on  account  of  the  pillory.  How- 
ever, money  or  not,  I  rejoice  that  you  persevere  in  the  intention  of  our  being  neighbours, 
provided  we  leave  Europe,  of  which  the  present  rumours  lead  me  to  doubt.  The  un- 
certainty of  peace  or  war,  and  the  state  of  my  little  family  here,  keep  me  in  great  inde- 
cision what  steps  to  take;  but  if  I  had  any  steps  to  the  first,  I  would  endeavour  to 
arrange  the  other  accordingly.  Your  application  to  Talleyrand,  and  your  endeavour  to 
see  Buonaparte  (although  things  under  other  circumstances  I  should  be  much  inclined 
to  disapprove)  may  perhaps  give  us  some  insight;  as,  if  they  look  to  war  they  will 
scarcely  treat  us  with  neglect.  It  is  now  above  a  month  since  I  have  seen  R.  [Robert,  his 
brother],  and  if  Lawless  received  a  letter  from  him,  containing  many  commissions,  &c,  he 
can  give  you  many  particulars  of  him  you  would  wish  to  know.  From  what  he  has  told  me, 
and  what  I  have  heard  from  other  quarters,  I  believe  that  besides  ignorance  and  passion 
in  the  management  of  our  affairs,  if  there  was  not  treachery,  there  was  at  least  great 
duplicity  and  bad  faith.  Some  of  those  whom  I  considered  as  my  friends  before  my 
imprisonment  have  grievously  disappointed  me;  and  if  I  go  to  Paris,  I  shall  not  do  it 
without  violence  to  my  feelings. 

Mrs.  Emmet,  Robert  [his  son],  &c,  desire  their  loves  to  you,  as  I  do  to  Lawless  and 
my  other  friends  with  you. 

Ever  most  affectionately  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Direct  to  me,  "Chez  Lerme,  Madame  Tapissier,  No.  995,  Au  petit  Sablon."  Beg  of 
Lawless  to  send  R.'s  things  as  soon  as  he  can,  as  they  are  to  be  forwarded  to  him  from 
this,  with  some  books,  &c,  that  are  waiting  for  them. 


Au  Citoyen  Macneven. 

No.  2g8,Demeurant  dans  la  Rue  de  la  Lot,  vis-a-vis  la  porte  de  la  Bibliothtque  Nationale,  a 

Paris. 

[No  date.] 

My  dear  Macneven — I  had  yesterday  the  very  great  pleasure  of  receiving  a  few 
lines  from  you  on  your  arrival  at  Paris.  You  are  right  in  suspecting  that  I  was  as  punctual 
as  my  promise,  but  Mrs.  Emmet's  health  and  my  own  unsettled  state  must  form  my 
apology.  I  was  really  incapacitated  from  writing  to  any  one,  until  all  hopes  of  a  letter 
reaching  you  at  Prague  were  over,  and  after  that  I  did  not  know  your  address.  My 
excuse  turning  upon  her  health,  you  will  naturally  be  anxious  to  know  its  present  state. 
She  is  undoubtedly  much  better  than  she  was,  but  still  liable  to  be  overset  by  anxiety  and 
uneasiness  of  mind ;  and  deriving  so  little  pleasure  from  her  residence  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  that  she  is  lamenting  every  moment  as  lost  that  must  elapse  before  her  setting 
off  for  America ;  if  it  were  possible  she  would  gladly  begin  her  voyage  in  midwinter.  This 
in  a  good  measure  answers  your  questions  about  that  country.  My  views  are  more  fixed 
on  it  than  they  were  because  experience  shows  me  how  disagreeably,  and  I  may  say, 
degradingly,  I  should  spend  my  time  elsewhere;  and  I  rejoice  to  think  you  entertain  the 
same  ideas,  though  I  apprize  you,  Lawless  will  endeavour  to  change  their  current.  How- 
ever as  your  opinions  of  France  and  America  appeared  by  your  letter  to  be  the  same  as 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Addresses  of  United  Irishmen 


333 


when  we  conversed  at  Hamburgh,  I  was  a  good  deal  surprised  to  find  you  proposing  to 
publish  our  narrative  immediately  and  in  the  former  place.  Perhaps  you  may  have 
heard  something  in  Germany  that  has  made  you  change  your  opinions,  but  at  present 
mine  continues  unaltered.  Our  first  intention  was  to  publish  it  as  soon  as  we  got  our 
liberty ;  but  when  we  saw  the  state  of  the  press  and  the  country  at  large,  we  both  agreed 
to  defer  it  till  we  got  to  America,  and  then  assign  our  reasons  for  the  delay.  In  the 
propriety  of  this  resolution  I  was  more  convinced  by  conversing  with  Robert,*  who  was 
decided  that  it  would  be  as  safe  to  publish  it  in  London  as  in  France  and  quoted  some 
expressions  to  me  from  high  authority  respecting  the  willingness  of  Government  to  de- 
liver up  the  United  Irishmen,  tied  neck  and  heels,  to  England.  How  then,  should  we 
stand  if  we  published  now,  independent  of  any  consideration  of  safety?  Every  one 
would  naturally  ask  why  we  did  not  do  it  before,  and  could  we  point  out  any  change  that 
had  made  it  safer  or  more  advisable?  It  would  look  like  a  composition,  the  effect  of 
after-thought,  but  if  we  delay  it  till  we  go  to  a  new  and  more  congenial  place,  that  makes 
a  new  era,  and  we  can  obviate  any  such  questions.  If  it  could  be  published  now,  it 
could  as  well  have  been  done  three  months  ago;  and  if  it  could  not  with  propriety  have 
been  done  then,  no  one  will  expect  it  from  us  till  our  change  of  situation  shall  have  done 
away  the  objection. 

I  state  this  independent  of  any  real  consideration  of  safety — but  have  you  ascer- 
tained how  that  fact  stands?  Have  you  got  any  assurance  or  even  reason  to  hope  for 
security  or  protection?  There  is  not  much  time  now  to  elapse,  I  hope,  before  I  shall  be 
making  my  preparations  for  America;  and  I  take  it  for  granted  you  will  not  be  above 
six  months  in  Europe,  unless  some  changes  shall  take  place  that  would,  in  both  cases, 
reverse  all  our  calculations.  Even  supposing  then  that  I  preceded  you  and  published 
before  you  came  out,  calculating  for  the  time  of  a  vessel's  going  and  returning,  you 
would  be  out  of  the  power  of  your  enemies  before  they  could  form  a  wish  for  your 
arrest;  or  if  we  gave  it  to  the  world  on  our  quitting  Europe,  the  same  would  follow,  and 
you  could  take  such  measures  as  you  thought  fit  for  giving  it  circulation  in  Germany. 
These  are  the  ideas  which  I  have  formed,  and  I  thought  they  were  yours  till  yesterday. 

They  have  prevented  me  hitherto  re-perusing  the  narrative,  though  I  should  wish  to  do 
that  before  it  went  to  press.  As  to  the  addresses  of  our  friends,  I  suppose  you  know 
them  all  before  this.  Matthew  Dowling  was  by  the  last  accounts  in  Rotterdam.  Sweet- 
man  is  gone  to  Lyons  or  its  neighbourhood.  Russell  will  be  able  to  give  you  more  par- 
ticular information  as  to  their  addresses,  as  well  as  Sweeney's  and  Wilson's.  I  was  very 
near  going  to  Paris,  but  have  laid  that  idea  aside  for  the  present.  Perhaps,  as  you  are 
an  unincumbered  traveller,  you  may  take  it  into  your  head  some  holiday  season  to  take  a 
place  in  the  diligence  for  here  and  back  again.  I  need  not  say  how  many  would  be 
happy  to  see  you,  nor  how  many  things  we  could  talk  over  in  a  short  time.  Mrs.  Emmet 
and  all  the  family  desire  their  affectionate  love  to  you — and  believe  me  for  ever 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


to  w.  j.  macneven,  esq.,  m.d. 

Brussels,  25th  October,  1802. 
I  know  nothing  of  either  your  papers  or  my  own ;  though  I  wrote  about  them,  and 
lately  sent  a  message,  they  have  never  been  mentioned  to  me.   I  presume,  however,  they 

*Mr.  Emmet,  in  seeking  the  opinion  of  his  brother  and  by  basing  many  of  his  decisions  upon 
it,  showed  the  confidence  he  had  in  his  judgment.  Notwithstanding  the  difference  of  age  between 
the  two  brothers,  two  individuals  are  seldom  found  more  united,  or  maintaining  unbroken  a  more 
reliant  faith  in  each  other's  judgment.  This  was  particularly  so  in  political  matters. 
The  elder  brother  was  as  familiar  with  every  feature  in  connection  with  Robert  Emmet's  so-called 
rebellion  as  the  younger  one  had  been  with  the  plans  and  aspirations  of  the  United  Irishmen.  With 
these  two  men  the  effort  of  1798  and  that  of  1803  were  essentially  the  same  action,  and  were  to 
attain  the  same  end.  While  not  germane  to  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more 
appropriate  place  to  point  out,  what  is  not  generally  known,  how  absolutely  united,  intellectually, 
these  two  men  were,  having  views  in  common  on  the  relations  of  life  and  yet  each  preserving 
unimpaired  his  own  individuality. 


334 


Rumours  of  War 


will  not  be  long  delayed,  and  think  it  probable  they  may  come  to  Antwerp.  Have  you  any 
news  in  Paris?  We  have  here  strong  rumours  of  war  again.  If  they  should  turn  out 
to  be  well-founded,  our  views  would  be  indeed  changed.  Have  any  of  you  in  Paris 
heard  anything  of  Dowdall  lately,  and  is  he  still  in  Ireland? 

To  William  J.  Macneven,  Esq.,  No.  298,  Rue  de  la  Loi,  vis-a-vis  la  porte  de  la  Bib- 
liotheque  Nationale,  a  Paris. 


Parliaments  and  charters  are  too  often  the  trappings  of  the  slave. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


\ 


The  Scottish  Covenanters  resembled  the  United  Irishmen  of  the  present  day  in  their 
union  and  their  perseverance;  and  they  tvere,  like  them,  decried,  vilified  and  per- 
secuted. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XIX 

Residence  of  T.  A.  Emmet  on  the  continent — His  appointment  by  the  Irish  Direc- 
tory, to  represent,  in  Paris,  the  movement  for  establishing  the  Irish  Republic — O'Con- 
nor's relations  with  Emmet  at  Fort  George — An  explanation  of  the  difficulty  between  the 
prisoners — Duel  between  Emmet  and  O'Connor  prevented  by  their  friends,  although 
O'Connor  continues  his  course  of  intrigue — Pretended  arrest  of  Samuel  Turner — Sent 
to  Fort  George  as  a  spy — Mr.  Emmet's  standing  among  the  Irish  leaders — O'Connor's 
work,  "Monopoly,  the  Root  of  all  Evil",  in  which  a  reflection  is  made  on  Mr.  Emmet's 
courage,  while  at  the  head  of  the  United  Irishmen — Mr.  O'Connor's  ambition — Mr. 
Emmet's  attitude  towards  a  French  alliance. 


HOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET  was  living  in  Brussels  and 
making  his  arrangements  to  emigrate  with  his  family  to 
the  United  States  when  he  received  a  communication  by 
a  special  messenger  from  the  Directory  of  the  United 
Irishmen,  urging  him  to  proceed  to  Paris  and  act 
there  as  the  minister  from  the  Irish  Republic.  At  that 
time  it  was  considered  probable  that  the  Republic  would 
be  established  with  the  aid  of  France.  This  changed 
his  plans,  and  he  accepted  the  position  of  Minister,  with 
the  hope  of  eventually  being  able  to  return  with  his  family  to  his  native  country. 

During  his  residence  in  Paris  Mr.  Emmet  kept  a  complete  diary  of  all  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  Irish  affairs,  which  gives  a  full  insight  into  a  part  of  Irish 
history  which  has  hitherto  been  very  obscure.  This  diary  has  been  but  recently 
discovered  in  a  package  of  old  family  papers.  After  the  failure  of  the  Irish 
movement  and  Mr.  Emmet's  emigration  to  America,  he  evidently  wished  the 
whole  matter  to  pass  into  oblivion.  This  is  more  than  probable,  for  had  his 
sons  had  any  knowledge  of  this  record,  it  would  undoubtedly  have  been  sent, 
as  were  all  the  other  papers,  to  Dr.  Madden,  when  he  was  preparing  his  memoir 
of  their  father.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  journal  that  no  man  exercised  a 
greater  influence  to  the  detriment  of  the  national  cause  than  Arthur  O'Connor, 
through  his  intrigues  and  constant  interference.  Mr.  Emmet  had  a  profound 
feeling  of  mistrust  for  Mr.  O'Connor's  political  honesty,  and  this  was  height- 
ened by  the  unaccountable  fact  that  Mr.  O'Connor  was  never  subjected  to  the 
close  confinement  imposed  upon  the  other  State  prisoners  on  their  first  arrival 
at  Fort  George.   Both  Mr.  O'Connor  and  his  wife  were  allowed  to  come  and 

335 


336 


Treatment  of  O'Connor 


go  without  restraint,  as  if  they  were  most  loyal  to  the  Government ;  and  it  has 
been  an  unexplained  circumstance  that  his  wife  and  children  were  allowed  to 
join  him  immediately  after  he  reached  Fort  George.  In  every  other  instance 
the  Government  refused  permission  for  the  wife  of  a  prisoner  even  to  reside  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  fortress,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  have  a  personal 
interview;  the  only  communication  permitted  was  a  written  one,  limited  in 
length,  and  the  delivery  was  left  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the  commanding 
officer.  In  Dr.  Madden's  sketch  of  Samuel  Neilson's  life  (one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  United  Irishmen,  also  confined  at  Fort  George),  is  given  a  letter  written 
to  his  wife  March  30th,  1800,  in  which  he  writes:  "Mrs.  O'Connor  and  her 
children  remain  with  Mr.  O'Connor,  and  they  have  all  the  liberty  of  ranging 
the  Fort  and  neighborhood;*  the  other  nineteen  of  us  are  closely  confined  as 
usual".  In  a  letter  of  May  18th,  1800,  Mr.  Neilson  again  wrote  to  his  wife: 
"Mrs.  O'Connor  and  her  family  are  still  here,  but  Mrs.  Emmet  has  hitherto 
failed  in  all  her  applications ;  there  appears  to  be  a  MARKED  difference". 
We  may  infer  from  another  letter  written  to  Mrs.  Neilson  on  November  4th, 
1801,  that  her  husband  did  not  trust  Mr.  O'Connor:  "A  certain  gentleman 
has  ceased  to  have  mischief  in  his  power  here*  Hudson,  Chambers,  Tennent, 
and  Dowling  alone  are  on  speaking  terms  with  him".  That  this  statement 
refers  to  Mr.  O'Connor  cannot  be  doubted  by  anyone  familiar  with  the  cir- 
cumstances. The  utmost  good-will  and  unbroken  harmony  existed  among  the 
other  prisoners,  and  the  only  discordant  element  was  associated  with  Arthur 
and  Roger  O'Connor.  The  latter,  however,  seems  to  have  been  on  equally 
good  terms  with  the  Government,  as  a  short  time  after  the  beginning  of  his 
stay  at  Fort  George  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  London,  and  was  then  released 
on  the  score  of  bad  health — a  degree  of  consideration  which  has  never  been 
shown  to  an  Irish  political  prisoner  who  was  not  "friendly"  to  the  Govern- 
ment. The  then  British  Government  was  most  desirous  of  obtaining  some 
"legal"  evidence  against  Mr.  Emmet,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  dis- 
covered some  indication  that  Mr.  O'Connor  had  been  sent  to  Fort  George  for 
that  purpose. 

It  is  evident  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  good  reason  to  believe  that  Mr.  Arthur 
O'Connor  had  "made  his  peace"  with  the  Government  after  his  arrest,  and 
that  he  was  sent  to  Fort  George  to  act  as  a  spy,  and  Dr.  Macneven  held  the 
same  opinion.  Mr.  Emmet  and  Mr.  O'Connor  were  in  the  Irish  Directory  at 
the  same  time  but  O'Connor  took  no  active  part  save  in  opposition, 
and  became  Mr.  Emmet's  enemy  on  account  of  Mr.  Emmet's  mistrust  of  Na- 
poleon. All  who  knew  Mr.  Emmet  as  a  friend  agree  that  he  was  a  cool,  quiet, 
even-tempered  man,  who  kept  his  feelings  in  full  subjection  by  a  very  judicial 
and  well-balanced  mind.  This  feeling  of  mistrust  regarding  Mr.  O'Connor 
impressed  him  so  deeply  that  it  could  never  have  arisen  entirely  from  any 
personal  grievance  against  Mr.  O'Connor.  Moreover,  Mr.  Emmet  would  never 
have  allowed  any  feeling  of  a  personal  nature  to  conflict  with  such  service  as 


•The  italics  are  Mr.  Neilson's. 


Clue  to  Misunderstanding 


337 


Mr.  O'Connor  could  have  rendered  the  Irish  cause  had  he  deemed  him  trust- 
worthy. Mr.  Emmet,  furthermore,  states  in  his  diary  that  his  complaint 
against  Mr.  O'Connor  could  not  be  disclosed  until  he  could  lay  it  before  the 
Irish  Government.  Mr.  St.  John  Mason,  a  cousin  of  Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  visited 
him  at  Fort  George  in  1800.  He  was  not,  however,  allowed  to  see  the  prisoner 
and  could  only  communicate  with  him  by  letter.  Mr.  Mason  in  one  of  his 
letters  suggests  rendering  some  service  to  Mr.  Arthur  O'Connor.  Mr.  Em- 
met answered,  as  Mr.  Mason  stated,  that  he  had  "public  and  private,  personal 
and  political  reasons  for  not  having  anything  to  do  with,  or  to  put  himself 
in  the  way  of  owing  any  personal  obligation  to  either  of  the  Messrs.  O'Connor". 

After  their  release  from  prison  Mr.  Emmet  and  Mr.  O'Connor  at  once 
made  arrangements  to  fight  a  duel,  which  had  been  for  some  time  pending. 
Before  their  landing  in  Holland,  however,  their  fellow-prisoners  exerted  suffi- 
cient influence  on  both  to  induce  them  to  abandon  the  affair  and  to  avoid  a 
public  scandal.  Dr.  Madden  gives  a  full  account  of  the  whole  matter,  and 
states  clearly  that  Mr.  O'Connor  at  that  time  expressed  approbation  of  Mr. 
Emmet's  moral  and  political  course.  Under  the  circumstances  Mr.  O'Connor 
was  not  justified  in  his  attack  on  Mr.  Emmet's  memory  when,  as  late  as  1848, 
in  a  work  called  "Monopoly,  the  Root  of  All  Evil,"  he  charges  Mr.  Emmet, 
when  at  the  head  of  the  United  Irishmen,  with  being  "a  coward,  and  a  man 
of  bad  faith",  the  reason  being  that  he  would  not  blindly  accept  aid  from 
France.  Every  act  of  Mr.  Emmet's  public  and  private  life  goes  to  disprove 
both  charges.  Mr.  O'Connor  certainly  never  had  the  courage,  during  Mr.  Em- 
met's lifetime,  to  make  the  charge,  or  even  to  hint  at  it;  nor  did  he  strengthen 
the  possibility  of  its  truthfulness  by  making  a  dastardly  attack  so  many  years 
after  Mr.  Emmet's  death. 

Dr.  Madden,  who  investigated  this  matter  thoroughly,  and  who  based  his 
account  of  the  whole  affair  on  the  testimony  of  those  personally  known  to  him, 
who  acted  for  both  Mr.  Emmet  and  Mr.  O'Connor,  which  testimony  he  pub- 
lished, in  his  "Life  of  Mr.  Emmet",  concludes  his  consideration  of  the  subject 
as  follows : 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  trouble  the  reader  with  any  comments  on  the  preceding 
statements.  I  will  only  observe  that  the  several  statements  may  be  relied  on  as  an  exact 
account  of  the  occurrences  that  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  persons  by  whom  they 
were  made — men  of  high  character,  honour,  and  integrity;  and  that  it  is  impossible  to 
read  these  statements  without  feeling  there  is  evidence  in  them  of  solid  worth — of  un- 
swerving principles — of  honour,  truth,  and  sterling  honesty — on  the  part  of  T.  A.  Emmet. 

Fitzpatrick,  in  his  work  "Secret  Service  Under  Pitt",  has  probably  fur- 
nished the  clue  to  the  difficulty  in  understanding  what  the  situation  was  among 
the  State  prisoners  at  Fort  George.  Until,  in  recent  years,  access  could  be  had  to 
the  State  papers,  no  one  would  have  ever  doubted  that  Samuel  Turner, 
one  of  the  prisoners,  was  not  true  to  the  Irish  cause.  It  was  never  suspected 
that  he  was  sent  as  a  Government  spy,  with  the  object  of  obtaining,  if  possible, 
some  evidence  on  which  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  could  be  brought  to  trial  and 
convicted.    Mr.  Emmet  always  held,  after  his  imprisonment,  that  Arthur 


338 


Samuel  Turner 


O'Connor  had  made  his  peace  with  the  Government  and  accompanied  the  other 
prisoners  as  a  Government  spy.  No  one  can  deny  that  O'Connor  was  at  one 
time  a  true  patriot,  and  until  his  imprisonment  no  man  connected  with  the 
cause  had  rendered  greater  service.  This  was  only  impaired  later  by  his  inor- 
dinate vanity  and  repugnance  to  giving  credit  to  his  associates  or  hearing  it 
rendered  to  them  by  others. 

Turner  was  a  Dublin  man  of  position  whom  Mr.  Emmet  had  constantly 
met  socially  and  who  lacked  no  attribute  pertaining  to  a  gentleman  of  stand- 
ing. As  a  consequence  of  their  former  acquaintance  Turner  and  Mr.  Emmet 
were  intimate  friends  throughout  the  period  of  their  confinement  together  in 
Dublin  and  at  Fort  George. 

Mr.  Fitzpatrick  (Secret  Service  Under  Pitt,  p.  100)  quotes  from  "The 
London  Courier",  of  December  5,  1803: 

"On  Friday  last  Samuel  Turner,  Esq.,  barrister-at-law,  was  brought  to  the  bar  of  the 
Court  under  the  charge  of  attainder,  passed  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  as  one  concerned 
in  the  Rebellion  of  the  year  1798;  but  having  shown  that  he  was  no  way  concerned 
therein,  that  he  had  not  been  in  the  country  for  a  year  and  seven  months  prior  to  the 
passing  of  that  Act — i.  e.  for  thirteen  months  prior  to  the  rebellion — and  therefore  could 
not  be  the  person  alluded  to,  his  Majesty's  Attorney-General  confessed  the  same  and  Mr. 
Turner  was  discharged  accordingly". 

Turner's  committal  to  Kilmainham  was  only  another  act  in  the  great  drama,  one 
scene  of  which  Mr.  Froude  has  so  powerfully  put  before  us:  "Samuel  Turner,  Esquire", 
of  imposing  presence  and  indomitable  mien,  a  veteran  in  "the  cause",  the  man  who  had 
challenged  the  Commander-in-Chief,  the  envoy  to  France,  the  exile  of  Erin,  the  friend 
of  Lord  Edward  and  Pamela,  the  disinherited  by  his  father,  the  victim  of  State  persecu- 
tion, now  stood  before  his  fellow-prisoners  the  "Ecce  Homo"  of  martyrdom,  commanding 
irresistibly  their  confidence. 

Of  his  detention  in  Kilmainham  Dr.  Madden  knows  nothing;  but  he  mentions  that 
Turner  accompanied  the  State  prisoners — nineteen  in  number — to  Fort  George  in  Scotland, 
the  final  scene  of  their  captivity.  Here  Turner's  work  was  so  adroitly  performed  that  we 
find  a  man  of  incorruptible  integrity  suspected  instead.  Arthur  O'Connor  told  John 
Patten  that  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  gave  important  information  of  a  letter  which  O'Connor 
was  writing,  through  which  means  Government  became  acquainted  with  the  circumstance. 
A  long  correspondence  on  the  subject  has  been  published  by  Madden.  Emmet  at  last 
challenged  O'Connor,  Patten,  the  brother-in-law  of  Emmet,  was  told  to  bring  a  certain 
pair  of  duelling  pistols*  to  Fort  George;  but  thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Robert  Emmet  to 
allay  the  dispute,  the  weapons  were  not  used.  It  was  Patten's  impression  that  Turner's 
machinations  had  set  the  two  friends  by  the  ears.  Although  O'Connor  apologised,  and 
both  parties  shook  hands,  it  is  painful  to  add  that  half  a  century  after,  when  the  upright 
Emmet  had  been  more  than  twenty  years  dead,  O'Connor,  in  his  book  "Monopoly"  stig- 
matised him  as  a  man  of  bad  faith.  A  suspicion  more  hopeless  was  never  uttered.  In 
this  book  the  name  of  his  fellow-prisoner,  Turner,  is  not  once  mentioned.  Indeed,  the 
inference  is  that  he  thought  well  of  Turner;  for  O'Connor,  after  criticising  the  Catholic 
members  of  the  Directory,  declares  that  he  had  much  greater  reliance  on  the  Northern 
chiefs.  O'Connor,  Emmet,  Neilson  and  others  were  detained  at  Fort  George  until  the 
Peace  of  Amiens,  and  then  enlarged  on  condition  that  they  should  expatriate  themselves 
forever. 

Turner,  shortly  after,  was  killed  in  a  duel  with  John  Boyce,  who  had  prob- 
ably been  imprisoned  on  Turner's  information.    The  Government  seems  to 


•Which  the  writer  now  has  in  his  possession. 


O'Connor's  Ambition 


339 


have  taken  no  action  against  Boyce,  probably  thankful  that,  as  the  informer 
could  be  of  no  further  service,  it  was  relieved  of  all  obligations  in  his  regard. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  difficulty,  the  fact  is  clear  that  after 
Mr.  O'Connor's  supposed  arrest,  for  some  reason  now  unknown,  he  lost  the 
confidence  of  the  prominent  Irish  leaders.  Although  he  had  a  following  and 
was  respected  for  past  services  by  most  of  the  leaders  in  Paris,  he  was  entirely 
ignored  by  them.  Mr.  O'Connor  was  not  trusted  with  any  information  in 
regard  to  the  movement  for  establishing  the  Irish  republic.  Mr.  Emmet,  on 
the  contrary,  as  their  agent  in  Paris,  was  in  constant  touch  with  the  leaders  in 
Ireland  and  the  centers  of  the  revolution. 

Moreover,  Mr.  Emmet  had  the  full  confidence  of  Neilson,  "Honest"  John 
Sweetman,  Dr.  Macneven  and  all  the  other  Irishmen  in  Paris  who  at  that  time 
could  lay  any  claim  to  a  prominent  position.  It  is  true  that  Napoleon  and 
his  ministers  treated  Mr.  O'Connor  with  the  greatest  consideration,  while  Mr. 
Emmet  received  but  scant  courtesy.  This  is  a  matter  which,  at  the  time,  was 
difficult  to  understand,  but  with  our  present  knowledge  it  is  now  evident  that 
Napoleon,  having  determined  on  a  course  of  deception  and  treachery  to  the 
Irish  people,  made  every  effort  to  spread  dissension  among  them  and  after- 
wards used  Mr.  O'Connor's  vanity  for  that  purpose.  As  Mr.  O'Connor  failed 
in  being  able  to  render  England  any  service  he  received  no  further  reward, 
and  was  only  allowed  to  return  to  Ireland  for  a  visit  of  a  few  weeks,  towards 
the  close  of  his  life,  when  he  had  been  forgotten. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  at  one  time  Arthur  O'Connor  cherished  the  hope 
that  with  the  aid  of  France,  he  might  become  King  of  Ireland,  on  the  ground 
of  an  old  family  claim.  To  accomplish  this  he  wished  for  no  more  than  a 
separation  from  England  and  for  Ireland  to  become  a  dependency  of  France. 

Chiefly  on  his  own  representation  he  was  supposed  by  Napoleon  to  be  the 
most  important  man  among  the  Irish  leaders.  He  had  the  greatest  faith  in 
O'Connor's  judgment  and  influence,  and  O'Connor's  influence  with  the  French 
Government,  at  the  time  regarded  as  a  most  unfortunate  circumstance,  sub- 
sequently proved  to  Ireland's  advantage.  For  Mr.  Emmet's  opposition  to 
O'Connor,  his  lack  of  confidence  in  Napoleon's  honesty  of  purpose,  and  his 
determination  to  accept  but  a  limited  assistance  from  France  doubtless  checked 
a  close  and  permanent  alliance  between  his  country  and  France.  Ireland  was 
thus  saved  from  the  many  complications  which  would  have  resulted  from  a 
tangled  alliance  with  France,  which  a  majority  of  the  Irish  people  themselves, 
without  a  thought  for  the  future,  desired,  until  the  attitude  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet  and  his  brother  Robert  was  fully  understood  by  the  more  influential  of 
the  Irish  leaders. 


All  friends  of  liberty,  all  lovers  of  their  native  country,  have  the  same  objects  in  vie<w, 
and  should  endeavour  to  understand  and  communicate  tvith  each  other,  and  to  pursue 
these  objects  by  united  efforts  and  harmonized  and  according  efforts. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Under  the  Auspices  of  a  military  government  the  digging  of  potatoes  has  become  treason, 
the  reaping  of  corn  a  felony  of  death. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XX 

Diary  of  Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  begun  on  his  arrival  in  Paris — Sketch  of  Col.  Dalton — 
Mr.  Emmet  receives  a  message  from  the  Minister  of  War  seeking  to  learn  the  details 
of  his  purpose — Sketch  of  Lieut.  Patrick  Gallagher — Emmet's  trouble  due  to  O'Connor's 
interference — News  of  extended  organization  in  Ireland — Sketch  of  Mich'l  Dwyer — 
Ordered  by  the  Directory  to  make  a  personal  application  to  Napoleon  for  arms,  etc. — 
Sketch  of  Gen'l  Harty — Many  difficulties  advanced  against  a  personal  interview — It  is 
insisted  that  O'Connor  must  be  allowed  to  be  fully  associated  with  Mr.  Emmet's  work, 
as  the  Irish  representative,  in  connection  with  the  French  Government — Sketch  of  Col. 
Jere.  Fitzhenry — First  Consul  declines  to  meet  Mr.  Emmet — He  shows  his  credentials 
to  the  messenger  from  the  War  Department — News  received  from  Ireland — Sketch  of 
Capt.  Thos.  Corbet — Sketch  of  W.  P.  MacCabe — Anxious  to  obtain  from  the  Govern- 
ment a  passport  for  sending  a  messenger  to  Ireland  for  instructions — Sketch  of  

Delaney — An  intimate  friend  of  both  Mr.  Emmet  and  Russell — Macneven  and  Emmet 
prepare  an  article  to  show  the  advantage  of  commercial  relations  between  France  and 
Ireland — Bonaparte  has  it  published  in  the  "Moniteur"  and  the  "Argus". 


ERY  soon  after  Mr.  Emmet's  arrival  in  Paris  he  realized 
the  necessity  for  keeping  a  diary  in  connection  with  his 
political  duties  and  at  length  he  began  as  follows  :* 

On  Monday,  30th  of  May,  1803,  Col.  Dalton.t  a  French 
officer  of  Irish  parentage,  who  had  previously  cultivated  my 
acquaintance,  as  I  plainly  saw,  from  political  motives,  called 
on  me  at  Cormeil,  and  after  a  little  preliminary  conversation, 
told  me  he  came  officially  charged  by  the  Minister  at  Wart  to 
inform  me  that  the  French  Government  were  determined  on 
sending  an  expedition  to  Ireland.  That  Gen.  [Andre]  Massena 
was  appointed  to  the  command;  that  it  would  be  more  worthy  of  the  French  Nation, 
and  such  as  would  bear  no  room  for  contest,  even  if  the  Irish  were  not  at  first  pre- 
pared to  act  in  its  support.  At  the  same  time  the  French  were  sensible  of  the 
impossibility  of  conquering  Ireland,  and  their  wishes,  as  well  as  their  interests,  only 
went  to  making  it  separate  from  England;  that  Ireland  should  be  left  at  liberty  to 
choose  its  own  form  of  government. 

He  requested  me  to  communicate  this  intelligence  to  my  friends  in  Ireland,  in  such  a 
way  as  I  might  think  fit;  at  the  same  time  to  inform  them  that  the  expedition  could  not 
be  ready  before  six  months,  and  even  if  any  hostile  movements  took  place  on  the  conti- 
nent it  would  be  necessary  to  end  them  first;  but  that  the  French  Government  by  no 


•The  greater  portion  of  the  biographical  material,  given  in  the  footnotes  to  Mr.  Emmet's  diary, 
is  taken  from  the  "Memoirs"  of  Miles  Byrne. 

t  Dalton,  Colonel,  afterwards  adjutant  general  in  the  French  Army.  Son  of  an  Irishman,  born 
in  Paris  and  never  learned  to  speak  English.  Received  the  title  of  Count,  and  was  a  lieutenant 
general  in  1832. 

{General  Alexander  Berthier  was  the  Minister  of  War  at  this  time. 

340 


Mr.  Emmet's  Diary 


341 


means  wished  the  Irish  to  commit  themselves  by  any  previous  movements,  as  the  force 
would  be  sufficient  to  beat  the  English,  even  if  the  Irish  did  not  stir.  I  asked  what  would 
be  the  force,  and  he  answered  he  believed  about  twenty-five  thousand  men;  at  any  rate 
the  name  of  the  General  was  sufficient  assurance  that  he  would  not  go  with  an  insufficient 
force.  I  replied  to  all  this,  that  as  the  communication  he  had  made  was  undoubtedly  of 
the  first  importance  to  my  country  I  would  communicate  it,  as  I  would  have  done  if  I 
had  received  the  same  information  in  any  other  way,  and  my  future  conduct  with  the 
French  government  should  be  guided  by  the  instructions  I  should  receive  from  home; 
that  for  the  present,  however,  I  should  observe  that  the  People  of  Ireland  felt  so  much 
disgusted  with  the  treatment  they  had  received,  in  being  buoyed  up  with  false 
hopes  and  promises  which  had  been  broken,  they  had  learned  so  entirely  to  distrust,  in 
consequence  of  the  repeated  messages  they  had  received,  and  their  final  abandonment  at 
the  peace,  that  they  would  probably  withdraw  their  confidence  from  me  and  consider  me  an 
additional  dupe  to  the  schemes  and  intrigues  of  France,  if  I  gave  them  assurances  of  a 
large  force  being  sent,  when  the  deficiency  of  means  for  performing  such  a  promise 
presented  itself  to  every  mind ;  that  besides,  I  ought  not  to  dissemble.  France  had  lost 
the  confidence  of  Ireland,  and  the  treatment  which  the  Irish  had  received  in  France  ever 
since  the  peace,  almost  proscribed,  and  those  whose  fortunes  had  been  ruined  by  attach- 
ment to  France  suffered  to  languish  in  poverty;  that  such  treatment  had  excited  even  an 
aversion,  and  would  render  a  great  many  steps  on  the  part  of  France  necessary  besides 
an  expedition,  if  confidence  was  to  be  restored  between  the  two  countries ;  that  it  was  not 
even  clear  to  me  how  an  expedition,  unpreceded  by  such  steps,  would  be  received ;  that 
Ireland  ever  since  the  peace  was  forced  to  look  only  upon  her  own  internal  resources,  and 
she  had  acquired  a  conviction  that  her  independence  was  certain,  tho'  perhaps  by  slower 
degrees,  from  the  progressive  ruin  of  England  and  her  own  increasing  strength;  and 
that  this  mode  of  acquiring  liberty  would  be  unincumbered  with  treaties  of  alliance  or 
commerce,  and  unattended  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  troops.  As  it  might,  how- 
ever, be  slow,  I  readily  avowed  my  own  opinion  that  if  the  event  could  be  more  speedily 
brought  about  by  a  French  expedition,  so  conducted  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  rights 
of  the  country,  much  would  be  gained.  But  in  order  to  restore  confidence  on  the  part 
of  the  Irish  to  France,  many  measures  should  be  adopted,  into  the  details  of  which  I 
hoped  I  should  have  an  opportunity  of  entering  at  another  time.  Mr.  Dalton  answered 
me  that  I  certainly  should,  and  that  Genl.  Massena  and  the  Minister  6f  War  would 
be  very  happy  to  see  me ;  that  the  French  Government  wished  to  conciliate  the  Irish,  and 
succour  such  as  might  want  it.  That  it  therefore  wished  to  know  whether  there  were  a 
sufficient  number  of  Irish  here  to  form  a  legion.  I  answered,  I  would  inquire ;  that  at 
present  I  believed  not;  such  as  were  here  might  be  easily  placed;  he  answered,  certainly. 
He  said,  as  to  the  means  of  the  French,  they  had  vessels  of  the  line  and  a  number  of 
frigates  in  or  within  reach  of  Brest;  that  others  were  shortly  expected;  that  Spain  and 
Holland  would  certainly  be  drawn  into  the  war,  and  that  for  so  short  a  time  troops 
might  be  crowded;  that  he  himself  had  sailed  five  times  out  of  Brest,  tho'  watched  by 
the  English,  and  the  same  could  at  any  time  be  easily  done.  As  Col.  D.  staid  all  night 
with  me,  we  often  returned  to  the  same  subject,  in  the  course  of  which  I  suggested  the 
propriety  and  justice  of  paying  the  arrears  of  pensions  to  the  Irish  that  had  been  dis- 
continued since  the  peace,  and  I  asked  the  means  of  sending  a  message  to  Ireland,  which 
he  assured  me  should  be  had.  Knowing  that  he  had  been  also  cultivating  Mr.  A.  O'Con- 
nor, I  took  the  opportunity  of  asking  him  if  he  had  communicated  this  message  from  the 
French  Government  to  any  one  but  me.  He  answered  that  he  had,  to  Mr.  O'Connor  only; 
that  the  Government  knew  we  were  not  friends,  but  it  trusted  we  would  both  serve  our 
country  to  the  utmost.  I  answered,  Government  was  free  to  choose  to  whom  it  would 
make  known  its  secrets,  and  that  I  trusted  we  would  each  serve  Ireland  according  to  our 
ability  and  knowledge.  I  then  asked  if  the  office  of  Foreign  Affairs  had  any  knowledge 
of  what  he  had  mentioned;  he  assured  me  not,  and  would  not;  that  in  truth  it  did  not 
lye  within  that  department,  and  was  only  known  to  the  Minister  at  War  and  Genl. 


342 


Michael  Dwyer 


Massena.  At  this  I  expressed  my  satisfaction  and  hoped  I  should  have  no  intercourse 
with  that  office,  as  during  the  last  war  everything  that  was  transacted  with  it  by  the 
Irish  was  quickly  known  to  the  English  Government.  The  next  morning,  before  his  de- 
parture, he  again  spoke  to  me  about  Mr.  O'Connor,  as  if  the  French  Government  wished 
to  reconcile  us,  at  least  so  far  as  that  we  might  act  together.  To  this  I  answered  that 
I  doubted  not  but  we  would  both  do  our  best  for  Ireland ;  that,  however,  whatever  good 
we  did  must  be  by  separate  efforts.  On  which  he  dropt  the  subject,  and  he  appointed 
next  morning,  Wednesday,  June  1st,  for  me  to  call  upon  him,  that  he  might  fix  a  time 
for  my  seeing  Massena.  On  his  return  home  he  lamented  to  Mrs.  Tone,  O'C's  difference 
&  mine,  and  said  he  saw  it  would  come  to  this,  that  Government  would  act  with  both 
as  long  as  it  could,  and  at  last  would  be  obliged  to  choose  between  us. 

In  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  May  31st,  I  went  to  Paris  and  there  saw  Gallagher,*  who 
brought  me  accounts  from  Ireland,  which  he  was  charged  to  communicate  to  none  but 
me,  leaving  me  the  discretion  of  mentioning  them  where  I  thought  fit.  The  purport  of 
these  accounts  was  that  an  organization  on  a  new  and  closer  plan  had  been  carried  to  a 
great  extent  among  the  U.  I. ;  that  a  communication  between  North  and  South  had  been 
thoroughly  established ;  that  very  proper  and  respectable  men  had  come  forward,  par- 
ticularly in  the  North,  where  it  was  least  expected ;  that  a  communication  had  also  been 
opened  with  Scotland,  from  which  their  co-operation  was  expected ;  that  the  counties  of 
Kildare,  Wicklow,  and  some  others  near  Dublin,  as  well  as  Dublin,  were  in  a  very 
forward  state ;  that  they  had  considerable  depots  in  Dublin ;  for  instance,  in  one  depot 
twenty-five  hundred  pikes  ready  handled  and  one  thousand  with  the  handles  ready;  that 
finding  their  strength  increasing  they  had  not  been  forward  to  begin,  but  were  deter- 
mined in  case  an  attack  should  be  made  on  any  of  their  depots  to  commence,  that  these 
were  so  circumstanced  as  to  be  able  to  resist  a  battalion  if  it  came  to  attack  them,  long 
enough  to  let  the  county  of  Wicklow  come  in;  that  Dvvyert  had  pledged  himself  to  come 
in  and  to  bring  that  county  with  him  if  any  depot  was  attacked,  which  was  to  be  the 
signal  for  beginning;  that  independent  of  his  party  there  were  members  from  the  neigh- 
bouring counties  in  town  only  waiting  to  defend  the  depots  if  attacked;  that  delegates 
from  the  people  had  been  spoken  to,  who  wished  to  know  when  they  would  be  called 
out.  They  were  answered  that  no  time  would  be  fixed,  that  they  would  have  timely 
notice,  and  when  once  called  upon  they  should  not  be  put  back ;  with  this  they  were 
content.  That  at  present  Government  did  not  seem  to  have  the  slightest  suspicion,  but 
as  things  could  not  be  kept  long  in  that  state,  I  was  ordered  to  apply  to  the  First  Consul 
and  to  endeavour  to  procure  money,  arms,  ammunition,  and  officers,  to  be  landed  in 
places  that  were  designated  to  me;  that  if  that  was  complied  with  a  person  would  be 
sent  to  give  previous  notice  of  their  coming,  and  that  on  their  arrival  the  people  should 
begin.  If  that  could  not  be  obtained  I  was  desired  to  try  and  raise  money  from  any  rich 
countrymen  or  any  Americans  that  might  favour  the  cause,  as  [the  want  of]  money  was 
the  principal  difficulty,  it  being  impossible  to  attempt  subscriptions  at  home  without  dis- 
covery. I  was  further  desired  to  send  home  McP.,  McD.,  and  S.,  particularly  McD., 
because  the  communication  was  worse  established  with  his  county  than  elsewhere.  In 
the  communication  with  Scotland  one  thing  very  deserving  of  notice  had  occurred.  One 
delegate  was  admitted  to  meet  five  from  the  Scotch ;  he  supposed  [they  were  the]  Execu- 


•  "Gallagher,  Patrick,  lieutenant  the  7th  December  1803,  captain  2nd  March  1804.  The  expedi- 
tion to  Ireland  not  taking  place,  he  went  to  reside  at  Bordeaux  with  his  wife  and  children.  'Pat' 
Gallagher  was  one  of  the  brave  and  faithful  men  who  often,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  guarded  and 
escorted  poor  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  through  the  streets  of  Dublin  in  1798.  He  escaped  to  Paris 
the  same  year  and  there  he  met  many  of  his  former  friends"  (Byrne,  Memoirs,  II,  294).  Gallagher 
was  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet,  and  when  Byrne  visited  the  Emmet  family  to  take  his  leave 
on  entering  the  army  he  found  Mrs.  Gallagher  there  as  a  guest  and  stated  (loc.  cit.,  324) : — "Poor 
Gallagher's  health  was  then  delicate.  He  died  at  Bordeaux  the  following  year,  much  regretted  by 
his  countrymen  and  friends." 

tMichael  Dwyer  was  a  farmer  and  at  one  time  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Mason,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Dr.  Robert  Emmet.  According  to  tradition  he  was  settled  on  a  farm  in  Co.  Wicklow  by  Dr. 
Robert  Emmet  and  he  was  an  uncle  of  Anne  Devlin,  a  servant  of  the  Emmet  family  in  1803. 
Dwyer  gave  the  English  a  great  deal  of  trouble  as  a  leader  of  a  small  band  in  the  mountains  of 
Wicklow. 


Scotch  Negotiations 


343 


tive  Committee ;  they  asked  him  precisely  whether  Ireland  continued  attached  to  France ; 
he  answered  that  Ireland  was  very  much  disgusted  with  France,  and  would  not  take  her 
assistance  if  she  could  do  without  it ;  but  that  if  it  became  necessary  the  Irish  would  take 
what  was  wanting  for  securing  her  independence  and  no  more.  The  Scotch  answered 
they  were  very  glad  Ireland  was  disgusted  with  France,  as  they  were  themselves,  and 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  her ;  that  they  would  gladly  assist  Ireland  provided  she  did 
not  connect  herself  with  France  farther  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  if  on 
matters  breaking  out  in  Ireland  they  were  not  ready  to  rise  they  would  at  least  keep  up 
such  an  alarm  in  their  own  country  as  would  prevent  the  withdrawing  of  troops. 

After  weighing  this  intelligence  well  and  considering  the  communication  which  had 
been  made  the  day  before  by  Dalton — after  considering  the  influence  of  that  from  home 
and  the  difficulty,  if  not  the  impossibility  of  fulfilling  the  promises  made  by  France,  that 
if  Ireland  was  as  represented  it  could  scarcely  hope  to  remain  quiet  for  the  protracted 
and  probably  uncertain  period  they  marked  out,  and  that  if  it  was  again  subdued  for 
want  of  foreign  succour,  Massena  and  his  army  would  probably  arrive  too  late ;  that 
besides  they  were  plunderers,  disliked  and  detested  not  only  by  many  of  the  United  Irish- 
men, but  also  by  the  Scotch,  and  in  such  numbers  would  perhaps  attempt  to  give  the  law, 
which  was  not  what  was  asked  for  by  the  United  Irishmen;  after  balancing  all  these 
things  the  whole  night  I  determined  to  solicit  an  interview  with  the  Chief  Consul  and 
after  informing  him  of  the  information  I  had  received,  tell  him  I  was  going  to  make  his 
offer  known  to  those  who  were  acting  in  Ireland,  and  to  beg  to  know  whether  if  they 
persisted  in  asking  for  a  small  and  immediate  force,  after  being  made  acquainted  with  his 
intentions,  they  might  count  upon  its  being  given.  To  point  out  to  him  that  whatever 
risque  this  might  be  to  Ireland,  it  was  a  manifest  gain  to  France,  if  she  could  separate 
Ireland  without  endangering  the  remnant  of  her  marine,  and  before  England  had  been 
enabled  to  prey  on  her  commerce,  and  that  when  Ireland  had  made  the  same  request 
before,  if  it  had  been  granted,  in  May,  1798,  success  would  have  been  infallible,  and  Eng- 
land at  this  day  incapable  of  insulting  or  attempting  to  tyrannize  over  any  other  country. 
As  I  clearly  saw  that  the  interests  of  Massena  and  the  Minister  of  War  were  connected 
with  a  large  expedition  and  a  formidable  army,  and  that  the  prejudices  of  most  French- 
men would  tend  the  same  way,  I  determined  to  hold  no  communication  with  them  on 
the  subject,  but  speak  only  to  the  Chief  Consul  himself,  who  had  not  the  same  personal 
interests,  but  who  in  fact  had  none  but  those  of  France,  to  subdue  England  as  speedily 
and  cheaply  and  with  as  little  risque  to  the  marine  as  possible ;  besides,  I  was  determined 
to  make  him  the  only  depository  of  my  country's  secret,  because  when  that  was  done  and 
known  to  be  the  case,  I  conceived  I  did  the  utmost  to  avoid  the  betraying  of  my  secret 
to  the  enemy. 

Accordingly,  on  Wednesday,  June  1st,  at  the  appointed  hour,  I  waited  on  Col.  Dalton, 
and  after  some  general  conversation  I  asked  him  whether  the  Chief  Consul  knew  of  the 
communication  he  had  done  me  the  honour  of  making  to  me.  At  this  unexpected  question 
he  seemed  staggered  a  good  deal,  and  after  some  hesitation  answered  that  he  received 
his  instructions  from  the  Minister  of  War  and  Genl.  Massena.  I  then  replied  that  my 
reason  for  asking  the  question  was  that  since  I  had  seen  him  I  had  received  very 
important  communications  from  Ireland,  which  I  was  charged  to  communicate  only  to 
the  First  Consul ;  that  in  consideration  of  the  persons  who  had  done  me  the  honour  of 
making  known  to  me  the  intentions  of  the  French  Government,  I  might  perhaps  have 
relaxed  from  a  strict  obedience  to  those  orders  if  I  did  not  see  that  the  nature  and  im- 
portance of  what  I  had  to  say  fully  satisfied  my  asking  such  a  favour  and  oblige  me  to 
declare  that  I  could  communicate  them  only  to  him,  or  some  one  expressly  authorized  by 
him  to  receive  them;  that  before  I  obtajned  such  an  interview  it  was  right  to  apprise 
Government  who  I  was  and  by  what  right  I  acted.  They  probably  knew  that  before 
my  arrest  in  Ireland  I  had  been  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  United  Irishmen,  and 
they  also  knew  of  my  confinement  since ;  that  in  addition  to  that  I  was  appointed  by  those 
at  present  acting  in  Ireland  their  agent  to  the  French  Republic,  and  as  such  exclusively 


344 


O'Connor  as  a  Diplomat 


held  the  thread  of  communication  with  the  existing  organization.  That  what  I  wished 
to  state  to  the  First  Consul  was  only  known  to  myself  and  I  was  resolved  it  should  be 
known  only  to  him  by  my  means.  That  I  had  credentials  of  my  appointment,  and  could 
get  them  further  verified  if  I  called  together  my  countrymen  in  Paris,  but  that  such  a 
means  would  cause  so  much  publicity  as  would  render  secrecy  impossible.  That  I 
therefore  chose  to  dispense  with  it  and  content  myself  with  pledging  my  word  of  honour 
and  my  future  responsibility  on  the  truth  of  my  assertion.  That  under  these  circum- 
stances I  begged  leave  earnestly  to  solicit  an  interview  with  the  First  Consul  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Mr.  Dalton  said  he  was  afraid  there  would  be  difficulties;  that  negotiations  were 
still  going  on,  and  the  preparations  were  even  a  little  relaxed. 

I  asked  was  England  to  be  the  only  nation  that  had  permission  at  the  same  time  to 
make  war  and  carry  on  negotiations. — "She  is  taking  your  ships,  and  will  not  you  make  war 
on  her?"  He  said  we  are  making  war.  "Then,  if  so,  what  objection  can  there  be  to 
hearing  from  me  the  things  that  may  assist  you  in  carrying  it  on?  At  the  same  time,  if  I 
thought  peace  could  issue  from  those  negotiations,  I  would  deny  myself  the  honour  I 
solicit;  and  if  the  Chief  Consul  thinks  they  can  end  in  peace,  I  beg  he  may  refuse  me; 
but  if  his  objections  arise  only  from  prudence,  he  is  master  of  time  and  circumstances  so 
as  to  secure  perfect  secrecy,  and  I  shall  conform  myself  to  his  wishes".  In  the  course  of 
this  conversation  one  or  two  expressions  escaped  him  worthy  of  note.  Speaking  of  Mr. 
O'Connor  and  me,  he  said  he  hoped  there  would  be  no  factions  in  Ireland,  as  if  there  were 
two  factions  the  French  army  would  be  obliged  to  erect  itself  into  a  third  to  put  them 
down;  and  on  some  other  occasion  connected  with  the  same  subject,  he  said, — "I  told  you 
on  my  honour,  as  I  had  been  commissioned,  that  the  People  of  Ireland  would  be  at  per- 
fect liberty  to  choose  its  own  form  of  government,  but  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  it 
would  be  wished  it  might  assume  the  form  of  the  Protecting  Government."  These  two 
last  observations  I  received  without  comment, — but  concluded  with  requesting  the  desired 
interview,  and  he  appointed  Friday,  June  3rd,  for  my  receiving  an  answer. 

Before  I  called  on  Col.  Dalton  I  had  learned  that  Genl.  Harty,*  an  Irishman  by  birth 
and  a  cousin  to  Dalton,  wished  to  see  me  on  the  same  subject.  I  mentioned  his  name  to 
D.,  and  my  wish  was  to  know  him,  but  found  rather  a  coldness  to  bringing  us  together; 
from  which  I  conjectured  there  was  some  kind  of  jealousy  which  would  take  the  lead. 
In  the  evening,  however,  I  saw  the  general,  and  he  held  with  me  the  same  kind  of  con- 
versation Dalton  had  done  the  Monday  before.  As  I  wished  for  secrecy,  I  said  nothing 
for  the  present  of  my  desire  of  seeing  Bonaparte,  but  took  the  opportunity  of  informing 
him  that  I  was  the  appointed  agent  for  the  United  Irishmen.  I  also  learned  to-day  that 
Mr.  O'Connor  is  begining  to  assume  the  man  of  consequence;  in  conversing  with  Fitz- 
henryt  he  talked  a  good  deal  of  the  difficulty  of  being  a  diplomatic  character.  He  also 
said  he  would  not  allow  the  French  to  go  to  Ireland  unless  bound  by  very  strict  con- 
ditions, which  he  afterwards  explained,  their  being  put  under  the  absolute  command  of 
one  person,  which  he  gave  to  understand  would  be  himself.  I  understood  too  that  in 
Conversation  with  T.  Corbett  he  expressed  his  intention  of  acting  as  Ambassador  from 
the  United  Irishmen,  by  virtue  of  an  appointment  which  he  alleges  was  made  of  him  in  the 
spring  of  1798. 

[N.  B. — No  such  appointment  was  ever  made,  and  is  only  a  fabrication,  but  even  if 


*  "General  Harty  was  a  man  of  influence  with  the  French  government  and  his  patriotism  and 
services  were  greatly  appreciated  by  his  countrymen.  In  1805  he  held  the  position  ot  Inspector  Gen- 
eral of  the  Army,  and  for  a  time  he  was  in  command  of  the  Irish  Legion.  At  the  time  of  Mr. 
Emmet's  arrival  in  Paris  he  was  evidently  serving  on  the  staff  of  Genl.  Berthier,  the  Minister  of 
War". 

tCol.  Jeremiah  Fitzhenry,  for  eight  years  an  officer  in  the  French  army  and  at  one  time  in 
Spain  commanding  the  Irish  Legion,  was  evidently  A  discredit  to  Ireland,  his  native  country.  Dr. 
Madden  shows  beyond  question  (The  United  Irishmen,  &c,  Fourth  Series,  564)  that  he  was  "a  man 
whose  name  is  associated  with  treason  in  one  country  and  perfidy  in  another." 

JCapt.  Thomas  Corbet  escaped  from  Ireland  in  1798  with  his  brother  William  to  France. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  was  appointed  professor  of  English  at  the  Prytanee.  In  1803  he  received 
a  commission  as  captain  in  the  Irish  Legion  of  the  French  army,  but  the  following  year  was 
killed  in  a  duel. 


Difficulty  of  Seeing  First  Consul 


345 


it  had,  of  the  then  existing  committee,  two  are  in  France,  one  in  America,  one  dead,  and 
only  two  in  Ireland,  of  whom  neither  acts  now,  one  being  retained  by  permission  of 
government,  and  the  other  would  trust  any  human  being  sooner  than  Mr.  O'Connor,  so 
that  he  has  no  existing  communication  with  the  body,  and  the  termination  of  the  war  and 
of  connection  with  France  superceded  all  previous  appointments.] 

Friday,  June  3rd,  called  by  appointment  on  Dalton,  when  nearly  the  following  conver- 
sation took  place: — 

D.  Well,  sir,  Genl.  Massena  will  be  happy  to  see  you — 

E.  I  shall  be  charmed  to  see  Genl.  Massena,  but  that  was  not  the  favour  I  asked  for. 
My  wish  is  to  see  the  First  Consul. 

D.  Why,  the  negotiations  are  still  going  on,  and  affairs  are  not  even  so  far  advanced 
as  when  I  spoke  to  you  first. 

E.  Give  me  leave  to  ask  you,  sir,  if  Genl.  Georges  asked  to  see  any  part  of  the  British 
Government,  stating  that  he  had  matters  of  importance  to  communicate  respecting  France, 
would  the  state  of  the  negotiations  cause  him  to  be  refused? 

D.  No,  but  you  must  be  sensible,  sir,  you  are  not  in  the  situation  of  Genl.  Georges. 

E.  I  know,  sir,  I  am  not ;  I  am  acting  for  my  country,  he  is  acting  against  his ;  I  am 
appointed  by  mine,  he  is  only  an  individual;  but  in  no  other  respect,  sir,  do  I  see  any 
difference.   Pray  does  the  refusal  come  from  the  First  Consul  himself? 

D.  No;  the  Minister  of  War  did  not  think  it  right  to  make  the  application. 

E.  In  one  point  of  view  I  am  better  pleased,  because,  on  further  reflection,  I  am 
obliged  to  limit  more  than  I  did  in  my  last  conversation.  I  then  said  I  could  only  com- 
municate with  the  First  Consul,  or  some  one  expressly  authorized  by  him.  I  now  say  I 
can  only  communicate  with  the  First  Consul  himself.  In  every  other  respect  I  beg 
to  renew  my  demand  with  more  urgency,  and  to  request  that  my  wish  may  be  made 
known  to  him  and  the  answer  come  personally  from  himself.  To  prevent  misunderstand- 
ing, I  must  repeat  that  my  application  is  not  in  consequence  of  the  communication  I  had 
the  honour  of  holding  with  you,  but  solely  of  my  information  from  Ireland,  and  that  if 
I  had  never  heard  from  Government  I  should  have  sought  for  the  interview,  tho'  not  with 
the  same  facilities  I  now  enjoy;  that  those  who  have  given  me  the  refusal  have  done  so 
with  blinded  eyes,  and  that  the  Chief  Consul  will  thank  me  for  pressing  my  demand.  If 
it  would  be  thought  incorrect  to  hold  these  communications  while  negotiations  are  going 
on,  it  seems  to  me  in  point  of  probity  the  same  thing  whether  government  communicates 
with  me  directly  or  indirectly,  and  I  presume,  sir,  I  am  to  consider  everything  you  tell 
me  as  coming  from  government. 

D.  Certainly,  but  is  your  communication  of  such  a  nature  as  to  admit  of  delay? 
E.  I  consider  every  delay  as  eminently  injurious,  and  in  this  case  I  am  the  only  com- 
petent judge. 

D.  Suppose  the  Chief  Consul  should  refer  you  to  the  Minister  at  War,  you  know  his 
confidence  in  him  and  their  intimacy? 

E.  If  he  did  I  should  be  exceedingly  grieved — I  know  nothing  would  grieve  me 
more,  because  I  am  sensible  of  the  respect  due  the  Minister  at  War,  and  to  the  order  of 
the  First  Consul,  but  I  feel  what  is  due  to  the  interests  of  my  country  and  the  orders  I 
have  my  self  received. 

D.  I  am  glad  I  asked  the  question,  to  prevent  mistakes.  I  did  not  feel  the  impor- 
tance of  your  request  as  I  do  now.  I  shall  endeavour  to  see  the  Minister  to-day;  will 
let  you  know  on  Sunday  early. 

He  then  endeavoured  by  some  leading  questions  to  come  at  the  nature  of  my  informa- 
tion and  the  sources  from  which  I  derived  it,  asking  whether  a  large  expedition  would 
be  necessary,  but  I  took  care  to  give  no  satisfactory  answer.  In  the  course  of  the  con- 
versation he  mentioned  one  object  of  the  French  government  would  probably  be,  after 
having  succeeded  in  Ireland,  to  make  a  descent  from  there  on  the  west  coast  of  England, 
in  which  I  assured  him  the  Irish  would  be  glad  to  co-operate. 

Saturday,  4th.    I  find  that  considerable  inconvenience  and  some  mischief  may  result 


346 


Mr.  Delany 


from  O'Connor's  acting  and  mine.  He  has  spoken  to  McCabe*  to  go  to  Ireland,  to  the 
North,  to  carry  a  message  saying  emphatically  and  falsely, — "I  got  one  expedition,  and 
I  don't  see  why  I  may  not  get  another."  His  object  is  to  advise  them  to  make  no  stir 
'till  the  French  come,  to  which  they  will  probably  agree.  As  they  are  not  in  the  existing 
organization,  and  do  not  know  the  actual  state  of  things,  they  will  also  gladly  give  him 
every  authority  they  can,  and  thus  very  unpleasant  consequences  may  arise.  This  must  be 
remedied. 

Sunday,  5th.  Saw  Dalton ;  he  told  me  he  had  not  been  able  to  see  the  Minister,  who 
had  been  called  to  St.  Cloud ;  that  he  could  not  hope  to  see  him  'till  next  day,  nor  the 
Minister  to  see  the  Consul  'till  Wednesday;  on  Wednesday  evening  or  Thursday  morning 
I  should  have  my  answer.  I  told  him  I  would  not  waste  my  time  in  Paris,  but  would  go 
to  the  country  'till  then,  and  requested  I  might  not  be  again  disappointed.  I  clearly  see 
they  want  to  keep  me  in  leading  strings,  and  that  everything  shall  go  thro'  themselves. 
I  have,  however,  requested  Delaney*  to  apply  to  Defermat  to  procure  the  interview  for 
me,  if  I  shall  have  occasion  to  solicit  it,  and  hope  for  the  answer  when  I  go  to  town. 

More  airs  on  the  part  of  O'Connor.  Dalton,  it  seems,  spoke  before  him  in  praise  of 
Mrs.  G.,  by  which  he  showed  he  had  been  with  me  at  Cormeil.  O'Connor  took  no  notice 
of  this  while  he  was  by,  but  when  he  was  gone  O'C.  got  into  a  violent  passion  and  said 
"if  Mr.  Dalton  was  running  after  Mrs.  G.,  and  such  little  people,  he  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  him,  and  that  the  first  interview  he  had  he  would  complain  of  his  conduct".  I 
wish  his  arrogance  may  break  out  in  time  to  prevent  his  being  injurious. 

[N.  B. — I  forgot  to  remark  that  in  all  my  conversations  with  Dalton  and  Harty  I 
requested  the  means  of  sending  some  one  to  Ireland,  which  is  always  promised,  but  it 
appears  to  me  they  are  in  no  hurry.] 

Thursday,  9th.  I  am  again  disappointed.  Mr.  Dalton  tells  me  he  dined  last  Sunday 
with  the  First  Consul,  with  the  company  of  the  Minister  at  War  and  Genl.  Massena, 
and  there  pressed  my  request  on  the  Minister  at  War.  They  consulted  together,  and  he 
was  informed  the  Chief  Consul  could  as  yet  see  no  one,  he  said,  as  formerly;  negotia- 
tions were  still  going  on,  and  the  mediation  of  Austria  and  Russia  had  been  offered  and 

*W.  Putnam  MacCabe,  who  kept  a  public  house  in  Dublin  and  was  much  employed  in  organiz- 
ing new  branches  of  the  United  Irishmen,  was  frequently  entrusted  to  convey  secret  intelligence 
and  confidential  messages.  No  one  seems  at  that  time  to  have  doubted  his  patriotism,  and  he  was 
fully  trusted.  Myles  Byrne  in  his  recently  published  Memoirs  (Vol.  1-96)  states: — "I  met  MacCabe 
in  Paris  in  1803.  I  never  could  rightly  understand  his  patriotism  .  .  .  yet  he  ran  great  risks 
going  frequently  to  England  and  Ireland,  and  returning  to  Fiance  during  the  war."  Again  (p. 
275): — "For  my  own  part  I  had  every  confidence  in  him,  and  if  he  had  not  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  arrested  at  his  own  door,  with  a  blunderbuss  endeavoring  to  get  into  his  own  house  at  the  dawn 
of  the  day,  the  morning  after  the  sad  failure  in  Thomas  Street,  the  Government  never  would  have 
had  his  services  as  a  vile  informer  at  the  Castle."  No  man  had  a  better  knowledge  of  those  con- 
nected with  the  movement  in  1803  than  Myles  Byrne,  as  his  memoir  will  show,  as  well  as  how 
thoroughly  the  Irish  leaders  were  beset  by  informers.  MacCabe  was  always  a  warm  partisan  of 
Arthur  O'Connor. 

tByrne  in  his  "Memoirs"  (II,  284)  states: — "I  frequently  met  at  Mr.  Emmet's  a  very  worthy 
Irishman,  Mr.  Delany;  he  was  a  great  friend  of  poor  Thomas  Russell  and  his  nephew  William 
Hamilton.  He  studied  at  the  Irish  College  and  was  considered  a  young  man  of  talent  and  an  accom- 
plished scholar.  Delany's  ambition  was  to  accompany  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  Ireland,  and  there 
be  employed  under  him  in  a  civil  capacity,  in  the  event  of  his  country  obtaining  her  independence. 
He  has  a  very  honourable  situation  as  private  secretary  to  M.  Defermont,  a  councillor  of  State, 
and  they  were  living  together  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  Young  Delany  came  from  the  Kerry 
mountains,  where  he  had  learned  the  first  rudiments  of  grammar,  and  finished  his  studies  in  France. 
I  cannot  forget  how  he  would  lament  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emmet  the  cruel  privations 
suffered  by  the  Catholic  population  of  Munster,  particularly  as  regarded  education.  No  schoolmasters 
to  teach  the  children  of  the  unfortunate  farmers,  but  no  lack  of  tithe  proctors,  land  and  law  agents, 
to  extort  the  last  shilling  from  the  people  for  the  support  of  the  Protestant  ascendancy  and  the 
dignity  of  the  English  Lords,  the  scourge  of  poor  Ireland. 

"Mr.  Emmet  and  Dr.  Macneven  wished  to  publish  an  elaborate  article  on  the  advantages  the 
French  commerce  was  likely  to  obtain  by  adhering  to  certain  rules,  and  as  this  article  should  appear 
in  French  as  well  as  English,  the  same  day,  and  though  these  gentlemen  wrote  good  French  they 
thought  fit  to  get  Mr.  Delany  to  translate  it.  When  it  was  laid  before  the  First  Consul,  he  seemed 
to  take  no  heed  of  it,  till  he  was  visiting  the  coast  in  November,  1803.  Then  he  saw  the  purport 
of  it,  and  he  wrote  to  Paris  to  have  Mr.  Emmet  and  Dr.  Macneven's  article  published  in  the 
'Moniteur'  and  the  'Argus',  newspapers,  edited  in  English  by  Goldsmith.  Mr.  Lesage,  the  French 
gentleman  from  whom  I  was  taking  lessons,  and  who  had  passed  fourteen  years  in  London  and  con- 
sequently was  a  good  English  as  well  as  French  scholar,  called  on  me  when  he  had  read  Macneven 
and  Emmet's  article,  and  said  he  had  seldom  read  such  beautiful  French  as  these  gentlemen  had 
written,  and  asked  me  to  get  him  a  copy  of  the  one  in  English  that  he  might  compare  them;  he 
was  indeed  much  delighted  with  the  composition  of  both,  but  he  gave  the  preference  to  the  French 
version".  It  will  be  seen  by  the  will  of  Mrs.  Grace  Emmet,  the  widow  of  Dr.  Robert  Emmet's 
brother,  that  the  Delanys,  Russell*  and  Hamiltons  were  distant  connections  of  the  Emmet  family. 


O'Connor  sees  Massena 


347 


appeared  to  be  accepted.  I  answered,  "I  have  done  my  utmost  to  see  the  Consul,  I 
cannot  succeed,  I  hold  myself  acquitted  for  the  consequences;  nevertheless  I  am  vexed, 
and  I  believe  the  refusal  a  loss  for  France,  what  it  is  for  Ireland  I  suppose  is  of  little 
consequence  to  those  who  have  given  me  the  refusal".  He  appeared  struck  with  my 
manner  of  saying  this,  and  after  a  little  pause  offered  to  give  me  a  written  note  to  the 
Minister  more  strongly  pressing  my  demand. 

I  then  showed  him  my  credentials  as  they  are;  he  read  them  attentively,  and  said  he 
would  state  them  also.  I  expressed  my  wish  to  see  the  Minister  that  I  might  enforce  my 
demand,  but  added  "for  no  other  purpose".  He  assured  me  he  would  press  it  as  strongly 
as  he  could.  Genl.  Harty  then  came  in,  and  I  clearly  saw  Dalton  wished  to  keep  him 
ignorant  of  my  request,  so  the  conversation  dropped.  If  Harty  was  a  man  of  business 
I  would  apply  to  him,  but  besides  that  defect,  I  believe  he  has  scarcely  access  to  the  great. 

O'Connor  has  been  before  me  with  the  Great;  he  has  seen  Massena.  There  is  time 
enough  'or  me  to  see  him  when  I  have  anything  to  do  with  him.  I  mentioned  to  Dalton 
and  Harty  Capt.  Murphy,  and  suggested  the  propriety  of  putting  a  swift  sailing  ship 
under  his  command.  D.  took  down  his  name  to  make  the  proposal,  if  it  be  done  I  will 
try  and  send  some  by  him. 


It  has  been  a  grand  error  of  the  people  of  Ireland  daring  a  series  of  years,  that  they  have 
trusted  too  much  to  parliamentary  leaders  of  opposition,  too  tittle  to  themselves. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


In  the  scales  of  a  British  Minister  the  little  finger  of  Britain  outweighs  the  tohole  body  of 
Ireland. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXI 


Continuation  of  Mr.  Emmet's  diary — Calls  to  see  the  Minister  of  War  for  answer  to 
application  for  a  messenger  to  Ireland — Suggests  troops  for  the  San  Domingo  expedition 
might  be  sent  to  Ireland — Informed  application  with  copy  of  credentials  had  been  de- 
livered, but  the  First  Consul  considered  the  time  had  not  yet  arrived  for  a  personal 
interview — Sketch  of  Capt.  John  Murphy — Believes  the  French  government  trifling  with 

him — Sketch  of  Capt.    Maguire — Asks  for  a  passport  to  send  out  a  messenger 

by  way  of  Germany — O'Connor  constantly  making  trouble — Asks  to  see  the  Minister  of 
War — Sketch  of  John  Sweeny,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet — Government  refuses  passports  to 
James  Monroe  and  Robt.  R.  Livingston,  the  Minister  from  the  United  States — Interview 
with  the  Minister  of  War — Explains  his  past  and  present  position  in  Ireland — 
Also  explains  O'Connor's  position — Sketch  of  Capt.  John  Aherne — Obtains  the  passport — 
Sketch  of  Col.  Hugh  Ware,  and  his  view  as  to  the  disagreement  between  Emmet  and 
O'Connor — Robert  Fulton  may  accompany  an  expedition  to  Ireland,  with  his  torpedoes — 
Comments  on  Humbert's  expedition  to  Ireland — O'Connor  suggests  to  the  Government 
a  large  force  will  be  necessary  to  keep  down  the  people  in  Ireland  and  prevent  the  horrors 
of  a  revolution — Sketch  of  Lieut.  Austen  Gibbons — Sketch  of  Adj.  Genl.  Sheehy — Is  it 
proposed  O'Connor  be  Prefect  of  Ireland  ? — Question  as  to  the  size  of  the  force  to  be  sent 
to  Ireland — Suggested  that  Emmet  should  remain  in  Paris  as  Minister  and  O'Connor  go 
to  Ireland — O'Connor  wishes  the  French  government  to  send  over  with  the  troops  "a 
constitution  and  regulations  of  government" — Viola  un  traitre! — The  French  Government 
making  every  excuse  for  delay — Bonaparte  fears  the  Irish  are  "too  democratic" — Pre- 
pares a  memoir  for  Bonaparte,  but  has  great  difficulty  in  having  it  presented — Refuses 
absolutely  to  have  any  connection  with  O'Connor,  as  suggested  by  the  government  to 
forward  the  public  service ! — Favourable  reports  from  Ireland,  but  doubted  by  Mr. 
Emmet. 


RID  AY,  10th.  As  we  were  interrupted  yesterday  in  our  con- 
versation, I  called  this  morning  to  fix  a  time  when  I  might 
get  my  answer.  T.  Corbet  was  there,  which  again  prevented 
a  particular  explanation.  D.  however  took  the  opportunity 
of  mentioning  that  the  Minister  had  been  called  at  eleven 
yesterday  to  St.  Cloud  by  the  accounts  from  Hanover,  and 
did  not  return  that  day.  In  the  same  way  I  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  informing  him  that  I  would  go  to  the  country  and 
expected  to  hear  from  him  when  he  had  any  answer.  In  the 
course  of  conversation  D.  mentioned  it  was  believed  that 
French  troops  from  St.  Domingo  would  take  refuge  in  the 
United  States.  I  asked  how  many  they  were:  he  said,  making  every  allowance  for 
mortality  there  ought  to  be  ten  or  twelve  thousand.  I  then  suggested  that  if  they 
waited  for  a  leading  west  wind  they  might,  in  their  way  home  fall  unexpectedly  on 
Ireland,  and  so  much  more  than  an  armament  from  Brest,  which  will  be  always 
watched.    The  thought  seemed  to  strike  him  a  good  deal. 

348 


Captain  Murphy 


349 


Wednesday,  \Sth.  Having  come  to  town  yesterday  evening,  I  saw  Col.  Dalton,  who 
referred  me  to  this  morning;  called  on  him  this  morning,  when  he  informed  me  that  he 
had  given  a  written  note  to  the  Minister  at  War,  stating  my  demands  in  the  most  urgent 
terms,  and  setting  forth  my  situation,  with  a  literal  translation  of  my  credentials.  That 
the  whole  had  been  laid  before  the  First  Consul,  and  that  he  was  directed  to  inform  me 
that  affairs  were  not  yet  sufficiently  advanced  to  permit  of  his  seeing  any  person  on  that 
subject;  that  he  certainly  would  invade  Ireland  if  the  war  went  on,  and  a  wish  was  ex- 
pressed, as  if  from  him,  that  the  people  there  might  remain  quiet  'till  his  arrangements 
could  be  made  for  the  expedition.  Col.  Dalton  also  added,  that  I  should  be  informed 
as  soon  as  the  Consul  could  see  any  one.  I  asked  was  I  to  consider  this  answer  as 
coming  personally  from  him,  and  Dalton  replied  it  certainly  did.  In  that  case  I  see  no 
use  of  trying  another  channel,  to  experience  the  mortification  of  another  refusal.  I  then 
repeated  that  it  would  probably  be  a  severe  loss  to  France,  and  I  hoped  not  such  as  she 
would  have  lasting  cause  to  regret.  I  then  expressed  my  anxiety  to  be  as  speedily  fur- 
nished as  possible  with  the  means,  pecuniary  and  otherwise,  of  sending  intelligence  to 
Ireland.  He  took  a  note  of  it,  and  promised  to  see  about  it;  he  mentioned  that  he  had 
communicated  what  I  suggested  about  Capt.  Murphy,*  and  that  he  would  be  sought  for 
and  probably  employed  in  that  way.  I  asked  about  the  St.  Domingo  troops  said  to  have 
taken  refuge  in  the  United  States.  He  said  my  scheme  was  impossible,  for  he  had  seen  a 
person  only  yesterday  forty-two  days  from  St.  Domingo,  that  the  troops  had  not  then 
quit,  and  had  no  thought  of  quitting  it,  not  having  heard  of  the  war.  That,  therefore, 
they  would  have  no  choice  of  their  place  of  refuge,  and  would  probably  be  obliged  to 
sail  out  expressly  to  let  themselves  be  taken  by  the  English  as  the  least  evil.  He  men- 
tioned the  negotiation  was  still  going  on,  and  I  believe  they  expect  peace;  at  least  some 
persons  in  the  government  think  so ;  and  Mangot,  I  believe,  the  commandant  at  Bologne, 
told  the  owners  of  the  packet  boats  not  to  sell  their  boats,  which  they  were  going  to  do, 
as  the  communication  would  be  open. 

Tuesday,  27th.  Not  having  heard  anything  since  from  Capt.  Dalton,  I  called  on  him 
again  to-day,  and  urged  the  necessity  of  being  furnished  with  the  means  of  sending  one 
over  to  Ireland.  He  showed  me  a  written  note  on  the  subject;  from  which  I  collected 
as  if  O'Connor  had  been  making  a  similar  application.  The  demand  was  certainly 
strongly  urged,  and  he  has  promised  me  to  write  to  me  as  soon  as  he  gets  his  answer. 
I  think,  however,  the  French  government  is  only  trifling  with  me,  and  wont  give  money 
or  means  'till  it  sees  fit  for  its  own  purpose. 

Thursday,  30th.  Having  learned  from  McDowellf  that  some  of  our  countrymen  are 
already  in  great  distress  from  the  stoppage  of  the  communication,  and  that  others  were 
likely  to  become  so,  I  resolved  to  speak  to  Gen.  Harty  on  the  subject  of  providing  for 
them  in  a  military  line.  Accordingly  we  both  waited  on  him  and  urged  the  subject  as 
strongly  as  we  could.  We  said  we  applied  to  him  as  a  countryman  to  expedite  that  for 
which  we  did  not  wish  to  let  down  the  National  character  by  making  a  formal  application 
to  government.  We  stated  the  actual  and  probable  distresses  of  our  countrymen,  if  not 
succoured,  and  also  if  it  was  intended  to  profit  by  their  enemies  in  Ireland  to  discipline 
the  natives,  that  they  must  themselves  learn  their  business  by  previous  practice,  for 
which  the  time  was  scarcely  sufficient.  He  agreed  to  all  this,  but  said  that  without 
knowing  the  French  politics  he  could  easily  see  the  First  Consul  did  not  wish  to  give 
England  an  opportunity  of  saying  he  had  excited  her  subjects  to  revolt.  To  that  we 
answered  by  urging  the  example  of  England  in  employing  the  French  Emigrants  and  the 
former  Irish  Brigade,  which  even  existed  in  time  of  peace.  He  endeavoured  to  make 
some  distinction  between  those  and  United  Irishmen,  which  I  confess  surprised  me  from 

*Capt.  John  Murphy  commanded  a  trading  vessel  on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland  at  the  time  that 
General  Humbert  landed  with  his  French  troops,  and  was  employed  as  a  bearer  of  despatches  from 
the  General  to  the  French  Government,  a  difficult  commission  to  execute  and  one  attended  with  cer- 
tain death  if  captured  by  the  English  fleet.  Murphy  succeeded  so  well  that  lie  was  rewarded  with 
a  position  as  fleet  pilot  by  the  French  Government  until  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  and  equally 
trusted  by  the  Irish  leaders.  He  continued  to  reside  in  France  until  his  death  in  1835  at  a  very 
advanced  age. 

tPossibly  a  mistake  in  copying.    Supposed  to  reter  to  General  Jos.  MacDonald. 


350         Slowness  of  the  French  Government 


him.  Tho'  I  believe  it  is  the  real  motive  why  the  French  Government  is  so  reluctant  to 
use  the  United  Irishmen,  because  they  are  considered  as  bona  fide  republicans  and  Jacobins. 
He  confessed  that  he  plainly  saw  a  stagnation  in  the  French  Government  since  he  was 
first  commissioned  to  speak  to  the  Irish.  He  then  advised  the  French  to  be  cautious 
how  they  allowed  the  Irish  to  slip  out  of  their  hands,  and  taking  advantage  of  an  ex- 
pression of  Mr.  Wickham's  in  the  English  House  of  Commons,  "that  the  government  had 
it  in  contemplation  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  Irish  poor".  I  warned  him  that 
Ireland  had  learned  by  experience  that  she  was  to  receive  nothing  from  any  country 
but  what  its  own  interest  suggested,  and  that  if  England  did  anything  substantial  she 
might  conciliate  the  Irish.  I  pointed  out  that  the  present  Administration  were  inclined 
to  be  mild;  it  had  allowed  Rowan,  Fitzgerald,  and  Byrne*  to  reside  in  England,  and  I 
was  convinced  that  if  I  myself  or  any  other  person,  however  obnoxious,  made  the  same 
request  and  promised  not  to  intermeddle  again  it  would  be  granted ;  that  want  and 
necessity  might  force  many  to  such  a  step,  whose  loss  France  would  afterwards  very 
severely  feel ;  that  I  spoke  with  more  frankness  as  I  never  would  take  anything  from 
the  French  Government,  but  it  might  push  its  prudence  or  negligence  much  too  far. 
This  last  argument  seemed  to  alarm  him,  and  he  promised  to  speak  to  the  Minister  at 
War  on  the  subject,  and  urge  it  as  from  himself.  We  also  spoke  of  the  unpaid  arrears 
of  discontinued  pensions,  which  he  likewise  promised  to  mention,  and  all  without  delay. 

Monday,  July  4th.  Called  this  morning  again  on  Genl.  Harty,  but  he  had  not  seen 
the  Minister  at  War,  and  apprehended  he  could  not  until  the  Consul's  return,  as  the 
Minister  was  ordered  to  join  the  Consul.  I  went  to  Dalton,  to  urge  him  also,  but  he  was 
not  at  his  bureau  or  lodgings.  I  learned,  however,  that  he  also  was  going  on  a  mission, 
but  they  could  not  tell  me  where,  or  for  how  long.  I  wrote  him  a  letter  on  the  different 
subjects  he  had  promised  to  have  performed,  and  which  I  was  apprehensive  his  departure 
might  derange,  and  requested  to  hear  from  him. 

I  see  clearly  that  the  French  government  are  not  in  a  hurry  to  do  anything  I  have 
asked,  and  that  the  stagnation  which  Genl.  Hartey  spoke  of  has  nearly  taken  place,  but 
how  can  I  help  myself? 

Saturday,  July  9th.  This  morning,  as  I  was  setting  off  for  town,  received  a  letter 
from  Dalton  dated  last  Thursday,  and  which,  speaking  of  the  different  matters  in  my 
letter  says:  "il  n'y  a  encore  aucune  solution  definitive  sur  les  objets  des  diverses  notes, 
que  j'ai  remises,  et  dont  vous  avez  connaissance ;  j'attends  presque  certain  que  le  retour 
du  lre  Consul  achevera  notre  affaire."  This  did  not  prevent  my  proceeding  to  Paris  to 
ask  a  passport  for  a  person  from  General  Hartey.  When  I  went  there  I  found  that  he 
had,  in  consequence  of  McDowell,  and  my  conversation  with  him,  written  a  letter  to 
McGuiref  requesting  him  to  communicate  to  his  countrymen  his  wish  of  being  useful 
to  them,  and  that  in  consequence  of  some  communications  with  the  Minister  at  War  he 
requested  each  of  them  to  inform  him  of  his  christian  and  surname,  of  his  situation  in 
the  Irish  Union  and  his  sufferings,  and  also  whether  he  would  wish  to  serve  in  a  civil 
or  military  capacity  in  the  event  of  an  expedition  going  to  Ireland,  and  further  desiring 
to  know  who  there  were  to  whom  pensions  had  been  formerly  given  and  when  they  were 
discontinued.  This  letter  was  enclosed  in  another  to  McGuire  desiring  him  to  get  answers 
as  far  as  he  could  from  any  Irishman  in  France,  except  O'Connor  or  me,  whose  opinions 
he  already  had. 

This  express  exclusion  of  us  two  has  probably  arisen  from  an  unwillingness  to  de- 
cide between  us  which  has  the  most  legitimate  claim  to  be  acted  with  and  considered  as 
the  representative  of  the  United  Irishmen.  I  think  too  that  the  Genl.  was  actuated  by  a 
personal  motive  to  increase  his  own  importance  to  the  Government,  by  having  the  com- 
munication with  the  different  individuals  himself,  which  probably  could  not  be  the  case 

•Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan;  Edward  Fitzgerald,  of  New  Park;  and  Garrett  Byrne. 

tMcGuire — Capt.    Byrne  states  that  McGuire  escaped  from  Ireland  in  the  uniform  of  a 

French  soldier  and  in  1S03  received  a  commission  as  captain  in  the  Irish  legion  of  the  French  Army. 
"After  the  Hundred  Days  in  181 5  he  retired  on  a  pension,  which  he  did  not  enjoy  long,  as  he  died 
in  his  lodgings  in  the  Arsenal,  Rue  Saint- An toine,  in  the  year  1822". 


Mr.  Emmet  the  Accredited  Agent  351 

if  he  had  allowed  either  of  us  to  interfere,  and  that  I  look  upon  it  to  be  the  real  object 
of  the  exclusion.  However,  he  considered  it  to  proceed  in  reality  from  the  Minister  at 
War,  and  therefore  pressed  most  strongly  on  me,  that  my  claims  should  now  be  brought 
decidedly  forward,  that  O'Connor's  future  interference  as  agent  should  if  possible  be 
prevented  by  every  Irishman  putting  his  signature  to  my  credentials,  and  by  their 
answering  Genl.  Hartey  that  they  would  wish  any  communications  respecting  them  to  be 
made  thro'  me. — Whether  his  suspicions  be  well  founded  or  not,  I  think  his  idea  good, 
and  have  given  him  the  credentials  to  proceed  if  he  can.  I  went  to  Genl.  Harty  without 
appearing  to  know  anything  of  the  matter;  he,  however,  mentioned  it,  and  I  saw  on  his 
part  an  anxiety  that  I  should  take  nothing  amiss.  I  did  not,  but  I  neither  expressed 
approbation  nor  disapprobation  of  his  step.  I  turned  the  conversation  on  the  object 
of  my  visit.  I  mentioned  that  it  was  now  about  six  weeks  since  Government  had  made 
a  communication  to  me  for  the  purpose  of  being  made  known  to  Ireland,  and  since  I 
had  asked  for  the  means  of  so  doing.  That  I  had  often  repeated  my  request  since,  but 
without  being  at  all  advanced,  and  that  if  this  was  to  continue  there  was  no  use  in 
doing  me  the  honour  of  making  me  a  communication.  It  was  true,  my  situation  and  that 
of  my  country,  did  not  give  me  very  ample  means  of  meeting  certain  very  heavy  expenses, 
but  I  could  not  suffer  improper  delays  to  take  place  by  a  tardiness  on  the  part  of  the 
French  Government  to  assist  us;  that  therefore  I  now  asked  only  a  passport  for  a  person 
to  go  to  Germany,  and  requested  it  might  be  given  without  delay.  That  I  asked  for 
nothing  more,  because  I  did  not  choose  to  humiliate  myself  or  my  country  by  continuing 
to  press  applications  that  I  thought  delicacy  should  have  anticipated,  and  that  made  us 
appear  in  the  light  of  beggars,  while  they  probably  also  retarded  the  progress  of  business. 
The  General  promised  to  lose  no  time  in  the  application,  but  said  he  could  not  see  the 
Minister  before  Tuesday;  he  asked  me  should  he  mention  the  reason  why  I  only  asked 
for  a  passport.    I  told  him  he  might  do  in  that  as  he  thought  right. 

He  then  spoke  to  me  about  my  appointment,  and  mentioned  Mr.  O'Connor's  claim. 
I  told  him  I  should  permit  myself  to  say  nothing  about  Mr.  O'Connor,  because  I  wished 
to  submit  those  things  only  to  the  tribunal  of  our  common  country,  which  as  yet  had 
no  existence ;  that  as  to  the  appointment  I  should  refrain  from  saying  whether  any  such 
actually  took  place,  but  supposing  it  did,  as  he  said  in  1797,  the  Executive  from  whom 
he  claimed  the  appointment  were  all  either  dead  or  exiled,  except  two  who  at  present 
certainly  did  not  act;  how  then  could  he  carry  on  the  necessary  correspondence?  I  was 
appointed  Feb.  last,  and  sent  for  expressly  to  Brussels ;  in  consequence  I  relinquished  my 
design  of  going  to  America  last  spring,  and  I  must  peremptorily  say  I  was  the  only 
person  in  France  authorized  to  communicate  with  the  existing  Executive.  He  asked 
me  was  that  committee  known  to  all  the  United  Irishmen;  I  answered,  the  individual 
members  certainly  were  not,  and  never  could  be,  but  that  its  existence  was  to  all  those 
who  were  at  present  acting  and  risking  their  lives  and  fortunes.  That  many  who  had 
previously  acted  did  not  now,  and  of  course  as  they  were  out  of  the  organization  they 
were  ignorant  of  its  secrets.  Perhaps  Mr.  O'Connor  might  tell  him  and  really  believe 
there  was  no  Executive,  but  that  was  only  a  proof  that  he  did  not  know  the  real  state 
of  the  country,  and  that  the  Committee  had  no  connection  with  him.  I  assured  him 
there  was  one,  and  if  the  French  Government  wished  to  communicate  with  it,  and  with 
those  who  were  preparing  to  act,  it  must  be  done  thro'  me.  He  asked  me  would  I  allow 
him  to  say  to  ;ne  Minister  at  War  that  I  would  be  ready  to  produce  proofs  of  my  ap- 
pointment when  necessary.  I  answered  I  certainly  would.  It  is  become,  therefore,  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  ascertain  my  appointment  and  silence  O'Connor's  pretensions,  tho' 
I  am  convinced  doing  so  will  make  the  matter  so  public  as  to  reach  the  English  govern- 
ment, and  then  independent  of  National  inconvenience,  probably  every  farthing  of  mine 
in  Ireland  will  be  confiscated. 

Thursday,  July  14th.  This  morning  received  a  letter  from  Genl.  Hartey  informing 
me  that  the  Minister  had  refused  the  passport,  for  reasons  he  hoped  I  would  approve  of, 
and  which  he  would  communicate  when  he  saw  me,  which  shall  be  to-morrow. 


352 


Messenger's  Passport  Denied 


Friday,  15th.  Saw  Genl.  Harty,  and  was  very  much  surprised  to  find  the  refusal  was 
accompanied  with  no  reason  at  all,  for  surely  this  is  not  one: — "What  is  the  use  of 
sending  a  courier,  that  is  but  a  half  measure;  we  must  send  a  proper  force",  &c.  Vexed 
as  I  was,  and  probably  shall  have  often  occasion  to  be,  I  told  the  Genl.  that  so  far  from 
being  satisfied  with  the  answer,  I  did  not  think  it  was  common  sense.  I  had  said  nothing 
about  an  expedition,  whether  it  should  be  large  or  small,  nor  did  I  intend  to  do  so  until 
the  proper  time,  and  then  only  to  the  highest  authority.  That  besides  I  never  intended 
to  beg  one,  because  I  well  knew  nothing  would  procure  it  but  the  absolute  interest  France 
had  in  the  measure,  and  then  begging  was  not  only  degrading  but  unnecessary.  I  asked 
for  nothing  but  a  passport  for  a  courier  to  communicate  what  the  French  government 
bid  me  and  voluntarily  sought  me  for  the  purpose.  That  if  it  believed  me  acting  for 
England  it  was  unquestionably  right  to  refuse  my  request,  but  if  it  thought  me  faithful 
to  my  cause  I  could  scarcely  conceive  a  reason  for  refusing  me  a  passport,  even  if  it  did 
not  know  my  motive  for  asking  one.  I  was  very  sure  the  reason  assigned  was  not  the  real 
one  that  actuated  the  Minister  in  his  refusal,  and  as  I  was  left  to  conjecture,  I  could  only 
say  that  if  there  was  not  an  entire  confidence  in  me  I  should  be  glad  to  know  it,  as  I 
would  try  to  get  myself  replaced  by  some  one  who  might  gain  that  confidence. 

Genl.  Hartey  assured  me  he  was  perfectly  certain  that  was  not  the  reason,  but  con- 
fessed he  had  been  himself  surprised  and  was  lost  in  conjecture.  Negotiations  he  said 
were  still  talked  of,  and  perhaps  an  Irish  expedition  was  not  seriously  intended,  or  that 
the  plan  of  operation  was  not  fixed  on.  I  asked  him  had  he  any  reason  to  suppose  an 
Irish  expedition  was  not  intended.  He  assured  me  solemnly  not  the  least,  but  that  he 
was  bewildered  in  conjecture,  and  in  this  I  implicitly  believe  him.  After  some  con- 
versation I  determined  to  ask  an  audience  of  the  Minister  at  War,  and  have  written  a 
letter  on  that  subject  and  given  it  to  the  General  at  dinner  to-day,  who  has  undertaken  to 
remit  it  to  the  Minister.  Hartey  before  I  left  him  turned  the  conversation  on  the  steps 
the  Irish  here  are  taking  in  consequence  of  his  letter  to  McGuire.  He  tells  me  they  talk 
of  a  meeting,  which  he  deprecates  for  fear  of  offending  the  Government,  which  is  suspi- 
cious of  such  things.  I  assured  him  I  had  not  heard  a  word  of  it,  that  some  of  my 
countrymen  wished  to  transmit  their  claims  thro'  me,  that  I  told  them  if  that  was  a 
general  wish  I  was  ready  to  understand  it,  but  that  I  would  not  do  it  for  four  or  five  indi- 
viduals, and  that  I  thought  they  might  as  well  do  it  themselves.  This  he  requested  might 
be  the  case,  and  rather  begged  me  not  to  interfere.  I  communicated  his  wishes  to  some 
of  my  friends,  but  this  evening  I  believe  I  have  discovered  a  clue  to  his  apprehensions. 
Mr.  O'Connor,  when  he  heard  of  Hartey's  letter,  got  into  a  great  passion  and  said  that 
faith  had  been  broken  with  him,  as  the  Minister  at  War  had  promised  that  he  alone 
should  be  communicated  with  on  the  subject;  that  Genl.  Hartey  was  raising  factions  and 
sedition  among  the  Irish,  and  that  "Tho'  he  believed  him  a  worthy  man  he  saw  he  was  a 
fool  and  would  be  obliged  not  to  speak  to  him".  He  spoke  a  heap  of  other  imperti- 
nence and  nonsense.  I  wish  he  would  go  on  that  way  and  blow  himself  up,  as  he  is 
very  troublesome  and  I  think  will  be  very  injurious.  I  fancy  his  anger  arose  from  the 
fear  of  my  being  appointed  by  my  countrymen,  but  I  am  pretty  sure  it  is  he  that  has 
frightened  Hartey  lest  he  should  be  compromised  and  censured.  The  signatures  to  my 
appointment  have  not  been  very  much  increased  by  Swiney's*  exertions.  He  met  a  couple 
of  refusals,  one  of  which  I  could  never  have  expected,  and  others  he  did  not  ask  from 
motives  of  prudence.  The  matter,  however,  is  becoming  perfectly  public,  which  is  what 
I  would  willingly  have  avoided,  and  my  own  consolation  is  that  all  of  my  countrymen,  as 
far  as  I  have  heard,  say  they  approve  the  choice,  but  where  are  the  signatures?  I  was 
informed  to-day  at  the  proper  office  that  a  measure  will  be  taken  to  exempt  all  the  United 
Irishmen  from  being  prisoners  of  war.    I  hear  too  that  neither  Monroe  or  Livingston.t 

•Miles  Byrne  writes  in  his  Memoirs — "John  Sweeny  was  a  great  friend  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 
They  were  fellow  prisoners  at  Dublin  and  at  Fort  George  in  Scotland.  He  was  one  of  those  Irish 
patriots  who  had  to  exile  themselves  for  ever  from  the  land  of  their  birth  in  order  to  get  out  of 
confinement,  at  the  peace  of  Amiens". 

tjames  Monroe,  special  envoy  from  the  United  States  with  Robert  R.  Livingston. 


The  Minister  Forgets 


353 


the  American  Minister,  have  been  able  to  get  passports,  owing  to  some  apparent  mistake. 
Can  that  delay  be  connected  with  the  cause  that  produced  the  refusal  to  me? 

I  forgot  to  remark  that  Harty,  when  he  took  my  letter,  said,  "If  the  Minister  refuses 
or  postpones  the  audience,  he  certainly  will  have  some  reason,  and  we  must  wait  with 
patience.  If  he  grants  it,  take  the  opportunity  of  speaking  your  mind  frankly  and  boldly. 
I  am  sure  you  will  do  it  so  as  not  to  displease,  and  it  may  be  useful." 

Saturday,  July  16th.  General  Hartey  received  a  letter  this  morning  from  the  Minister 
of  War,  desiring  him  to  conduct  me  to  his  Hotel  on  Monday  morning  at  nine.  He  also 
received  another  in  the  course  of  the  day  from  the  same,  informing  him  that  he  was 
appointed  one  of  a  commission  of  three  United  Irishmen  to  decide  upon  the  reclamations 
of  United  Irishmen  against  being  made  prisoners  of  war,  and  desiring  him  to  attend  on 
Monday  at  the  Bureau  de  la  Guerre ;  he  does  not  know  his  fellow-commissioners. 

I  find  Monroe  has  got  a  passport,  and  is  by  this  time  at  Calais,  but  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty, and  only  good  for  eight  days.   Livingston  has  not  been  able  to  get  one. 

I  understand  O'Connor  also  says  a  party  is  forming  against  him  here  in  Paris;  that 
alludes  to  my  countrymen  preferring  me  as  their  agent  to  him.  Poor  man,  he  has  held 
the  same  language, — "that  a  party  was  forming  against  him"  in  prison  and  out  of  prison, 
ever  since  he  became  a  political  character. 

Monday,  July  18th.    Hartey  and  I  went  to  the  Minister's  this  morning  at  nine,  and  he 
was  out.    This  I  saw  vexed  the  general,  and  I  let  him  see  that  I  was  displeased  at  such 
conduct.    I  told  him  my  business  called  me  into  the  country,  and  that  I  should  stay  in 
town  no  longer.   He  said  he  was  sure  the  Minister  had  forgotten,  and  that  such  was  his 
character.    I  answered  that  if  it  was  only  forgetfulness  it  could  be  easily  repaired;  that 
I  should  request  him  to  write  to  know  whether  the  Minister's  intentions  respecting  me 
were  changed,  and  required  an  answer,  as  I  would  make  my  arrangements  to  leave  Paris 
at  four  o'clock.    He  wrote  it,  and  sent  it  by  his  servant,  who  left  the  letter  at  the  War 
Office  without  waiting  for  an  answer,  or  asking  if  the  Minister  was  there.    I  then  told 
Harty  I  should  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  calling  on  him  at  half-past  three,  which  would 
give  him  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Minister  on  the  other  subject — the  Commission  for 
examining  the  reclamation  of  the  United  Irishmen,  that  if  there  was  any  satisfactory 
reason  I  could  then  stay  in  town;  if  not  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  mistake  the  object 
of  his  not  being  at  home  this  morning.    That  if  I  was  not  allowed  to  communicate  with 
the  French  government,  or  my  own  country,  I  was  absolutely  useless  and  would  employ 
myself  solely  about  my  own  private  affairs.   That  when  the  French  Government  knew  its 
own  mind  and  was  decided  what  line  of  conduct  it  ought  to  pursue  toward  me  and  my 
country,  it  would  I  presume  know  where  to  find  me.   At  half-past  three  I  called  again  and 
waited  'till  four,  when  he  came  in.    He  said  the  Minister  had  forgot,  and  begged  him  to 
bring  me  any  morning  between  ten  and  eleven,  to  the  Bureau  de  la  Guerre.   He  had  been 
asked  what  I  wanted  to  say,  which  Hartey  said  he  did  not  know.    I  then  appointed  to- 
morrow.   I  asked  about  the  commission  of  three,  and  learnt  for  the  first  time  that  all 
about  it  was  a  secret  not  to  be  talked  of,  from  which  and  some  other  expressions  of  his 
I  am  fully  sure  the  idea  is  changed, — an  attendant  to  give  him  any  reclamation — he  is 
piqued  that  more  of  the  Irish  have  not  written  to  him  on  the  subject  of  being  employed, 
and  seems  to  think  they  distrust  him.   O'Connor  too  is  busy,  wanting  a  list  of  the  United 
Irishmen  prisoners  of  war,  and  says  that  Government  have  desired  him  to  make  it  out; 
Can  this  be  true?   By  Harty's  conversation  this  morning  I  find  O'Connor  had  been  saying 
he  has  had  the  latest  intelligence  from  Ireland,  and  that  there  is  no  Executive,  meaning 
thereby  I  am  no  agent.    I  found  it  necessary  to  show  Hartey  how  he  had  been  deceived. 
O'Connor  still  continues  his  talk  about  the  faction  against  him,  but  is  so  good  as  to  say  I 
am  not  of  it, — who  is? 

Tuesday,  July  19th.  I  have  at  length  seen  the  Minister.  Whether  it  was  affectation 
or  forgetfulness,  or  cunning  to  feel  his  way,  I  know  not — but  at  first  he  did  not  seem 
to  recollect  anything.  When  I  mentioned  that  I  had  solicited  a  passport  to  send  some 
one  to  Ireland  which  he  had  thought  fit  to  refuse — "What  passport?"  said  he;  "I  don't 


354 


Interview  with  Berthier 


recollect  it."  Harty  then  came  forward  and  reminded  him  he  had  asked  it.  "But  for 
what  object?"  says  he.  I  told  him  it  was  now  about  six  weeks  since  Government  had 
communicated  to  me  its  intention  respecting  Ireland,  with  the  desire  that  I  might  transmit 
it  to  them,  and  to  do  so  I  asked  for  the  passport.  "What  communication,  and  by  whom?" 
"By  Col.  Dalton,  who  said  he  came  officially,  and  by  Gen.  Harty,  and  the  communication 
was  as  follows:"  I  then  detailed  to  him  what  is  already  set  forth  on  that  subject.  When 
I  came  to  that  part  that  said  Ireland  should  be  at  liberty  to  choose  her  own  form  of 
government,  "Undoubtedly",  said  he,  "c'est  tout  simple ;  we  wish  to  do  England  all  the 
harm  we  can,  and  we  know  nothing  can  do  her  so  much  as  separating  Ireland,  but  we 
have  no  wish  to  meddle  with  the  internal  affairs  of  that  country" ;  "but",  says  he,  "nothing 
is  yet  decided  on,  and  why  send  a  message"?  I  answered  that  as  the  agent  of  the  United 
Irishmen  with  the  French  Government,  I  had  received  intelligence  from  thence,  with  orders 
to  communicate  it  only  to  the  First  Consul ;  for  that  purpose  1  solicited  the  honour  of  an 
interview  three  or  four  times,  and  have  been  refused. 

Minister — "Who  refused  you"? 

Emmet — "It  came  to  me  delivered  by  Mr.  Dalton". 

M. — "But  Mr.  Dalton  could  do  nothing  except  from  me". 

E. — "I  desired  my  application,  Citizen  Minister,  to  be  addressed  to  you,  and  was  told 
the  first  answers  came  from  you.  I  even  desired,  as  I  knew  the  importance  of  my  demand, 
that  an  answer  might  come  personally  from  the  First  Consul,  and  was  informed  the 
last  did." 

M. — "Yes,  I  spoke  to  him,  and  he  said  he  could  see  nobody  on  the  subject  until  his 
plans  were  made." 

E. — "Having  received  my  answer,  Citizen  Minister,  I  said  no  more  on  that  subject, 
but  from  what  I  know  of  the  state  of  my  country  I  can  say  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  it  may  be  informed  to  what  point  it  is  an  object  with  the  French  Government,  that 
it  may  decide  as  to  its  own  line  of  conduct". 

M. — "Yes,  a  communication  of  that  kind  may  be  useful,  but  how  will  you  send  the 
Message"  ? 

I  then  told  him  my  ideas,  and  said  when  I  first  applied  on  this  subject  I  asked  for  the 
facilities  of  sending  one,  an  expression  very  easily  understood,  but  as  that  demand 
might  cause  delay  I  do  not  make  it  now.  I  was  only  a  private  man  in  my  fortune,  and 
that  not  large.   I  would  however  find  funds. 

We  then  entered  into  something  of  a  more  general  conversation,  in  which  I  said 
when  the  Chief  Consul  was  returned  I  should  be  happy  in  the  opportunity  of  laying 
before  him  what  had  been  transmitted  to  me  on  the  state  of  Ireland.  "Why",  says  he, 
"his  plans  are  not  yet  formed".  I  said  I  supposed  not,  and  I  hope  they  will  not  be  formed 
until  I  have  the  opportunity  of  making  him  acquainted  with  what  may  change  them  in 
some  measure.  "Oh,  as  to  that",  says  he,  "nothing  of  that  kind  can  make  a  change  in  a 
great  plan.  Ireland  is  but  an  accessory  consideration;  if  it  be  possible  for  us  to  land  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  in  England,  then  we  shall  make  them  feel,  but  as  for 
Ireland  there  could  be  no  thought  of  above  twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand  at  the  most". 
I  answered  that  would  be  full  enough.  On  some  occasion  I  mentioned  "mes  functions 
aupres  du  gouvernement",  on  which  he  said,  "you  are  then  appointed  to  discharge  some"? 
—"I  am,  Citizen  Minister;  otherwise  I  should  never  have  solicited  the  honour  of  being 
here,  and  perhaps  it  is  right  I  should  take  this  opportunity  of  stating  to  your  Excellency 
who  I  am.  I  was  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  arrested  in  1798  with  many  others; 
I  was  detained  a  prisoner  in  Ireland  for  a  year,  and  then  deported  to  Fort  George  in  Scot- 
land, where  I  was  kept  also  a  prisoner  'till  this  time  twelvemonths,  and  then  conducted 
in  an  English  frigate  to  Hamburgh.  I  was  going  with  my  family  to  America,  where  I  was 
promised  the  friendship  of  the  leading  men  in  the  State,  and  would  have  sailed  last 
Spring  but  that  shortly  before  I  received  the  orders  of  the  acting  committee  of  the  United 
Irishmen  and  their  authorization  to  proceed  to  Paris  and  be  their  agent  with  this  gov- 
ernment.   I  obeyed  them.    I  renounced  my  private  projects,  and  it  is  only  as  the  repre- 


"Every  Irishman  Can  Be  of  Service"  355 

sentative  of  my  country  that  I  shall  ever  claim  any  attention  or  consideration  for  what  I 
may  offer".  "Do  you  know  Mr.  O'Connor"?  "I  knew  him  very  well  formerly".  "But 
you  don't  see  one  another  now"?  "No,  but  I  hope  that  can  do  no  mischief  to  our 
cause,  as  there  can  be  no  contestation  between  him  and  me.  I  solicit  no  marks  of 
confidence  from  the  French  government  on  personal  grounds.  If,  when  it  did  me  the 
honour  of  distinguishing  me,  in  that  point  of  view,  I  had  not  had  such  delegated  powers, 
I  should  have  said  that  there  were  many  men  in  Paris  who  had  sacrificed  as  much,  who 
had  suffered  as  much,  whose  importance  with  the  people  was  as  great,  whose  devotion  to 
their  cause  was  as  entire,  and  who  in  every  point  of  view  merited  as  much  the  confidence 
of  the  French  government  as  I  could  and  I  should  have  requested  that  they  should  re- 
ceive the  same  marks  of  confidence  as  myself.  In  that  point  of  view  I  shall  not  enter  into 
contest  with  Mr.  O'Connor,  or  any  one,  and  in  a  delegated  capacity  neither  he  nor  any 
one  can  enter  into  contest  with  me.  "Mr.  O'Connor,  then,  has  no  such  power"?  "None". 
"But  he  was  in  France  before"?  "He  was  long  since,  for  one  particular  purpose". — "And 
he  was  coming  over  again  when  he  was  arrested"  ?  "He  was,  and  I  understand  he  founds 
some  claim  upon  it,  but  the  fact  is  this :  In  the  latter  end  of  1797,  the  English  government 
persecuted  him  a  good  deal,  and  he  did  not  choose  to  stand  it  any  longer;  he  determined 
to  fly  to  France,  and  wished  to  be  authorized  to  act  there.  The  Committee  answered  that 
if  he  was  determined  to  go  he  might  be  useful  by  co-operating  with  the  established  agent 
for  the  good  of  the  country,  and  that  agent  was  written  to  to  co-operate  with  Mr.  O'Con- 
nor to  that  point,  and  there  is  the  whole  of  his  appointment. — Since  that  time,  however, 
great  changes  have  taken  place,  the  former  organization  was  destroyed  and  everything 
unhinged,  a  new  one  has  been  established,  and  of  those  who  were  of  the  Committee,  when 
Mr.  O'Connor  wished  to  go  to  France,  all  are  either  dead  or  in  exile  except  two,  who  are 
in  no  respect  concerned  in  the  new  organization.  So  that  he  has  no  kind  of  connection 
with  any  body  whatsoever  now  in  activity,  and  if  the  French  Government  chooses  to 
learn  the  state  of  those  who  are  preparing  to  take  advantage  of  the  present  crisis  of 
Europe,  who  are  risking  everything  and  have  the  means  of  raising  the  whole  country,  I 
say  most  pointedly  and  positively  they  can  only  hear  from  and  communicate  with  that 
body  thro'  me,  as  I  alone  hold  the  thread  of  communication,  and  I  am  ready  to  prove  this 
when  called  on". 

"What  do  you  think  of  Mr.  O'Connor"? 

I  made  no  reply. 

"Frankly  now,  among  ourselves,  answer  me". 

"Citizen  Minister,  I  cannot  permit  myself  to  answer  you,  with  the  avowed  feelings  I 
have  towards  him,  if  I  were  to  give  an  opinion  I  should  almost  suspect  myself,  I  am  sure 
you  would". 

General  Harty  interposed  and  said  there  was  some  quarrel  between  us  at  Fort  George, 
with  the  cause  of  which  he  was  unacquainted. 

I  replied,  "Whatever  is  between  Mr.  O'Connor  and  me,  I  wish  to  submit  only  to  one 
tribunal,  that  of  my  own  country,  and  until  I  can  do  that  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  of  it". 

Berthier — "Can  he  be  of  service  to  us"? 

E. — "Every  Irishman  can  be  of  service  to  you". 

B. — "But  is  he  popular  in  Ireland"? 

E. — "Citizen  Minister,  it  is  painful  to  me  to  speak  of  Mr.  O'Connor,  but  you  press 
me  so  much  I  can't  avoid  it.  On  my  word  of  honour  I  believe  his  popularity  is  lost;  he 
certainly  enjoyed  a  considerable  share  once,  but  I  am  convinced  he  has  none  now;  in 
civil  convulsions  popularity  is  sometimes  very  undeservedly  acquired  and  sometimes  very 
undeservedly  lost.  Which  of  these  has  been  Mr.  O'Connor's  case,  considering  the  terms 
on  which  we  are,  I  shall  not  permit  myself  to  say,  but  you  may  yourself  judge  how  far  his 
popularity  is  lost  from  this,— there  is,  as  I  have  already  had  the  honour  of  telling  you  a 
committee  in  Ireland  which  has  the  means  of  raising  the  whole  country,  and  Mr.  O'Connor 
does  not  even  know  of  its  existence.  Put  it  to  the  trial,  ask  him,  and  he  will  tell  you  that 
we  all  know,  that  the  People  are  ready,  but  he  will  say  there  is  no  Executive.  And  in  this 


356 


Irish  Diffidence  in  France 


he  will  say  what  he  thinks ;  they  have  been  able  to  take  their  measures  in  such  secrecy 
that  the  English  Government  does  not  know  them,  nor  Mr.  O'Connor  either,  and  why? 
Because  they  do  not  wish  it  to  be  known  to  either  one  or  the  other,  a  proof  he  has  not 
their  confidence,  and  as  they  do  not  wish  him  to  know  it,  so  neither  do  I". 

Berthier — "You  may  be  assured,  Sir,  he  shall  not  know  it  from  me.  I  am  happy  to 
have  become  acquainted  with  you.  Send  to  Genl.  Harty  the  description  of  the  person, 
you  shall  have  the  passport  and  the  funds,  and  when  you  have  anything  to  say  I  shall  be 
happy  to  see  you". 

I  assured  him  I  did  not  intend  to  be  importunate,  but  when  I  had  matter  of  sufficient 
consequence  I  hoped  to  enjoy  the  honour  I  had  done  to-day. 

Harty  then  mentioned  something  of  the  United  Irishmen  that  were  prisoners  of  war. 
Berthier  said  to  me — "Any  that  you  can  vouch  for,  give  their  names  to  Genl.  Harty,  and 
they  shall  be  discharged". 

On  our  return  home  I  gave  him  a  list.  I  saw  he  was  pleased  with  the  interview,  and 
particularly  that  I  had  spoken  of  O'Connor.  "I  wished",  he  said,  "to  force  it,  so  that  you 
were  right  to  be  explicit  as  to  yourself  and  your  powers,  and  not  let  any  doubts  arise". 

Before  the  interview,  during  our  long  attendance,  I  took  the  opportunity  of  pointing 
out  to  him  that  he  should  not  attribute  the  backwardness  of  the  Irish  in  giving  him  their 
names  to  any  diffidence  of  him,  but  only  to  a  diffidence  of  France,  which  had  abandoned 
Ireland.  During  the  time  of  the  Directory  they  would  have  rejoiced  at  such  an  offer, 
and  have  offered  to  fight  for  the  cause  of  liberty  anywhere.  But  now  they  are  so  disgusted 
with  the  treatment  of  individuals  and  the  Nation,  that  while  they  can  hope  to  live  on  their 
own  means  they  cannot  prevail  on  themselves  to  accept  a  French  commission,  and  are 
rather  reserving  themselves  to  fight  with  an  Irish  one.  He  endeavoured  to  defend  the 
French  government,  but  I  could  see  in  his  heart  he  thought  his  countrymen  right. 

I  saw  Aherne*  to-day  and  broached  to  him  a  scheme  from  which  I  hope  a  good  deal, 
but  he  has  damped  my  hopes.  If  Daendelsf  was  in  confidence  in  Holland,  I  should  not 
despair  of  doing  a  great  deal  without  France ;  but  he  is  as  low  as  can  be.  He  has,  how- 
ever, in  a  letter  lately  written  expressed  his  wishes  to  aid  in  liberating  Ireland  and  his 
determination  to  engage  in  nothing  else,  and  desired  Aherne  to  make  this  known  to  his 
countrymen  here,  as  Aherne  supposes  that  they  may  suggest  his  appointment,  which  in 
former  times  would  have  succeeded,  but  who  would  think  of  suggesting  the  appointment 
of  a  general  to  the  First  Consul,  above  all  of  a  Republican  and  a  foreigner? 

Thursday,  July  28th.  From  the  last  date  to  this  I  wrote  three  letters  to  General 
Hartey.  The  first  dated  21st  was  about  the  description  of  the  person  for  the  passport 
and  the  expenses  of  his  journey,  for  which  I  declined  naming  any  sum,  nothing  only 
what  he  would  have  to  do.  The  remainder  of  that  letter  and  the  other  two  were  about  the 
state  of  the  United  Irishmen  prisoners  of  war,  and  urging  the  necessity  of  some  general 
regulation  in  their  behalf.  This  I  was  particularly  induced  to  do  by  different  letters  from 
individuals  stating  the  hardship  of  their  situation  from  their  removals,  etc.  In  a  letter 
written  last  night  I  called  for  such  a  measure  as  their  Agent  and  Deputy,  and  insisted  on 
it  not  only  as  their  right,  but  also  as  the  first  proof  the  French  government  could  give  of 
its  good-will  towards  Ireland.  This  morning  I  received  a  letter  from  him  enclosing  the 
passport  and  stating  his  conversation  with  the  Minister  on  the  subject  of  the  funds,  on 
which  neither  could  name  any  sum  and  advising  me  to  do  it.  I  have  in  consequence  stated 
fifty  pounds  as  the  least  sum  with  which  I  would  let  him  set  out,  and  that  as  much  more 


*Captain  John  Aherne,  according  to  the  Memoiis  of  Byrne,  came  to  France  to  finish  his  studies 
and  when  war  broke  out  with  England  be  was  one  of  the  Irish  patriots  who  offered  their  services 
to  the  French  Government.  He  twice  embarked  for  Ireland  and  after  the  failure  of  these  expedi- 
tions he  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  back  to  France.  The  Irish  Legion  being  on  march  to  Mayence 
in  1806  poor  Captain  Aherne  died  suddenly  at  Metz.  He  received  his  commission  in  the  Legion 
from  the  French  Government. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  this  refers  to  Aherne,  a  physician  of  Cork  and  mentioned  by  Madden 
as  a  member  of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen,  who  was  in  Paris  during  Tone's  mission  there,  and 
was  sent  by  Tone  on  a  secret  mission  to  Ireland.  Among  the  persons  he  was  instructed  to  consult 
was  T.  A.  Emmet. 

tGeneral  Herman  W.  Daendels. 


Fulton's  Promise  of  Aid 


357 


will  be  necessary  for  his  return.  That  whatever  is  given  shall  be  applied  to  that  purpose 
only,  and  that  if  it  be  not  enough  I  will  endeavour  to  supply  the  deficiency.  Perhaps  I 
am  wrong,  but  as  the  sum  may  appear  large  I  am  afraid  it  might  be  thought  I  was  wishing 
to  turn  a  penny,  and  I  have  been  more  delicate  than  I  otherwise  would  be.  As  Harty's 
letter  said  nothing  of  the  United  Irishmen  prisoners  of  war,  I  again  urged  their  liberation 
in  my  note  of  this  morning. 

From  the  beginning  I  pressed  that  matter,  from  time  to  time  gave  in  the  names  of 
individuals  who  applied  to  me  and  were  entitled  to  exemption  from  the  arrete.  It  was 
always  promised  without  any  difficulty,  and  as  I  thought  it  would  be  a  matter  of  course 
I  neglected  mentioning  my  having  applied  in  the  proper  part  of  this  journal.  The  delay, 
however,  has  been  so  great  and  so  injurious  to  individuals  that  the  matter  has  become  of 
considerable  consequence,  and  my  latter  applications  have  been  very  urgent. 

August  2nd.  This  morning  came  again  to  town  to  solicit  the  money  and  other  things. 
Called  on  Genl.  Hartey  and  found  that  Dalton  had  returned  and  that  Hartey  had  handed 
all  over  to  him.  I  had  learned  before  I  went  there  that  Genl.  Hartey  had  told  Ware*  that 
O'Connor  and  he  were  busy  about  the  military  arrangements.  When  I  went  to  Harty 
and  carelessly  asked  about  them,  he  said  he  had  given  in  the  names  but  did  not  say  any- 
thing of  O'Connor.  He  also  told  me  Dalton  and  he  were  of  the  committee  for  examining 
the  reclamations  of  the  United  Irishmen.  "O'Connor",  says  I,  "is,  I  suppose,  the  third"? 
He  said  he  believed  not,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to  convince  me  otherwise.  He  then  took 
great  occasion  to  convince  me  that  O'Connor  was  not  in  more  confidence  and  had  not 
done  more  than  I  had.  But  I  am  sure  he  has  made  good  his  ground  with  Hartey  and 
Dalton,  and  they  are  both  very  anxious  to  keep  me  in  ignorance  of  the  communications 
they  have  with  him. 

Wednesday,  August  3rd.  Could  not  see  Dalton  yesterday,  but  did  this  morning.  He 
apologized  for  the  delays  that  had  taken  place  about  the  Irish  prisoners,  and  assured  me  it 
would  be  instantly  rectified ;  which  it  has  been.  He  also  told  me  he  was  sure  I  should  get 
the  money,  and  he  would  see  the  Minister  the  next  day.  As  he  was  made  acquainted  with 
all  that  had  passed  in  his  absence,  I  took  the  opportunity  of  requesting  my  having  solicited 
a  passport  might  not  be  communicated  to  O'Connor;  he  assured  me  it  should  not,  and 
added  what  I  thought  was  very  fair,  if  there  was  not  a  wish  to  keep  me  ignorant  of  the 
communication  with  him.  "The  French  government",  says  he,  "wishes  to  avail  itself  of 
the  services  of  both;  as  for  myself,  my  object  is  the  good  of  France  my  country,  and  of 
Ireland  my  country.  Whatever  my  private  opinions  are  respecting  you  both  are  known 
to  the  Government,  but  I  could  not  permit  myself  to  appear  a  partisan  of  either  one  or  the 
other".   I  wish  he  may  always  pursue  that  conduct. 

Friday,  August  5th.  Came  to  town  on  the  rumours  of  an  insurrection  in  Ireland. 
Find  that  the  fact  is  true,  tho'  to  what  an  extent  is  uncertain.  Most  of  my  countrymen  are 
extremely  impatient  to  give  their  own  and  procure  French  assistance.  After  a  great  deal 
of  hunting  saw  Dalton  and  asked  an  immediate  interview  with  Berthier,  he  is  unfor- 
tunately out  of  town,  but  I  am  to  have  it  to-morrow.  Dalton  says  he  will  go  over  with 
five  hundred  men.  Saw  Fulton  [Robert],  who  promised  if  the  affair  should  become  so 
serious  as  to  leave  him  room  to  work,  he  would  go  over  and  commence  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions [with  his  torpedoes]. 

•In  Byrne's  Memoirs  (Vol.  I,  p.  307)  the  statement  is  made:  "When  I  arrived  at  Paris,  I 
should  immediately  have  waited  on  Mr.  Arthur  O'Connor  had  I  not  heard  that  he  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet  were  on  the  worst  terms;  circumstanced  as  I  was  with  the  latter  [Mr.  Emmet]  I 
could  not  think  of  becoming  acquainted  with  his  enemy. 

"No  one,  however,  regretted  more  than  I  did  to  learn  that  two  such  men  should  not  be  on 
speaking  terms  with  each  other, — they,  whom  my  countrymen  at  home  looked  upon  as  their  most 
strenuous  agents  with  the  French  government,  and  as  consulting  with  one  another  at  every  moment 
to  see  what  was  best  to  be  done.  I  enquired  of  my  friend,  Hugh  Ware,  who  had  spent  a  long  time 
in  prison  with  Messrs.  O'Connor  and  Emmet,  to  know  the  cause  of  their  dispute.  He  told  me 
he  could  never  ascertain  it,  but  that  he  believed  it  was  nothing  political;  that  he  himself  had  en- 
deavoured to  reconcile  these  gentlemen,  but  found  it  impossible.  Their  misunderstandings  must, 
indeed,  have  been  of  a  very  serious  nature,  for  Hugh  was  a  real  peacemaker,  and  no  officer  I  ever 
knew  prevented  more  duels  than  he  did."  Col.  Ware  rendered  a  long  service  in  the  French  army 
as  an  officer  of  the  Irish  Legion  and  died  in  France  greatly  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  It  is 
shown  elsewhere  that  both  Mr.  Emmet  and  Dr.  Macneven  thought  for  a  long  time  that  O'Connor 
was  false  to  the  lush  cause. 


358 


Humbert  Sent  Too  Late 


Saturday,  6th.  Saw  Berthier.  I  asked  in  the  name  of  my  country  for  the  means  of 
going  immediately  and  whether  the  French  Government  intended  to  succour  Ireland  or  not, 
but  that  if  arms  and  ammunition,  with  some  light  artillery  and  cannoniers  and  a  sufficient 
number  of  men,  to  protect  the  debarkation,  could  be  sent  without  causing  any  material 
delay,  they  would  wait.  I  ought  to  state  that  I  began  with  communicating  to  the  Minister 
the  intelligence  I  had  formerly  received  from  Ireland  and  had  wished  to  make  known  to 
Buonaparte.  After  having  asked  for  the  vessel,  &c,  for  my  countrymen,  he  said  it  might 
be  a  very  great  injury  to  let  them  go,  as  they  would  be  so  useful  with  a  large  force.  I 
assured  him  he  would  meet  many  such  wherever  he  landed,  but  he  persisted  in  wishing 
to  retain  them.  I  pressed  with  my  utmost  zeal  for  immediate  supplies,  however  small, 
and  pointed  out  that  the  Directory  had  before  lost  Ireland  by  not  sending  over  one 
hundred  men  in  the  time  of  the  Wexford  insurrection.  He  answered,  we  do  not  yet  know 
of  what  extent  it  is ;  if  it  be  of  consequence  it  will  not  be  so  easily  put  down ;  if  it  be 
not,  it  ought  not  to  damage  our  general  plans.  I  assured  him  the  French  Government 
would  make  it  of  consequence  if  it  chose,  for  from  what  I  had  stated  he  saw  the  United 
Irishmen  would  have  acted  on  sending  a  supply  of  arms,  &c,  and  of  course  the  same  thing 
would  make  the  rising  now  of  consequence,  even  if  it  were  not  so  before. 

"The  government",  says  he,  "will  not  commit  such  a  piece  of  folly  as  the  Directory 
did". 

"Citizen  Minister",  answered  I,  "the  Directory  committed  a  piece  of  folly,  not  in  sending 
Humbert  with  so  small  a  force,  but  in  sending  him  so  late ;  and  it  is  exactly  that  piece  of 
folly  against  which  I  wish  to  guard  the  present  government.  I  warn  you  that  everything 
will  be  decided  by  promptitude,  and  if  England  acts  with  more  rapidity  than  France,  she 
may  suppress  the  present  insurrection.  In  which  case  France  will  vainly  endeavour  to 
rekindle  it  with  her  large  force". 

"No",  said  he,  "the  minds  of  the  people  would  be  so  aroused  and  enraged". 

"That",  says  I,  "would  be  no  equivalent  for  the  discouragement  of  defeat  and  the  loss 
of  the  bravest  and  most  devoted  chiefs.  Time  is  in  this  case  of  more  value  than  strength, 
and  a  very  little  delay  may  let  the  opportunity  slip  away". 

"Fifteen  days",  said  he,  "would  be  no  great  loss  of  time  for  a  considerable  force". 

I  answered,  "Fifteen  days  certainly  would  not  for  a  considerable  force,  but  I  think 
no  accession  of  strength  could  compensate  for  the  difference  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
days". 

At  any  rate",  said  he,  "nothing  can  be  done  until  the  First  Consul  arrives,  which  will 
be  in  three  days,  and  the  courier  must  not  go  before  that,  and  his  dispatch  may  be  very 
different". 

I  lamented  the  absence  of  the  First  Consul  as  a  great  loss,  but  he  assured  me  it  was 
not,  as  he  was  very  prompt  to  decide,  and  his  decisions  were  very  quickly  executed,  and 
repeated,  if  the  insurrection  was  serious  succour  could  easily  come  in  time.  "With  two 
hundred  men",  said  he,  "ready  to  be  landed  in  Ireland,  we  can't  be  at  a  loss  to  collect  the 
men  or  arms  on  any  part  of  the  coast,  and  could  almost  embark  them  in  a  day".  I  im- 
pressed the  necessity  of  promptitude  as  strongly  as  I  could  find  words,  and  again  adverted 
to  the  impatience  of  my  countrymen,  saying  I  should  be  afraid  to  meet  them  with  an 
answer  that  they  must  wait  three  days  before  any  decision  would  be  taken  respecting 
them;  on  which  he  said,  "your  zeal  and  theirs  is  very  natural  and  honourable,  but  the 
zeal  of  individuals  must  sometimes  be  made  to  yield  to  superior  arrangements".  On  the 
whole  I  think  he  feels  the  necessity  of  despatch,  but  no  small  force  will  be  given. 

After  we  had  taken  leave,  Dalton  told  me  he  certainly  knew  that  Berthier  had  written 
yesterday  to  the  First  Consul,  and  that  if  succours  were  decided  on,  the  orders  would  be 
very  promptly  carried  into  execution.  "In  eighteen  days  after  the  measure  was  determined 
on",  said  he,  "we  had  three  thousand  men  and  everything  necessary  for  the  St.  Domingo 
Expedition  embarked".  He  said  his  duty  was  to  take  a  minute  of  my  conversation  with 
Berthier  for  the  Consul's  use,  and  that  he  would  put  my  arguments  as  strong  as  possible. 
He  said  also  he  would  try  himself  to  be  appointed  to  superintend  the  execution  of  the 


The  Folly  of  Half  Measures 


359 


order,  and  would  do  it  with  the  utmost  zeal.  We  talked  over  some  plans  for  the  expedi- 
tion, and  I  gave  him  my  thoughts.  Dalton  in  the  conversation  mentioned  what  I  suspect 
may  have  been  O'Connor's  suggestion — "A  large  French  force  will  be  absolutely  necessary 
to  keep  down  the  people  and  prevent  the  horrors  of  a  revolution,  such  as  took  place 
in  France".  I  perfectly  understood  the  meaning  of  such  language,  but  wished  to  avoid 
seeming  to  see  it,  and  answered — However  great  that  necessity  may  be,  it  is  not  the 
present  question.  Expedition  is  everything,  and  for  that  purpose  the  force  ought  not  to 
be  great,  but  a  small  one  should  be  instantly  sent,  and  send  your  large  force  afterwards  at 
your  leisure.  If  we  get  a  small  one  I  hope  it  will  put  us  into  such  a  situation  as  not  to  be 
dictated  to  by  a  large  one.  I  mentioned  to  Berthier  the  wish  of  the  Irish  to  be  sent  in  a 
vessel  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Murphy,  as  they  knew  he  would  never  strike  his  flag, 
being  as  deeply  embarked  as  themselves.  His  name  and  Gibbon's*  was  also  taken  down  by 
Dalton  to  be  sent  for  as  soon  as  they  could  be  had. 

Wednesday,  August  10th.  Called  on  Dalton  to  know  if  the  First  Consul  was  arrived, 
he  was  not  expected  at  St.  Cloud  'till  night. — He  was  preparing  a  memoir  to  be  laid  before 
him,  parts  of  which  he  read  to  me,  strongly  pressing  the  necessity  of  promptness.  While 
we  were  talking  Corbet  rapt  at  the  door,  and  Dalton  broke  up  the  conversation  by  assuring 
me  he  was  certain  the  First  Consul  would  see  the  necessity  of  speedy  succours  and  give 
them.  I  shortly  went  away,  and  Corbet  followed  me.  He  began  by  lamenting  the  insur- 
rection as  blasting  all  our  chances.  I  answered  him,  but  he  almost  put  me  in  a  passion 
by  dealing  out  what  I  clearly  saw  were  O'Connor's  rodomontades.  He  then  told  me  it 
was  on  another  subject  he  wished  to  speak  to  me,— that  as  the  business  was  begun  it  was 
the  duty  of  every  Irishman  to  give  it  support.  For  that  purpose  many  of  them  wished 
O'Connor  and  me  to  forget  our  animosities  and  concert  and  act  together,  and  that  O'Con- 
nor was  perfectly  willing.  In  fact  it  seemed  to  me,  and  I  believe  was  an  offer  from 
O'Connor  to  pull  up  what  he  might  have  lost  of  credit  with  the  French  Government,  by 
saying  there  was  no  Executive,  or  organization,  and  to  replace  himself  by  my  means. 
I  instantly  answered  that  if  my  objections  to  Mr.  O'Connor  were  only  personal,  I  should 
be  ashamed  to  refuse  an  offer  of  reconciliation  at  such  a  time ;  that  such,  however,  was 
not  the  case,  as  all  personal  matters  between  him  and  me  were  settled  at  Hamburg;  that 
my  objections  to  him  were  moral  and  political.  That  I  conceived  him  a  bad  man  and  a 
very  dangerous  character  for  my  country,  and  should  ever  reproach  myself  if  on  any 
occasion  I  lent  him  the  credit  of  my  name  with  those,  be  they  few  or  many,  who  thought 
well  of  me,  and  thus  increase  his  means  of  doing  mischief.  That,  however,  as  he,  Corbet, 
would  not  probably  like  to  carry  back  such  a  message,  he  might  say  what  was  further  the 
truth,  that  I  saw  no  necessity  for  any  such  communication.  I  acted  only  as  the  agent  for 
the  Provisional  Government  of  Ireland,  and  that  situation  I  could  not  divide  with  any 
one.  That  I  was  pressing  the  French  Government  for  the  most  speedy  succours,  and  as  he 
said  Mr.  O'Connor  was  doing  the  same,  the  two  applications  would  perhaps  have  more 
weight  separately.  Corbet  tried  to  persuade  me  that  O'Connor  was  not  a  dangerous  man, 
and  had  no  bad  intentions  respecting  Ireland ;  at  any  rate  that  it  would  be  prudent  to 
co-operate  with  him  to  a  certain  point,  but  I  answered  I  had  already  sufficiently  acted  with 
and  knew  him  to  form  my  opinion  of  his  ambition,  his  principles,  and  his  morality,  and 
that  I  was  convinced  of  the  fo'ly  and  wickedness  of  such  a  half  measure  If  none  such 
had  been  adopted  with  Robespierre,  he  would  never  have  been  able  to  load  France  with  the 
crimes  and  calamities  of  his  time.  I  said  a  great  deal  more  to  the  same  purpose.  Swiney 
met  us,  and  I  took  him  aside  to  ask  him  to  sign  my  credentials,  which  he  declined,  taking  it 
ad  referendum.  In  the  course  of  the  day  McDonnel.t  Macneven,  and  Swiney  called  on 
O'Connor  formally  acquainting  him  with  my  appointment  and  giving  him  the  opportunify 
of  signing  it.    He  read  it  over  three  or  four  times,  and  seemed  vexed  and  confused,  but 

•According  to  Byrne's  diary: — "Austen  Gibbons,  Lieutenant,  at  the  formation  of  the  Irish  Legion, 
December,  1803.  He  retired  on  reform  pay  in  1806.  Gibbons  left  Ireland  after  General  Humbert 
capitulated  in  1798.    He  was  bred  to  the  sea,  and  had  commanded  merchant  vessels. 

t Supposed  to  be  James  J.  MacDonald,  a  man  of  influence  in  Ireland,  who  was  one  of  the  first 
to  join  Humbert  at  Killala  in  1798,  and  appointed  by  him  to  command  the  Irish.  He  was  a  man 
of  influence  at  this  time  with  the  French  Government. 


360 


Is  O'Connor  to  be  Prefect  of  Ireland  ? 


evaded  on  the  grounds  that  he  was  applied  to  by  the  French  Government  to  negotiate  with 
them  for  Ireland,  and  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the  Executive  Committee  that  ap- 
pointed me;  for  the  particulars  of  this  I  refer  to  their  statement;  he  also  said  if  I  chose 
to  co-operate  with  him  he  was  ready.  It  seems  Humbert  called  on  him  and  is  by  no  means 
satisfied  with  his  reception.  O'Connor,  however,  told  him  it  was  not  yet  decided  whether 
Massena  or  he  was  to  have  the  command,  but  that  he  would  employ  Humbert !  McSheehy* 
was  at  the  same  time  with  O'Connor  in  private  conference. 

I  am  perfectly  convinced  that  it  is  in  agitation  to  take  up  O'Connor  for  a  bad  purpose. 
Query,  is  he  to  be  the  Prefect  of  Ireland?  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  has  let  the  Government 
into  the  secret  that  I  and  my  friends  are  Republicans  and  that  he  is  not ;  it  must  be  con- 
fessed he  is  fitter  than  we  are  for  their  views. 

Thursday,  August  11th.  McSheehy  called  on  Macneven  and  had  some  conversation 
with  him  about  the  necessity  of  my  resigning  my  situation  and  claims  to  O'Connor,  as 
he  had  already  treated  with  the  French  Government,  was  known  and  confided  in  by  those 
who  were  entrusted  with  the  Marine  and  War  Departments,  I  believe  Bernadotte  and 
Truguet.  Macneven  answered  as  I  should,  denied  the  fact  of  his  having  before  treated, 
and  I  said  I  could  not  resign  my  situation  to  any  one,  but  that  I  would  entirely  withdraw 
myself  if  any  hint  was  authentically  given  me  by  the  French  Government  that  my  inter- 
ference was  not  agreeable.  In  which  case  it  would  be  observed  that  Government  was 
treating  only  with  an  individual  and  not  with  the  Irish  people.  That,  however,  I  had 
ever}-  reason  to  be  convinced  I  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  French  Government  as  much 
as  Mr.  O'Connor.  After  a  little  while  McSheehy  took  his  leave. 

Saturday,  13//i.  Saw  Dalton  this  morning;  he  had  not  yet  his  answer,  but  told  me  it 
had  come  to  their  ears  from  the  Police  that  the  Irishmen  w:ere  talking  and  committing 
indiscretions  in  the  coffee-houses,  and  that  a  paper  was  handed  about  among  them  for 
signatures.  I  interrupted  him  to  ask  him  had  they  said  anything  against  the  French 
Government ;  he  said  not,  but  that  in  consequence  of  his  name  having  been  mentioned,  the 
Gd.  Juge,  with  whom  he  is  acquainted,  sent  for  him.  I  then  told  him  the  paper  for  signa- 
tures was  the  authentication  of  my  appointment,  which  I  had  already  shown  him,  and  had 
not  gotten  signed  before  from  motives  of  secrecy,  but  that  now  no  such  caution  was 
necessary.  That  the  Irish  in  signing  it  were  only  obeying  the  orders  of  their  Govern- 
ment, and  I  was  convinced  the  French  Government  would  not  interfere  to  prevent  their 
obeying  their  own.  That  as  to  indiscretions,  if  any  were  committed,  they  were  faults, 
but  I  must  doubt  it.  Many  of  these  men  who  are  perhaps  so  accused  knew  of  the  proceed- 
ings in  Ireland  some  months  back,  but  they  were  all  able  to  keep  their  own  secrets  so  as 
that  neither  the  English  Government,  the  French  Government,  nor  the  Irish  who  had 
not  the  confidence  of  the  Irish  Government  discovered  anything,  and  rely  on  it  if  anything 
should  occur  that  it  would  be  proper  to  conceal  in  the  same  manner  you  will  hear  nothing 
of  it.  But  now  that  there  is  no  mystery  they  may  surely  indulge  in  expressions  of  zeal 
and  satisfaction.  The  paper  for  signatures  can  be  of  no  importance  to  the  French  Gov- 
ernment, but  it  is  very  natural  to  Mr.  O'Connor;  and  your  conversation  reminds  me  of  one 
Genl.  Harty  had  with  me  some  time  since.  I  then  told  him  Harty's  conversation  about 
the  danger  of  clubs  and  meetings,  &c,  and  went  on,  tho'  thro'  delicacy  I  did  not  say  so, 
I  was  well  convinced  all  those  fears  were  put  into  his  head  by  Mr.  O'Connor,  who  dreaded 
its  being  seen  how  entirely  he  was  destitute  of  the  confidence  of  his  countrymen.  And 
I  have  now  the  same  belief  that  this  is,  and  from  the  same  motive,  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
O'Connor.  Dalton  said  he  did  not  know  if  Mr.  O'Connor  was  acquainted  with  the  Gd. 
Juge.  "Nor  do  I,  but  if  I  were  to  indulge  a  suspicion,  after  what  you  have  told  me,  I 
should  say  it  came  entirely  from  Mr.  O'Connor".  But  says  Dalton,  "Comme  vous  etes 
chef  reconnu  vous  devriez  etre  un  peu  despotique  avec  les  Irlandais".  On  which  I  smiled 
and  told  him  I  hoped  I  should  never  be  despotic  over  any  one,  but  that  even  if  I  were 


*McSheehy,  Adj.  Gcnl.,  was  in  the  regular  French  army  when  charged  by  the  government  to 
organize  the  Irish  Legion  and  take  command.  He  proved  unfit  for  the  position.  The  command  was 
taken  from  him  and  he  was  returned  to  the  French  army  itself.    In  1807  he  was  killed  in  battle. 


The  French  and  Revolution 


361 


inclined  to  exercise  an  act  of  power  I  really  saw  no  room,  as  I  was  convinced  there  had 
been  no  fault.  We  had  some  further  trifling  conversation,  in  which  talking  of  the 
necessity  of  a  large  French  force  in  Ireland,  he  said  it  would  be  necessary  for  a  time  that 
the  French  should  assume  the  management  on  themselves  and  settle  everything.  That 
is,  said  I,  provided  you  don't  find  a  Government  ready  formed  on  your  arrival.  "Oh," 
says  he,  "the  French  are  so  well  acquainted  with  the  mode  of  making  revolutions,  a 
French  general  wittily  said  to  an  Austrian  general  who  wanted  to  revolutionize  a  country 
against  the  French, — General,  you  had  better  not  try  that  game  against  us  or  we  may  give 
you  enough  of  revolution".  I  laughed,  as  became  me,  at  the  French  general's  wit,  but 
said  nothing  of  the  application,  nor  shall  I  'till  the  fulness  of  time  and  'till  I  see  how  the 
affairs  of  my  country  stand.  Perhaps  we  too  may  show  them  that  we  know  a  little  of 
making  revolutions,  and  that  the  best  way  is  to  stop  knaves  at  the  outset.  While  I  was 
speaking  to  him  a  messenger  came  to  him  from  the  Minister  to  go  there  directly.  On 
my  return  home  I  met  Bonneville  who  has  long  been  eager  to  introduce  me  to  Garat,  and 
thro'  him  to  Truguet.  He  had  been  speaking  to  Garat  on  the  subject,  and  stated  my  situa- 
tion. I  am  to  see  him  to-morrow  morning.  But  in  the  outset  Bonneville  made  a  great 
fault.  Garat  is  personally  acquainted  with  O'Connor,  and  has  been  speaking  to  him,  and 
he  mentioned  the  absolute  necessity  of  my  acting  with  O'Connor  on  which  B.  promised 
that  we  should  be  reconciled.  On  my  saying  "never",  he  got  into  a  great  passion,  but  I 
persevered  and  told  him  before  he  promised  for  me  he  should  have  consulted  me  and 
insisted  on  his  undeceiving  Garat  before  I  went  there,  which  he  will  do. 

Have  just  seen  Dalton  again  in  consequence  of  a  note  from  him.  The  Minister  sent 
for  him  to  communicate  the  First  Consul's  answer  to  me.  Which  is  that  he  cannot  per- 
sonally see  me,  because  he  could  not  do  so  without  recognizing  me  and  the  Provisional 
Government,  which  he  cannot  do  until  there  are  twenty-five  thousand  Irish  troops  joined 
to  his  in  Ireland.  That  he  will  not  send  less  than  twenty-five  thousand  men,  and  of  this 
resolution  I  may  be  sure,  but  that  he  will  accelerate  all  his  preparations  with  the  utmost 
speed,  and  that  these  twenty-five  thousand  men  are  not  intended  to  stay  in  Ireland,  but 
to  annoy  the  western  coast  of  England,  that  in  the  meanwhile  we  shall  have  arms  and 
ammunition  as  much  as  we  can  want  from  the  English  arms  in  Hanover  thro'  the  Elbe, 
which  is  not  so  strictly  blocked.  That  they  may  be  smuggled  out,  and  north  about,  to 
Ireland ;  that  he  wishes  as  most  important  that  the  Irish  should  contrive  means  of  opening 
a  communication  with  France ;  and  further  that  he  assured  us  he  would  never  make  peace 
with  England  except  on  the  condition  of  the  independence  of  Ireland  being  recognized. 
We  had  then  some  conversation  about  the  means  of  getting  the  arms  from  the  Elbe,  and 
requested  that  Murphy  should  be  sent  for  and  a  vessel  instantly  given  him,  which  will  I 
hope  be  the  case.  I  asked  him  when  he  thought  such  a  force  could  be  got  ready,  and  he 
said  scarcely  before  two  months,  and  that  he  was  sure  it  would  not  be  delayed  longer, 
and  that  about  the  Equinox  I  would  see  a  very  general  move.  I  wished  for  some  arms 
from  the  western  ports  of  France.  He  said  if  it  was  absolutely  necessary  he  believed 
they  would  be  given,  but  that  it  would  be  a  great  inconvenience,  as  they  would  want  arms 
for  the  grand  expedition  and  must  collect  all  they  could  and  even  bring  some  to  that  quarter 
for  that  purpose.  I  spoke  about  the  eagerness  of  my  countrymen  to  be  gone  and  he  said 
I  am  not  officially  desired  to  tell  you,  but  I  know  the  government  attaches  great  impor- 
tance to  having  as  many  Irishmen  as  possible  with  the  grand  expedition. 

He  further  added  that  if  I  desired  it  the  Minister  would  repeat  the  message  he  had 
delivered,  I  said  that  tho'  it  was  perfectly  unnecessary  for  myself  I  should  wish  it  for  the 
sake  of  the  others.    He  will  see  the  Minister  on  the  subject. 

Sunday,  August  14th.  Saw  Garat  and  had  a  very  long  conversation  with  him.  He 
first  mentioned  about  O'Connor,  of  whom  he  spoke  very  highly,  and  assured  me  his  views 
were  the  most  simple  and  candid,  that  he  claimed  no  authorisation  and  said  he  was  nothing 
but  O'Connor,  an  individual  whose  name  was  known  thro'  Europe  and  whose  suffering 
might  entitle  him  to  some  credit.  And  that  all  he  asked  was  an  immediate  force,  with 
which  he  was  ready  to  go.    I  told  him  Mr.  O'Connor's  claims  had  not  been  always  so 


362       Irish  Independence  a  Condition  of  Peace 


confined,  and  that  as  he,  Garat,  was  only  three  days  in  town  he  was  probably  ignorant  of 
what  had  been  previously  claimed,  that  however  now,  as  he  claimed  nothing  except  as 
O'Connor,  and  that  I  claim  nothing  as  Emmet,  there  could  be  no  contestation  between  us. 
We  both,  it  seemed,  gave  the  same  advice  and  solicited  the  same  things  for  Ireland, 
therefore  we  could  not  counteract  each  other.  He  seemed  convinced,  and  said  it  only 
came  to  this  that  I  should  remain  here  as  Minister  and  O'Connor  go  with  the  Expedition. 
I  answered  precisely,  provided  the  French  Government  in  sending  him  did  not  interefere 
with  the  prerogative  of  the  Irish  Government.  We  then  went  into  what  was  necessary 
to  be  done.  Garat  seemed  to  hint  something  as  if  he  was  appointed  to  speak  on  those 
things.    But  I  believe  he  has  no  authority  except  his  friendship  with  Truguet. 

However,  I  stated  what  I  thought  would  be  the  advantages  of  an  immediate  recogni- 
tion of  me  and  my  country  by  France,  stating  that  I  had  reason  to  apprehend  it  would  not 
be  immediately  done  and  would  not  press  it,  but  that  if  the  French  Government  thought  fit 
to  offer  it,  I  would  accept  it.  He  knew  from  Bonneville  that  I  had  desired  to  see  Bona- 
parte and  wished  I  could.  I  said  nearly  the  same  thing,  that  I  did  not  think  it  would  be 
granted,  and  would  not  let  myself  down  by  subjecting  myself  to  repeated  refusals;  but 
that  if  he  or  his  friends  could  procure  me  the  offer  of  that  honour  I  would  gladly  use  it. 
That,  however,  the  material  thing  was  to  get  succours  and  to  get  them  instantly.  I  pressed 
promptitude  and  velocity  with  my  utmost  strength,  and  he  appeared  to  enter  perfectly 
into  my  views.  In  the  conversation  he  mentioned  as  a  fact  that  at  the  time  of  Humbert's 
and  Hardy's  expedition  the  command  had  been  offered  to  Cherin,  the  friend  of  Hoche, 
who  he  said  would  have  done  it  well,  that  he  demanded  twelve  thousand  men  and  sunk  down 
to  eight  thousand,  but  would  never  go  lower,  that  it  was  then  offered  to  Bernadotte  who 
asked  fifteen  thousand  and  would  not  go  lower  than  twelve.  I  however  endeavoured  to 
convince  him  that  less  force  would  have  done,  and  said  I  was  afraid  the  rock  on  which 
the  French  would  split  was  the  desire  to  do  things  "en  grand".  He  talked  of  being  ready 
in  six  months,  but  I  deprecated  the  delay  of  half  that  time.  He  said  the  Marie  was  not 
ready,  there  was  no  more  than  five  sail  of  the  line  in  Brest  and  their  crews  not  complete. 
However,  he  was  very  sensible  of  the  importance  of  Ireland  and  the  necessity  of  instant 
action  in  her  defence.  On  the  whole  I  was  pleased  with  him  and  he  gave  me  room  to  think 
he  was  so  with  me,  but  did  not  talk  of  presenting  me  to  Truguet,  that  however  I  hope  will 
come  in  time  and  soon. 

Bonneville  has  told  me  this  evening  that  after  I  was  gone  Garat  said  he  saw  the 
proper  person  to  be  taken  up  and  that  he  would  see  some  one  tomorrow. 

Monday,  August  15th.  Called  on  Dalton  this  morning  to  fix  about  seeing  the  Minister, 
he  has  not  met  him  since,  but  gave  me  a  rendezvous  for  tomorrow.  As  Garat's  talk  of 
six  months  has  frightened  me,  I  asked  him  if  he  seriously  thought  the  expedition  could 
be  ready  in  two  months, — he  seemed  to  laugh  at  any  further  delay  and  assured  me  that 
before  Vendemiaire  I  should  see  it  so,  "Marine  et  tout"?  "tout,  tout".  I  told  him  one 
reason  for  my  wishing  to  see  the  Minister  was  because  I  annexed  considerable  importance 
to  an  expression  he  had  mentioned  to  me  from  the  Consul,  and  that  I  wished  neither  to 
deceive  myself  nor  my  countrymen,  I  alluded  to  his  assurance  that  he  would  never  make 
peace  with  England  'till  the  independence  of  Ireland  was  recognized.  Dalton  said  it  came 
expressly  and  personally  from  the  first  consul.  "Vous  pouvez  leur  assurer  de  ma  part" 
were  his  words.  I  then  said  the  Directory  had  given  the  same  assurance,  and  peace  was 
made  without  that  condition.  He  then  remarked  the  difference  between  one  man  and  five, 
but  said  your  best  assurance  is  your  interest;  promises  and  even  treaties  are  every  day 
broken  and  writing  is  scarcely  more  solemn  with  Nations  than  words,  but  their  interest  is  the 
certain  hold. — It  is  the  interest  of  France,  recognized  for  ages  but  now  more  strongly  felt 
than  ever,  to  separate  Ireland  from  England.  I  said — "it  was  her  interest  in  the  last  war 
but  it  was  not  done".  Dalton  said,  "but  it  is  now  more  strongly  felt  than  ever,  and  has 
penetrated  those  it  did  not  before.  England  has  forced  it  to  be  felt.  We  hoped  that  the 
treaty  of  peace  would  have  been  kept  and  that  we  could  have  arranged  ourselves  with 
her,  but  she  has  made  us  feel  that  she  will  war  against  our  prosperity  while  she  has  the 


Voila  un  Traitre! 


363 


means.  The  separation  of  Ireland  is  the  only  way  of  destroying  those  means,  and  its 
advantages  are  so  strongly  felt  that  no  one  thinks  of  discussing  them.  I  can  assure  you 
that  sentiment  has  penetrated  into  every  quarter  and  that  conviction  is  your  best  security. 
Government  is  convinced  that  France  can  not  have  solid  peace  with  England  'till  Ireland 
is  her  ally  and  her  friend". 

Tuesday,  \tth.  In  consequence  of  a  message  from  Bonneville  last  night,  I  called  upon 
him  early  this  morning.  He  then  told  me  that  Garat  had  seen  La  Place,  who  had  consented 
to  wait  on  Bonaparte  on  Irish  affairs.  If  Garat  would  be  present  at  the  interview,  to  which 
Garat  has  consented,  perhaps  it  may  produce  good.  I  expressed  my  wish  to  know  Truguet, 
which  he  said  he  would  try  to  bring  about.  Macneven  mentioned  to  me  on  my  return 
home  that  he  had  from  authority,  on  which  he  could  rely,  that  O'Connor  alleges  that  the 
Provisional  Government  is  only  a  faction  to  exclude  him,  and  that  all  who  support  it  are 
in  the  same  faction.  I  hope  it  may  be  immense  and  irresistible.  The  same  authority  also 
assured  Macneven  that  O'Connor  is  urging  the  French  Government  to  send  over  with  the 
troops  a  constitution  and  regulations  of  Government  to  impose  on  the  Irish,  and  that  he 
is  urging  this  against  their  wish,  as  they  think  it  would  be  very  impolitic  and  dangerous ! 
If  that  be  true — voila  un  traitre !  Macneven  assigned  very  strong  reasons  against  such 
an  act.  Dalton  and  I  saw  the  Minister  while  we  were  waiting.  D.  said  he  knew  with 
certainty,  and  repeated  the  expression,  that  Government  is  directing  the  utmost  attention 
to  the  Marne,  and  that  in  a  short  time  I  should  see  a  "belle  reunion  de  vaisseaux".  I  said 
that  was  the  point  where  I  dreaded  a  deficiency,  he  said  I  need  not  have  the  least  apprehen- 
sion, that  they  would  collect  more  than  enough  of  ships  of  the  line  and  the  force  would 
depart  from  one  port.  I  talked  of  the  necessity  of  quickening  the  preparation  against 
England,  he  said  the  activity  was  immense,  that  he  believed  they  would  be  ready  in  four 
months;  but  that  they  would  begin  to  menace  long  before  so  as  to  prevent  sending  troops 
to  Ireland.  When  the  Minister  entered  he  repeated  the  conversation  as  Dalton  had 
done,  and  asked  did  I  know  the  best  places  for  sending  the  arms.  I  told  him  four  places 
had  been  indicated  to  me  before  the  insurrection  the*  I  could  not  however  say  what  their 
actual  situation  might  now  be.  He  seemed  to  wish  to  put  off  the  sending  of  arms  'till 
the  arrival  of  accounts  from  Ireland.  But  I  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  that  delay  and 
he  said  I  must  give  him  a  note  of  what  I  thought  the  most  proper  places  and  why.  How- 
ever on  further  explanation  he  seemed  to  come  off  of  that  and  consented  that  Murphy 
should  be  sent  for  and  no  time  lost.  I  pointed  out  we  had  already  let  twelve  days  lapse 
since  the  arrival  of  the  last  accounts.  We  had  some  further  conversation  on  the  subject 
and  he  wished  some  vessels  to  come  express  from  Ireland  to  receive  arms,  over  to 
Bordeaux,  or  the  western  coast,  and  to  establish  the  most  speedy  communication.  I  then 
reverted  to  the  remainder  of  the  Consul's  answer  and  said  that  as  to  acknowledging  me 
if  I  were  to  advise  I  might  perhaps  give  it  contrary  to  the  opinion  entertained  by  the 
Consul,  but  no  matter  for  the  present  the  most  essential  thing  was  succour  and  not 
acknowledgement.  I  then  said  there  was  part  of  the  answer  to  which  I  attached  very 
great  importance,  and  wished  to  know  whether  I  over-rated  it.  I  meant  the  assurance 
that  he  would  never  make  peace  with  England,  'till  the  independence  of  Ireland  was 
recognised.  I  requested  to  know  whether  that  was  intended  as  a  formal  assurance  on  the 
part  of  the  French  Government  to  my  countrymen,  and  whether  I  should  formally 
communicate  it  as  such.  He  answered  "Yes,  certainly",  and  that  it  was  the  Consul's 
intention  I  should  do  so.  I  then  asked  him  when  he  thought  the  expedition  would  be 
ready,  he  said  it  was  hard  to  say,  and  seemed  to  wish  to  parry  the  question,  but  I  said  I 
did  not  mean  by  asking  it  to  bind  the  Government  to  the  time  mentioned,  but  that  it  would 
be  a  great  object  to  those  in  Ireland  to  know  when,  as  they  would  accordingly  make  their 
own  arrangements.  He  then  said  he  was  pretty  sure  in  about  two  months,  but  that  with 
twenty-five  thousand  men  it  was  hard  to  be  precise  and  that  besides  "on  les  previendra". 
He  bid  me  try  and  make  them  if  possible  be  quiet  'till  the  French  came,  which  proves  two 
things, — 1st  that  this  government  does  not  wish  them  to  be  up  on  its  arrival,  and  2nd  that 
on  the  idea  of  their  being  put  down  it  intends  to  continue  its  activity,  and  give  them  speedy 


364 


Passport  Granted 


help.  The  rising  therefore  had  had  even  this  effect,  even  if  it  shall  have  failed,  that  it  has 
quickened  the  French  and  determined  them  to  do  in  two  months  what  they  had  no  notion 
of  doing  before  six  months.  I  then  asked  the  proper  passport  and  the  money  for  the 
messenger,  which  he  has  promised  me  by  one  o'clock  today.  I  have  received  the  money 
and  more,  for  instead  of  one  hundred  pounds  he  has  sent  me  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  and  the  passport  and  the  messenger  will  be  off  to  night. 

From  Thursday,  25th  August,  to  Wednesday,  September  7th.  I  was  all  this  time  in 
Paris,  but  having  forgotten  my  journal  I  could  not  take  a  correct  diary. 

On  Wednesday  the  24th  of  August,  Capt.  Murphy  called  on  me  after  his  arrival  from 
Ostend,  and  we  went  into  town  together  that  evening.  Next  day  I  called  on  Dalton  and 
informed  him  of  Murphy's  arrival,  requesting  that  a  proper  nautical  person  might  be 
appointed  to  confer  with  us  on  the  best  mode  of  sending  arms.  This  I  did  in  consequence 
of  my  previous  conversation  with  Murphy,  who  convinced  me  that  the  idea  of  sending 
arms  from  the  Elbe  in  Merchant  vessels  was  absurd,  and  that  they  should  go  from  the 
Western  Coasts  in  armed  vessels.  I  also  made  Murphy  write  to  the  Minister  of  Marine, 
mentioning  his  arrival  as  he  was  coming  upon  an  invitation  from  him  before  he  received 
mine. 

He  has  never  heard  anything  from  the  Minister  of  Marine,  and  as  for  myself  I  was 
promised  an  answer  in  a  couple  of  days,  and  afterwards  put  off  on  one  pretext  and  an- 
other from  day  to  day,  and  finally  promised  it  definitely  on  Saturday  night,  Sept.  3d. 
During  all  this  time  rumours  were  circulating  of  some  negotiation  with  England  and  an 
armistice  talked  of.  I  mentioned  it  to  Dalton,  his  answer  was,  that  peace  was  impossible, 
but  that  an  armistice  might  be,  as  it  was  for  the  interest  of  France.  Having  received  no 
answer  on  Saturday  night,  I  did  not  ask  him  to  see  the  Minister  at  War  because  I  knew 
he  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  my  request  and  had  conversed  on  it  to  Dalton.  But  I 
prepared  a  memorial  to  Bonaparte,  calculated  also  to  meet  the  possibility  of  negotiation 
and  urging  the  utmost  possible  speed  on  the  score  of  the  interests  of  the  Republic,  and 
concluding  with  the  same  request  I  had  made  thro'  Dalton,  as  a  preliminary  to  sending 
the  promised  arms.  Having  finished  this  I  determined,  if  possible,  not  to  send  it  thro' 
Berthier,  that  in  case  he  heard  of  it,  he  might  see  I  felt  the  impropriety  of  not  giving  me 
some  answer  and  I  requested  Garat  to  deliver  it,  which  he  understood  to  do  in  the  hand- 
somest manner.  He  further  told  me  he  had  a  reason  to  know  that  Government  was  very 
anxiously  occupied  about  our  affairs.  He  had  on  a  former  occasion  told  Bonneville  that 
Bonaparte  was  afraid  to  separate  Ireland  lest  it  should  be  too  democratic  and  give  a 
bad  example,  but  that  he  was  strongly  urged  to  it  by  the  Senate  and  the  members  of  the 
Government.  He  further  told  me  our  marine  affairs  were  in  the  hands  of  Truguet,  who 
was  devoted  to  our  cause.  Having  secured  the  delivery  of  my  memoir  on  Friday  I  wrote 
a  note  to  Dalton,  rather  drily  informing  him  that  as  I  had  received  no  answer  and  now 
expected  none  I  was  returning  to  the  country.  War  has  been  these  several  days  past 
talked,  and  movement  made  against  Portugal.  Is  it  possible  that  could  be  only  a  pretext 
for  marching  the  troops  from  Bayonne  to  Ferril  to  embark  them  for  Ireland? 

Sunday,  Sept.  11th.  Came  to  town  again  today  to  be  in  the  way  and  hoping  to  hear 
about  my  memorial.  To  my  mortification  Bonneville  has  given  McDonnell  a  message  for 
me,  stating  that  it  had  been  impossible  to  deliver  it  on  Friday,  from  some  etiquette,  but 
that  he  would  do  it  today.  I  must  therefore  wait  some  days  more  even  if  it  is  to  be 
honoured  with  any  notice. 

Tuesday,  13th.  In  consequence  of  a  message  from  Dalton  and  some  minor  circum- 
stances, about  prisoners  at  War  &c,  I  called  on  him.  The  only  thing  remarkable  in  the 
interview  is  that  he  apologised  for  not  giving  me  an  answer  to  my  demand,  by  stating  that 
he  had  none  to  give,  that  he  had  often  pressed  the  Minister  on  the  subject  but  could  obtain 
no  answer,  and  that  he  presumed  Government  had  changed  its  intentions  on  that  subject. 
This  last  I  am  sure  is  also  true  by  their  conduct  respecting  Murphy,  to  whom,  unknown  to 
me,  Dalton  made  an  offer  to  restore  him  to  his  former  rank  of  Captain  of  a  frigate,  if 
he  would  put  himself  at  the  disposition  of  the  Government.    Murphy  accepted  it  as  he 


The  Pretext  of  Keeping  Down  Factions 


said  in  everything  for  the  good  of  his  country,  but  insisted  on  having  a  regular  brevet, 
which  he  was  promised.  This  was  all  done  unknown  to  me,  but  no  brevet  or  written 
promise  coming,  Murphy  mentioned  to  me  last  night  that  he  would  go  to  the  country  if 
he  heard  nothing  more  about  his  arrears  of  pay,  giving  me  to  understand  that  there  was  no 
other  subject  of  conversation  between  him  and  Dalton  in  the  interview,  which  after  a 
good  deal  of  hesitation  he  told  me  had  taken  place.  This  morning  I  told  Dalton,  in  a 
general  way,  that  if  he  was  not  quick  in  his  movements  he  would  lose  Murphy,  who 
mentioned  to  me  his  fixed  resolution  of  going  back  to  Dunkirk  on  Saturday  if  he  had 
nothing  satisfactory  before.  On  this  Dalton,  supposing  Murphy  had  told  me  all,  said  he 
would  go  to  the  Minister  of  Marine  directly  and  have  his  brevet  made  out,  that  he  had 
been  so  expressly  authorised  to  make  him  the  offer  by  the  Minister  of  Marine,  and  that 
he  need  not  be  uneasy.  By  Murphy's  agreeing  to  put  himself  at  the  general  disposal  of 
the  French  Government,  and  by  his  wish  to  keep  the  treaty  concealed  from  me,  I  see  that 
he  has  changed  his  mind  as  well  as  the  French  Government.  God  knows  how  I  could 
get  the  arms  over,  even  if  a  favourable  answer  should  be  given  to  my  memorial.  Dalton 
sets  off  tonight  to  Strassbourg  on  a  mission  to  conduct  the  Turkish  Ambassador  to  Paris 
and  in  his  absence  everything  referred  again  to  Harty. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  14th.  Saw  Bonneville  this  morning.  Garat  had  not  been  able  to 
deliver  the  memoir  on  Sunday,  for  when  he  went  to  St.  Cloud,  he  found  that  the  Consul 
had  no  audience  and  was  gone  to  Malmaison.  He  has  requested  a  special  audience  for 
to  day  to  give  it.  On  my  way  home  met  Corbet,  who  began,  as  on  a  former  occasion,  by 
condemning  the  measures  in  Ireland,  as  if  to  conciliate  my  temper,  and  then  proposed  an 
accommodation  with  O'Connor  that  we  might  co-operate,  saying  "that  as  matters  were 
going  on  it  were  to  be  wished  that  they  could  be  succoured".  I  rejected  every  accomoda- 
tion on  the  same  grounds  as  before,  political  and  not  personal.  He  urged  that  if  we  were 
reconciled  O'Connor  would  sacrifice  a  great  deal  of  his  opinions  to  meet  mine  and  give 
a  joint  advice  to  Government.  I  answered  that  I  knew  Mr.  O'Connor  too  well  not  to 
be  convinced  that  if  we  did  appear  to  co-operate  and  give  a  joint  advice,  which  did  not 
meet  his  views,  he  would  nevertheless  find  means  to  suggest  and  enforce  his  own,  so  that 
nothing  would  be  gained  on  that  head.  That  besides  I  only  acted  in  a  delegated  capacity, 
which  I  could  not  divide  with  anyone,  and  would  not  willingly  share  with  Mr.  O'Connor, 
that  I  wished  for  nothing  but  what  I  knew  my  countrymen  required,  and  gave  no  advice 
but  what  flowed  from  their  wishes.  That  I  could  never  consent  to  modify  these  solicita- 
tions, or  that  advice,  to  meet  any  ideas  of  Mr.  O'Connor,  and  that  in  seeking  for  a  coun- 
sellor to  assist  me  with  his  opinions  and  judgments  I  should  only  choose  one  on  whose 
integrity  and  talents  I  had  reliance.  That  as  to  co-operation,  if  we  did  not  really  agree 
in  opinion,  Mr.  O'Connor  would,  I  was  persuaded,  in  every  situation,  openly  or  secretly 
urge  his  own ;  if  we  did  agree,  there  was  a  virtual  co-operation  without  our  coming 
together.  The  advice  I  gave  to  Government,  and  urged  with  all  my  strength  was  this, 
to  lose  no  time,  to  give  the  utmost  they  could  instantly  and  as  much  as  possible 
at  their  leisure,  but  to  succour  as  soon  and  as  powerfully  as  possible  those  who  were 
now  acting.  I  hoped  Mr.  O'Connor  did  not  give  different  advice.  I  hoped  he 
did  not  tell  them  that  the  present  insurrection  was  trifling  and  insignificant  and  the  work 
of  some  obscure  men,  that  he  did  not  advise  them  to  let  it  die  away,  and  not  to  go  but 
with  a  large  force,  that  might  enable  them  to  take  things  up  "de  novo",  to  come  with  a 
ready  made  constitution  for  the  Irish  people,  and  to  interfere  with  the  civil  authority  of 
the  country,  under  specious  and  hackneyed  pretext  of  keeping/  down  factions.  I  said  all 
this,  it  being  ascertained  from  the  information  Macneven  had  received,  from  I  know  excel- 
lent authority,  that  such  is  his  language.  When  I  mentioned  the  words  "keeping  down 
factions"  Corbet,  conscious  he  had  often  sung  second  to  O'Connor,  said  he  himself  was 
very  apprehensive  they  would  be  wanting  at  first  for  that  purpose,  that  the  spirit  of  indi- 
vidual revenge  would  be  let  loose  and  that  they  alone  could  not  curb  the  overflowing 
of  popular  fury.  I  answered  that  they  showed  no  disposition  to  go  in  time  to  stop  those 
outrages,  which,  I  lamented  as  much  as  anyone,  were  likely  to  disgrace  the  first  beginning 


366 


Allies  and  Not  Mediators 


of  our  revolution.  That  besides  if  they  were  there,  they  would  not  care  whether  this 
or  that  private  individual  was  cruelly  massacred,  it  was  too  petty  an  object  for  their 
attention.  They  would  interfere  en  grand,  espouse  some  party  and  then  oppose  its  rival 
under  the  name  of  keeping  down  faction,  that  I  was  for  no  such  mediation  of  foreigners 
and  would  submit  to  none  in  Ireland  but  that  of  the  Irish  people.  That  if  the  French 
came,  they  must  prepare  themselves  to  act  only  as  allies,  and  as  such  indeed  not  to  let  the 
laws  of  the  land  and  the  obligations  of  morality  and  humanity  be  violated  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood without  securing  the  culprit,  and  submitting  him  to  the  tribunal  of  his  country. 
But  that  whoever  should  advise  them  to  erect  themselves  into  Mediators  in  a  land  aspiring 
to  be  free,  between  rival  parties,  if  any  such  should  exist,  would  prepare  for  that  land  new 
and  not  less  destructive  civil  wars  than  any  she  had  ever  yet  encountered.  That  I  hoped 
no  one  was  giving  them  that  advice,  or  suggesting  to  them  to  dispose  of  officers  in  the 
Irish  Government  as  they  might  think  fit.  The  argument  did  not  end  here,  for  Corbet 
defended  his  opinion,  but  with  such  arguments  as  I  really  forget.  In  urging  me  to  the 
reconciliation  with  O'Connor  what  an  effect  it  would  have  in  deciding  the  resolutions  of 
the  French  Government  if  it  saw  us  co-operating.  To  that  I  answered  drily,  that  after 
what  the  French  knew  of  the  state  of  Ireland,  of  its  importance  and  its  wants,  I  should 
think  very  meanly  of  its  politics  and  talents  if  it  were  induced  to  send  an  additional  soldier 
or  musket  by  any  appearance  of  co-operation  between  Mr.  O'Connor  and  me.  He  then 
attempted  to  touch  my  fears,  by  talking  of  O'Connor's  great  influence  in  Ireland,  and  that 
those  who  knew  the  services  he  had  rendered  to  his  country  would  not  suffer  him  to  be 
put  down.  I  told  him  I  had  long  acted  with  Mr.  O'Connor  and  knew  his  services  a  great 
deal  better  than  those  who  had  heard  of  them  from  his  own  lips,  that  at  any  rate  when 
Ireland  was  free,  let  his  country  estimate  what  he  had  done,  what  he  had  not  done,  what 
he  had  boasted  of  having  done  and  what  he  had  arrogated  to  himself  of  others'  acts  and 
let  it  give  him  whatever  situation  it  pleased.  I  should  never  intrigue  against  it,  but  I 
was  decided  never  to  fill  any  situation  that  should  come  in  contact  with  his,  except  per- 
haps as  members  of  the  same  legislature ;  we  separated,  neither  I  believe  perfectly  pleased 
with  the  other.  He  almost  avowed  that  he  was  acting  by  O'Connor's  desire,  the  same 
man  that  in  the  height  of  his  calumnies  against  Macneven  and  me  said  to  several,  and  I 
believe  to  Corbet,  that  he  would  never  act  with  either  of  us,  he  never  shall.  When  I  met 
Corbet  he  was  reading  the  papers,  which  contain,  whether  true  or  false,  some  strong 
reports  of  great  success  on  the  part  of  our  friends  in  Ireland,  as  did  some  of  yesterday's 
papers.  I  suspect  they  are  the  cause  of  O'Connor's  advances,  when  I  pointed  them  out 
to  Corbet  he  seemed  as  melancholy  as  if  he  considered  them  in  the  light  of  disasters.  I 
have  my  own  to  regret,  but  I  do  so  in  private. 


Before  Ireland  could  be  a  naiion,  she  became  a  province;  before  Ireland  could  be  a  people, 
her  inhabitants  nvere  made  slaves,  attached  not  to  their  country,  but  to  their  soil. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


The  common  soldier  is  as  much  of  a  machine  as  the  musket  tvith  which  he  kilts  the 
peasant,  or  the  torch  tvhich  he  employs  to  fire  his  habitation. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXII 

Col.  Miles  Byrne,  the  trusted  friend  of  Robert  Emmet,  arrives  from  Ireland  with  a 
full  report  for  Mr.  Emmet  from  his  brother  as  to  his  plans  and  failure — Also  of  his 
arrest  and  that  of  John  Patten  and  of  every  one  connected  with  the  family,  which  had 
been  accomplished  before  Byrne  could  get  out  of  the  country — Criticisms  and  some  ex- 
planations as  to  the  cause  of  failure — Mr.  Emmet  and  his  family  return  to  the  country 
so  as  to  limit  as  far  as  possible  a  knowledge  of  the  disaster  in  Ireland  and  to  cause  as 
little  discouragement  as  possible — Is  assured  that  the  preparation  for  the  expedition  to 
Ireland  is  progressing  rapidly — Accidentally  meets  O'Connor  in  the  street,  who  is  very 
cordial  and  insists  on  talking  over  the  situation  and  expresses  his  desire  to  establish 
good  feeling  between  them — O'Connor  is  heard  to  the  end,  when  Mr.  Emmet  politely 
concludes  "this  extraordinary  interview"  by  assuring  Mr.  O'Connor  that  what  he  seeks 
to  accomplish  is  impossible — Sketch  of  Capt.  Thos.  Markey — Reports  received  by  Mr. 
Emmet  of  his  brother's  trial — It  was  not  known  even  at  the  time  how  close  a  relation 
existed  between  these  two  brothers,  and  Mr.  Emmet's  grief  for  his  loss  only  ceased  with 
his  own  death — Nor  has  the  fact  ever  been  fully  appreciated  that  before  the  first  step 
had  been  taken  by  Robert  Emmet  he  and  his  brother  had  fully  decided  as  to  every  detail 
in  the  projected  movement,  which  was  but  a  continuation  of  the  purpose  attempted  in 
1798 — Mr.  Emmet  is  now  able  to  give  an  accurate  account  to  the  French  Government 
and  people  as  to  what  Robert  Emmet  did  say  during  his  trial — Sketch  of  Lieutenant 
Thomas  Reed — The  Government  continues  to  make  every  effort  in  the  preparation  for 
invading  Ireland — Sketch  of  Thomas  Lawrence  O'Reilly — Hampden  Evans — General  Wil- 
liam Lawless  and  Edward  Lewins — It  is  now  proposed  that  a  general  committee  be  formed, 
including  O'Connor,  to  manage  Irish  affairs  in  relation  to  the  Government — Another  move 
by  O'Connor  is  opposed  by  Mr.  Emmet  and  many  others  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
give  their  names  to  the  English,  who  would  confiscate  all  their  property  in  Ireland — 
Sketch  of  Dr.  Arthur  MacMahon — When  this  committee  is  first  formed  by  order  of 
the  French  Government  Mr.  Emmet  agrees  to  serve  and  to  do  so  with  O'Connor,  but 
consents  only  on  the  assurance  that  the  expedition  is  to  sail  immediately  for  Ireland — 
At  no  time  has  there  existed  so  much  misunderstanding — Mr.  Emmet  is  treated  with  the 
greatest  indifference  and  one  week  after  another  passes  without  any  prospect  of  the 
expedition  sailing  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland. 


ORROWFUL  news  is  now  at  hand,  another  burden  for  Mr. 
Emmet  to  bear  and  one  to  be  felt  the  most  by  him.  He 
resumes  the  record  of  his  diary : — 

A  messenger  is  arrived  at  Bordeaux  from  Ireland  and  on 
his  way  to  me.  I  can  learn  that  he  has  some  not  unfavorable 
and  some  very  bad  and  to  me  very  distressing  news.  My 
brother  Robert  is  arrested,  he  has  been  three  times  before  the 
Privy  Council,  but  has  declined  answering  anything.  My 
brother-in-law  John  Patten  was  arrested  and  liberated  and  is 
arrested  again,  so  that  now  almost  every  male  relative  I  have 
367 


368 


Byrne  Arrives  in  Paris 


in  Ireland  that  I  know  and  love  is  in  prison  and  perhaps  in  danger.  God  protect  them 
to  their  friends,  their  families  and  country!  My  wife  and  I  have  determined  to  keep 
this  secret  as  long  as  possible,  not  to  discourage  our  countrymen  in  Paris.  If  the 
news  from  Holland  shall  turn  out  true  we  shall  not  be  long  bound  to  concealment. 

Saturday,  September  \7th.  The  messenger,  Byrne,*  is  arrived  in  Paris.  He  left 
Dublin  on  Wednesday,  August  31st.  This  news  I  am  far  from  thinking  favourable,  be- 
cause it  is  clear  to  me  that  no  new  effort  will  be  soon  made  in  Ireland  and  that  every- 
thing must  now  wait  upon  the  French.  He  has  given  me  an  account  of  the  previous 
proceedings  of  the  Provisional  Government,  and  of  its  efforts  on  the  23rd,  by  which  I 
see  there  was  a  great  deal  of  money  and  talent  expended  on  an  enlarged  and  complicated 
plan,  which  would  perhaps  have  been  better  directed  to  one  single  point  and  to  a  simple 
plan.  The  failure  seems  to  show  this,  for  it  failed  for  want  of  heads  and  means  to 
make  the  different  parts  support  one  another.  The  present  state  of  Ireland  he  says  is 
this, — the  Provisional  Government  still  maintains  its  connections  and  correspondence 
with  the  country  and  the  English  Government  really  knows  little  or  nothing.  The  people 
are  in  excellent  spirits  and  none  of  the  fire  arms  have  been  lost,  but  a  great  deal  of  am- 
munition and  pikes.  The  Insurrection  of  the  23rd  inst.  was  forced  on  by  the  explosion 
of  the  powder  manufactory  in  Patrick  Street,  and  a  slight  battle  for  recovering  some 
ammunition  a  few  nights  before,  but  the  country  in  general  was  not  called  upon  or 
expected  by  the  Provisional  Government  to  act  unless  Dublin  had  been  taken.  Russell's 
proclamation  was  not  intended  by  him  to  be  published  'till  Dublin  was  taken,  but  it 

*Dr.  Madden  in  "The  Lives  of  the  United  Irishmen"  refers  to  Byrne,  the  bearer  of  these  dis- 
patches, as  Colonel  "Michael",  instead  of  Colonel  Miles  Byrne,  who:  "possessed  the  entire  confidence 
of  Emmet  [Robert]  and  was  cognizant  of  all  his  plans".  Colonel  Byrne  states  in  his  "Memoirs": — 
"Mr.  [Hugh]  Wilson  told  me  that  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  the  morning  I  landed  in 
Bordeaux,  and  that  he  should  now  write  to  him  again  to  let  him  know  the  day  and  hour  I  should 
arrive  in  Paris.  Mr.  Evans  ([Hampden]  speaking  French  well,  made  the  journey  very  pleasant;  other- 
wise it  might  have  been  dull  enough  to  be  shut  up  for  four  nights  and  five  days  in  a  coach  before 
we  reached  Paris.  It  would  have  been  particularly  so  to  me  who  thought  every  moment  an  hour 
till  my  mission  was  terminated,  thinking  then  that  assistance  would  be  obtained  from  the  French 
Government  by  Mr.  Emmet.  We  arrived  at  the  coach  office,  Rue  Montmartre,  at  three  o'clock,  P.  M., 
where  we  met  Dr.  Macneven  and  Adjutant  General  Dalton;  this  officer  belonged  to  the  staff  of  the 
Minister  of  War,  General  Berthier,  who  sent  him  to  receive  me  at  the  diligence  office.  His  coach 
being  ready,  he  made  the  conductor  of  the  diligence  get  into  it  with  himself,  Doctor  Macneven  and 
me.  Hampden  Evans  remained  to  look  after  his  luggage  and  as  I  had  none,  General  Dalton  ordered 
his  coachman  to  drive  to  the  Grand  Judge  Requier's  Hotel,  Place  Vendome,  in  whose  study  Mr. 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  waiting  our  arrival.  On  being  asked  by  the  Minister  if  he  knew  me, 
Mr.  Emmet  replied  he  had  never  seen  me  before.  The  grand  judge  then  handed  to  him  a  paper 
containing  the  impression  of  the  seal-ring  which  I  had  been  the  bearer  of  from  his  brother  Robert 
Emmet,  and  which  the  Commodore  commanding  the  squadron  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  Bordeaux, 
thought  proper  to  take  from  me,  and  have  forwarded  to  his  Government,  after  I  had  written  my 
name  on  the  back  of  the  paper  on  which  the  impression  was  made. 

"As  soon  as  Mr.  Emmet  had  compared  this  impression  with  his  own  seal-ring  he  crossed  the  room, 
took  me  in  his  arms  and  embraced  me  with  affection.  The  grand  judge  witnessing  this  seemed  quite 
satisfied.  He  then  told  Mr.  Emmet  that  the  First  Consul  required  from  him  as  soon  as  possible  a 
detailed  report  on  the  present  state  of  Ireland  and  that  it  would  be  well  if  this  document  were 
furnished  next  morning  early.  A  carte  re  surete  being  then  handed  to  me,  we  all  retired  from  the 
grand  judge's  hotel,  I,  a  free  man,  going  with  Mr.  Emmet  to  his  lodgings,  Rue  du  Cherche-Midi, 
where  he  presented  me  to  his  lady  and  children.  We  then  went  and  hired  a  cheap  room  for  me, 
Petite  Rue  du  Bac,  quite  near  his  house.  Doctor  Macneven  was  to  dine  with  us  and  immediately 
after  dinner  we  three  retired  to  Mr.  Emmet's  study,  to  commence  the  report  required  by  the  First 
Consul,  Doctor  Macneven  writing  with  great  facility,  and  I  explaining  and  answering  the  best  way 
I  could  all  their  queries  about  men  and  things  in  Ireland.  A  rough  draft  was  soon  drawn  up.  Mr. 
Emmet  having  lately  been  chosen  by  the  Irish  refugees  in  France  to  represent  them  with  the  First 
Consul,  he  was  the  more  anxious  to  have  this  document  carefully  made  out  and  as  it  was  to  be 
copied  in  the  morning  we  retired  each  to  bed  late  at  night. 

"And  now  this  account  of  my  mission  being  ended,  I  must  say  before  concluding  this  chapter 
that  I  shall  ever  feel  proud  of  the  part  I  took  with  the  lamented  Robert  Emmet.  I  have  often  asked 
myself,  how  could  I  have  acted  otherwise,  seeing  all  his  views  and  plans  for  the  independence  of 
my  country  so  much  superior  to  anything  ever  imagined  before  on  the  subject?  They  were  only 
frustrated  by  accident  and  the  explosion  of  a  depot,  and  as  I  have  always  said,  whenever  Irishmen 
think  of  obtaining  freedom  Robert  Emmet's  plan  will  be  their  best  guide.  First  take  the  capital,  and 
then  the  provinces  will  burst  out  and  raise  the  same  standard  immediately.  ...  I  mentioned  in  the 
first  volume  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  hired  a  room  for  me  in  the  Petite  Rue  de  Bac.  It  was  a  mere 
closet,  but  it  was  all  I  wanted  as  it  was  near  his  house.  I  felt  a  great  consolation  that  I  could  be 
with  him  every  day  and  continue  to  furnish  him  with  still  further  particulars  about  unhappy  Ireland, 
hoping  too  that  from  his  influence  with  the  French  Government  we  would  ere  long  obtain  assistance 
for  my  beloved  country.  In  consequence  of  this,  I  was  happier  than  might  have  been  expected  under 
such  circumstances;  but,  alas!  this  happiness  was  of  short  duration,  for  Mr.  Emmet  on  learning  the 
final  and  fatal  news  about  his  lamented  brother  Robert,  left  Paris  with  his  family  and  went  to  re- 
side at  Saint  Germaine-en-Laye,  that  is,  in  a  country  house  he  took  in  that  neighbourhood". 

Byrne  in  his  Memoirs,  records  further — "In  December,  1803,  before  leaving  Paris  to  join  the  Irish 
Legion,  I  paid  a  farewell  visit  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  and  his  family.  Mrs.  Gallagher,  staying  with 
Mrs.  Emmet,  I  took  leave  of  also". 


Meeting  with  O'Connor 


369 


transpired  from  the  over  zeal  of  some  friends.  In  the  same  way  the  proclamation  of 
the  Provisional  Government  was  not  to  have  been  published  'till  the  next  day  and  was 
not  therefore  signed  by  the  members.  If  no  persecutions  are  permitted  the  people  will 
be  quiet  'till  the  French  come,  and  the  instructions  to  me  were  to  urge  an  expedition 
with  the  utmost  speed.  But  as  to  arms,  if  they  come  they  would  be  received  and  con- 
cealed, but  not  used  before  a  landing,  and  that  therefore  it  was  useless  to  run  the  risk 
of  sending  them.  My  brother,  he  says,  is  not  in  danger,  but  I  doubt  that.  John  Patten 
expected  to  be  let  out  the  day  after  Byrne  came  away.  He  says  the  people's  spirits 
have  received  a  spring  by  the  effort  and  that  if  a  speedy  landing  takes  place  they  will 
act  much  better  than  they  would  have  done. 

Sunday,  September  18th.  Dalton,  who  did  not  go  to  Strasbourg,  called  this  morning 
very  early  from  the  Minister  at  War,  to  learn  the  news  brought  by  the  Messenger.  I 
told  him  in  substance  as  before.  When  I  said  I  would  not  press  for  arms  he  was  very 
glad  of  it  and  told  me  several  captains  of  ships  had  declined  carrying  them  and  that 
Captain  Murphy  himself,  when  spoken  to  by  the  Minister  of  the  Marine,  seemed  very 
averse  to  it,  that  the  idea  had  been  therefore  dropped  as  it  was  not  thought  right  to 
risk  his  being  hanged  on  such  a  business,  when  he  might  have  been  made  useful  in 
another  way.  This  might  have  been  a  very  right  decision,  but  I  should  have  been  made 
acquainted  with  it  either  by  Murphy,  or  the  French  Government. 

As  to  the  expedition  itself,  he  gave  me  the  greatest  assurance,  he  said  the  activity  at 
Brest  and  the  western  coasts  was  without  example.  He  had  seen  and  spoken  to  a  person 
just  returning  from  thence,  that  he  could  assure  me  with  certainty  there  were  eighteen 
sail  of  the  line  there  ready  for  the  sea.  The  French  Government  wished  to  direct  atten- 
tion from  that  quarter  and  were  therefore  making  great  demonstrations  towards  England 
and  establishing  camps  along  that  coast  to  prevent  alarm,  and  because  they  were  unnes- 
sary,  "for  Brittany  was  as  full  as  an  egg  of  troops",  which  would  not  be  collected  to- 
gether 'till  they  were  wanted.  And  that  for  the  same  reason  of  preventing  alarm,  Gov- 
ernment had  spread  the  report  that  Massena  had  refused  going.  I  asked  him  when  things 
would  be  ready,  he  answered  he  thought  very  well  by  the  end  of  Vendemiaire.  I  hinted 
about  the  Bayonne  expedition  and  said  every  one  at  Bordeaux  believed  it  was  for  Ireland, 
which  I  lamented  if  it  was  the  fact,  as  no  place  abounded  more  with  English  spies.  He 
answered  in  a  very  pleasant  manner,  not  contradicting,  that  it  was,  but  certainly  not  saying 
it, — "Mr.  Emmet",  says  he,  "it  is  impossible  to  prevent  persons  forming  and  uttering  their 
conjectures,  but  I  can  assure  you  solemnly  that  not  a  word  in  writing  has  passed  on  the 
subject  of  that  army,  and  that  every  arrangement  respecting  it  has  been  made  by  word 
of  mouth  between  the  First  Consul  and  the  General  himself".  He  further  told  me  that 
he  had  strong  reason  for  believing  that  Bruix  would  command  the  expedition  for  Ireland, 
tho'  he  was  now  Admiral  of  the  flotilla  at  Boulogne.  This  last  news,  from  what  has  been 
said  of  Bruix  in  Hoche's  expedition,  I  did  not  think  the  most  pleasant.  In  consequence 
of  the  communication  from  Ireland  and  what  Dalton  said  of  the  intentions  of  the  French 
Government  respecting  arms,  I  sent  to  prevent  Simpson  sailing  for  Ireland,  as  accidents 
have  hitherto  strangely  delayed  him  and  a  messenger  from  me  with  the  same  intelligence 
has  departed  from  Bordeaux.  I  also  called  on  Bonneville  to  prevent  the  presenting  of 
my  memoir,  it  has  not  been  yet  done.  While  I  was  out  Mr.  O'Connor  and  I  met  plump 
at  the  turn  of  a  street,  to  my  surprise  he  instantly  saluted  me  and  enquired  very  tenderly 
after  my  family.  I  answered  him  as  coldly  as  I  could  with  politeness,  but  he  was  not  to 
be  rebuffed.  He  said  he  had  long  wished  for  this  opportunity  of  speaking  to  me  on  a 
subject  which  had  been  probably  mentioned  to  me  by  Mr.  Corbet.  The  French  Govern- 
ment were  making  communications  to  us  both  and  as  far  as  he  could  collect  holding  differ- 
ent language  to  each,  that  it  had  not  concealed  from  him  the  assurances  it  had  given 
to  me,  which  were  much  larger  than  any  he  had  received,  and  that  it  had  enabled  me 
to  send  a  messenger  with  them  to  Ireland.  That  the  Government  had  also  at  different 
times  pressed  him  to  send  over  messages,  but  as  he  was  not  satisfied  with  their  sincerity 
he  had  always  refused  and  if  he  had  sent  one  he  would  have  done  it  out  of  his  own 
pocket.   He  believed  the  French  Government  wished  to  deceive  us  both,  but  they  did  it 


370  Exchange  of  Confidences  Suggested 


in  such  a  bungling  manner  as  not  to  deceive  him,  for  they  made  him  at  different  times 
different  and  inconsistent  proposals,  and  besides  he  had  learned  facts  from  different 
sources  which  he  was  enabled  to  have  access  to  by  means  of  his  fortune  and  character 
and  connections,  which  laid  open  to  him  the  views  of  the  French. 

As  I  might  not  have  the  same  advantages,  and  as  it  was  of  importance  that  no  one 
treating  for  Ireland  should  be  deceived,  he  wished  to  propose  to  me  that  we  should  make 
an  unreserved  communication  of  everything  that  had  been  said  to  each,  or  that  had  come 
to  our  knowledge  from  other  quarters,  as  being  the  best  way  to  prevent  either  of  us  from 
being  outwitted.  But  that  as  in  doing  so  he  would  have  to  commit  to  me  the  lives  of 
persons  who  might  suffer  for  their  confidence  in  him  he  could  only  do  it  on  the  most 
solemn  obligation  of  secrecy,  which  on  his  part  he  was  also  willing  to  give.  He  then 
launched  out  on  different  topics,  which,  as  I  presume  the  conversation  was  to  be  under- 
stood as  confidential  I  shall  not  even  commit  to  paper.  I  listened  with  the  utmost  patience 
and  silence  to  this  discourse,  in  some  part  very  arrogant,  but  on  the  whole  containing  a 
very  artful  proposal,  and  from  his  desiring  me  to  remember  that  he  had  made  it,  I  sus- 
pected he  was  laying  the  foundation  of  some  future  impeachment.  I  therefore  answered 
him  that  I  did  not  think  myself  at  liberty  to  disclose  the  communications  that  had  been 
made  to  me  and  was  aware  how  little  right  I  had  to  ask  a  disclosure  from  him  when  I 
could  not  be  reciprocal,  that,  however,  if  his  love  for  his  country  could  induce  him  to  dis- 
pense with  that  reciprocity,  which  scarcely  appeared  necessary  as  his  opinion  of  the  in- 
sincerity of  the  French  seemed  founded  on  such  decisive  evidences,  I  would  give  him 
every  obligation  of  secrecy  that  could  pass  between  man  and  man.  He  replied  he  could 
not  conceive  how  I  was  bound  up,  the  French  Government  had  never  tied  him  up  to 
secrecy.  They  had  communicated  very  freely  with  him  and  they  did  not  conceal  their 
communications  with  me.  They  gave  him  to  understand  that  he  was  the  principal  person 
and  an  "homme  D'Etat"  had  been  expressly  appointed  to  treat  with  him  and  empowered 
by  the  First  Consul  to  sign  any  agreement  in  writing  with  him,  but  they  had  never  asked 
secrecy  from  him,  nor  would  he  have  given  them  any  such  promise.  That  he  acted  in 
his  own  individual  capacity,  tho'  he  knew  how  easy  it  would  be  to  call  together  some 
of  his  friends,  make  them  take  the  title  of  an  Executive  and  give  him  a  nomination.  But 
he  pretended  to  no  delegated  power  and  he  told  the  French  Government  so ;  his  only  wish 
was  that  we  should  be  both  enlightened  and  understand  one  another  for  the  purpose 
of  not  being  duped,  that  he  had  very  important  things  to  tell  me  and  could  not  do  it 
without  the  most  solemn  obligations  and  an  unreserved  communication.  That  once  the 
French  Government  wished  us  to  be  reconciled,  but  now  he  believed  such  a  circumstance 
would  be  regarded  with  jealousy,  and  that  the  best  way  would  be  to  meet  in  the  country, 
where  our  interview  would  be  unsuspected  and  unknown  to  anyone  but  ourselves.  This 
proposal  was  made  at  the  front  of  the  Palais  Royal  after  the  conversation  had  lasted  for 
about  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  as  I  thought  had  been  studiously  protracted  in  hopes 
of  its  being  perceived  by  some  one  to  whom  we  and  our  differences  were  both  known. 

I  answered  again  that  the  different  situations  in  which  we  stood  rendered  a  difference 
of  conduct  necessary,  he  acted  for  no  one  and  was  free  to  tell  his  own  secrets,  I  was  only 
an  agent  for  others  and  did  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  disclose  the  communications  that 
had  been  made  to  me  for  their  use,  particularly  to  him  who  had  refused  to  acknowledge 
their  authority,  that  in  whatever  assurance  I  had  transmitted  to  my  countrymen  I  had  en- 
deavoured not  to  deceive  them,  and  I  trust  I  had  succeeded.  But  that  I  would  be  exceed- 
ingly anxious  to  have  every  information  which  might  prevent  my  doing  so  great  an 
injury  and  would  gladly  give  him  every  possible  assurance  that  whatever  he  told  me 
should  never  pass  my  lips,  and  that  the  time  and  manner  of  doing  it  should  be  entirely 
at  his  disposal.  He  then  mentioned  several  things  which,  whatever  importance  I  may 
attach  to  them,  as  they  were  probably  given  under  that  assurance,  I  shall  not  state,  they 
were  not  facts  but  inferences,  intended  to  excite  my  curiosity  as  to  the  facts  themselves. 
He  said  he  could  not  disclose  his  secrets  without  knowing  mine.  He  desired  me  again 
to  remember  he  had  made  the  proposal,  to  think  on  it,  and  give  him  a  definite  answer, 
which  he  had  a  reason  for  wishing  me  to  give  before  Tuesday  at  twelve. 


Answer  to  O'Connor 


371 


I  said  I  would,  and  very  politely  concluded  this  extraordinary  interview.  My  con- 
jecture on  the  whole  is  that  O'Connor  is  dissatisfied  with  the  French  Government  not- 
withstanding their  flattery,  he  is  not  convinced  he  is  of  sufficient  importance,  and  he 
wishes  to  ascertain  whether  I  am  of  more.  As  to  the  facts  of  which  he  boasts  I  don't 
believe  he  has  any,  but  I  suspect  this  day's  conversation  will  at  some  future  time  be 
made  a  subject  of  conversation. 

Tuesday,  20th  September.  I  sent  O'Connor  his  answer  to  the  same  purport  as  above 
by  Corbet.*  Garat  has  not  delivered  my  memoir,  but  as  he  demanded  the  interview  and 
does  not  know  whether  it  may  not  be  still  granted,  he  wishes  to  keep  the  memoir  that 
if  called  upon  he  may  give  it,  stating  at  the  same  time  that  since  it  was  written  circum- 
stances have  altered  and  that  I  wished  to  withdraw  and  alter  it. 

McNeven  tells  me  that  Markeyf  says  Augereau  told  him  O'Connor  had  refused  to 
be  Chef  D'Escadron.  I  suppose  he  thinks  he  has  as  good  a  right  to  be  General  as  Tandy 
had,  and  he  is  dissatisfied  at  his  disappointment. 

Saturday,  24th.  Before  going  out  of  town  I  called  again  on  Dalton  about  some  minor 
business  and  to  lay  before  him  a  plan  of  descent  on  Ireland  that  had  occurred  to  me. 
His  objections  to  it  make  me  doubt  whether  the  Bayonne  Army  is  for  Ireland.  He  said 
"be  assured  the  French  will  never  divide  their  force",  now  if  that  army  were  going  and 
another  from  Brest,  they  could  scarcely  avoid  dividing  them.  I  urged  again  the  necessity 
of  losing  no  time,  he  repeated  the  same  assurance  he  had  given  me  on  the  18th  and  said 
the  demonstrations  are  all  made  against  England,  but  the  object  is  Ireland,  and  added 
"no  camps  are  formed,  but  Brittany  is.  full  of  troops,  and  in  the  time  of  Hoche,  when 
we  went  to  Brest  there  was  not  a  man  there  but  in  twenty-one  days  they  were  all  collected 
in  and  we  were  under  sail".  He  hinted  as  he  had  done  on  the  former  occasion,  that  the 
Irish  in  Paris  would  be  let  to  stay  quiet  'till  the  last  moment  and  then  hurried  off.  He 
said  he  repeated  these  assurances  knowing  how  deeply  I  was  interested,  not  only  as  an 
Irishman  but  as  a  brother,  for  I  had  told  him  last  Sunday  of  my  brother's  arrest,  and  it 
is  reported  in  today's  Argus. 

Thursday,  October  20th.  Swiney  is  returned  from  Cork  in  an  open  boat,  he  could 
not  penetrate  to  Dublin,  but  committed  his  message  to  a  confidential  person  who  under- 
took to  have  it  conveyed  forward.  The  account  he  gives  of  the  state  of  Ireland,  as  to 
precaution,  is  dreadful  and  the  most  vigorous  police  pervades  the  whole  country.  The 
spirit  of  the  people,  however,  he  says,  is  if  possible  more  determined  than  ever.  Vide 
his  narrative.  He  has  brought  some  statements  respecting  the  forces  in  the  South,  which 
are  mostly  concentrated  towards  Cork,  e.  g.,  about  five  thousand  in  Cork,  five  thousand  in 
Bandon  and  three  thousand  about  Bantry.  This  he  says  is  the  utmost  exclusive  of  yeomen. 
One  seventy  four,  and  five  or  six  frigates  cruising  off  that  station.  The  forts  of  Cork  Har- 
bour are  miserably  neglected,  garrisoned  entirely  with  invalids,  as  follows.  Camden,  sixty 
men,  20  guns,  12  and  Prs.  Rams  Head,  eighteen  men,  4  to  8  guns,  6  and  12  P".  Spike 
Island,  100  men,  30  to  40  guns,  12  Prs-  Cove,  useless,  thirty  men,  10  guns,  24  P".  He 
proposes  a  plan  for  putting  all  those  and  Cork  into  the  hands  of  the  French;  but  as 


*As  Capt.  Thomas  Corbet,  the  elder  brother,  must  have  been  in  the  army  and  in  active  service, 
this  reference  must  be  to  William,  the  younger  brother,  who  was  expelled  from  Trinity  College  at 
the  same  time  as  Robert  Emmet.  Escaping  from  Ireland  he  settled  in  France  and  became  professor 
of  English  in  the  Military  College  of  Saint  Cyr.  He  took  an  active  part  in  fitting  out  the  expeditions 
to  Ireland  and  while  in  Hamburg  was  arrested  with  others  and  surrendered  to  the  English.  He  was 
taken  back  to  Ireland  and  long  imprisoned,  but  was  again  able  to  escape  and  returned  to  France.  After 
his  return  he  received  the  commission  of  Captain  in  the  Irish  Legion,  but  he  soon  resigned  and  re- 
sumed his  professorship  at  Saint  Cyr.  He  again  re-entered  the  army  and  continued  in  active  service 
until  retired  at  the  age  of  62,  having  reached  the  rank  of  General.  He  died  in  1842.  He  was  a 
warm  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet. 

tCaptain  Thomas  Markey,  aide-de-camp  to  the  Minister  of  War,  the  Duke  of  Feltre,  is  here  re- 
ferred to.  He  served  in  the  French  army  with  great  honor  and  died  in  1854,  at  the  age  of  84  years. 
Byrne  states: — "Few  Irish  patriots  suffered  more  than  Thomas  Markey.  At  Drogheda  in  1798  he  was 
tried  by  a  court-martial  and  condemned  to  death;  he  was  on  the  point  of  being  executed  when  a 
respite  came,  and  his  punishment  was  then  commuted  to  transportation  for  life.  He  was  bound  with 
chains,  thrown  on  board  the  convict  ship  in  Howth  Harbor,  where  he  suffered  all  kinds  of  indignities 
for  several  months;  he  was  removed  to  Kilmainham  Gaol,  and  became  the  fellow  prisoner  of  Emmet, 
Arthur  O'Connor,  Macneven,  Hugh  Ware,  etc.  At  the  peace  of  Amiens  in  1802  he  was  allowed  to 
expatriate  himself  forever". 


372  Robert  Emmet's  Conduct  Consoles  for  His  Loss 


secrecy  is  very  necessary  in  all  these  things  I  shall  only  communicate  it  to  some  one 
authorised  to  hear  it. 

Swiney  has  brought  me  the  details  of  my  dearest  Robert's  trial  and  execution*  His 
conduct  is  my  only  consolation  for  his  loss,  but  his  speech  as  given  by  the  English  Gov- 
ernment would  be  very  offensive  here.  Dalton  has  been  out  of  town  since  the  date  of 
my  last,  but  as  he  is  expected  very  shortly  and  matters  do  not  press,  I  will  wait  for  his 
return  before  I  mention  anything  of  Swiney  to  the  Government. 

Wednesday,  November  2d.  Saw  Dalton  for  the  first  time  since  his  return.  I  had 
different  matters,  relative  to  the  release  of  some  of  my  countrymen,  to  talk  to  him  about, 
and  a  great  deal  to  pull  up  that  had  run  in  arrears  in  his  absence.  I  was  curious  to  see 
whether  there  was  any  alteration  in  his  manner,  as  my  brother's  speech  before  sentence 
has  been  printed  in  the  French  papers  and  must  have  been  displeasing  to  the  Government, 
but  I  could  perceive  no  change  in  him.  I  told  him  the  messenger  was  returned.  Gave 
him  some  general  statements  relative  to  the  state  of  the  country  and  added  that  he  had 
particular  communications  which  might  influence  Government  as  to  the  plan  of  landing, 
which,  however,  for  discretion  sake,  I  would  not  communicate  until  called  upon  by  the 
Government  and  to  some  one  appointed  by  it.  This  may  give  me  a  test  of  their  inten- 
tions, as  if  I  am  not  called  on  they  can  scarcely  be  serious. 

Friday,  November  4th.  Called  on  Dalton  again  this  morning  in  consequence  of  a 
communication  from  Genl.  Augereau,  which  shows  at  least  his  desire  to  know  every 
thing  about  Ireland.  I  took  the  opportunity  of  asking  how  the  preparations  were  going 
on.  He  said  he  had  lately  seen  one  from  Brest.  Truguet  was  there  and  putting  every- 
thing into  the  greatest  activity,  that  there  were  twenty  and  odd  sail  of  the  line  ready 
for  sea,  and  that  troops  were  gathering  fast  into  the  Department.  Further  than  that  they 
did  not  know  themselves,  as  the  greatest  mystery  was  kept  up  respecting  everything  there. 
I  had  occasion  to  apply  for  permission  to  Connolly,  f  who  is  in  Portugal,  to  come  to  Paris, 
and  he  desired  him  to  apply  without  delay  to  the  French  Minister  there  "parce  que  la 
Portugal  sera  bientot  casse".  I  urged  also  the  state  of  my  countrymen  who  are  here, 
and  he  comforted  me  with  a  repetition  of  the  vague  assurance  so  often  given — "that  a 
general  measure  would  be  shortly  taken  respecting  them". 

Sunday,  November  \Zth.  In  consequence  of  Dalton's  desire  I  saw  him  this  morning, 
he  wished  to  communicate  to  me  that  the  Irish  would  be  attached  a  la  suite  de  corps  im- 
mediately and  afterwards  united  into  a  corps,  when  the  expedition  was  to  take  place. 
He  showed  me  a  list  of  the  names  and  the  order  in  which  he  had  ranged  them  for  com- 
mission. I  reminded  him  of  one  or  two  he  had  forgotten.  Before  this  conversation, 
there  was  a  stranger  and  he  in  conversation  about  the  probability  of  an  expedition  this 
winter,  which  the  stranger  denied,  saying  there  were  not  above  seven  sail  of  the  line 
ready  in  Brest.  He  answered,  and  I  thought  seemed  embarrassed  at  my  presence,  that 
it  was  true  there  were  not  above  eight  sail  actually  ready,  but  there  would  be  twenty 
in  a  very  short  time. 

Tuesday,  November  15th.  In  consequence  of  a  rumour  that  the  French  had  landed  in 
Ireland,  I  called  on  my  friend  Dalton,  but  he  says  it  is  not  possible.  "It  must  have  gone," 
said  he,  "from  Spain  or  the  Western  coast  of  France ;  now  we  have  not  a  soldier  on  the 
Spanish  territory,  and  as  to  the  Western  Coasts  I  can  assure  you  there  are  no  troops 
as  yet  embarked". 


•The  world  has  never  realized  that  the  death  of  Robert  was  to  his  brother  Addis  a  sorrow  from 
which  he  never  recovered.  Mr.  Emmet  was  never  known  in  after  life  to  have  made  a  voluntary 
reference  to  his  brother  Robert,  except  in  his  letter  to  King,  and  the  sudden  mention  of  his  name 
by  another  always  effected  a  very  noticeable  agitation  in  his  manner.  Mr.  Emmet,  as  has  been  stated, 
held  a  profound  appreciation  of  the  value  of  Robert's  judgment,  which  was  reciprocated;  politically 
they  were  as  one,  united  by  an  affectionate  bond  of  union. 

The  fact  that  this  relation  existed  proves  that  the  movement  in  1803,  under  the  guidance  of 
Robert  Emmet,  was  not  without  plan  or  purpose,  as  has  been  generally  thought.  It  received  in  every 
detail  from  these  men  the  most  profound  consideration  the  human  mind  could  devise  and  was  the 
intellectual  ultimatum  of  two  individuals  endowed  by  nature  to  an  extent  seldom  known,  if  ever,  in 
such  close  relation.  The  result,  therefore,  had  nothing  to  do  with  what  these  two  men  planned, 
which  must  always  be  accepted  for  future  guidance  as  a  basis. 

tUnknown. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

DEATH  MASK  OF  ROBERT  EMMET,  BY  PETRI E 


Plan  for  Naval  Insurrection 


373 


Thursday,  November  17th.  The  rumour  of  an  expedition  for  Ireland  having  sailed 
still  gains  ground,  but  principally  among  the  Americans.  Mr.  [Joel]  Barlow  told  me 
that  he  hears  six  of  them  have  sailed  from  Bayonne,  Corunna,  Ferrol,  Rochfort,  Brest 
and  some  other  places.  This  is  absurd,  but  a  Mr.  Livingston,  a  relative  of  the  American 
Minister,  assures  me  that  one  is  on  the  point  of  sailing  from  Brest,  that  he  knows  there 
are  twenty  sail  of  the  line  ready  there  and  has  the  strongest  reason  to  believe  that 
Massena  set  out  for  that  place  the  day  before  yesterday.  Others  say  that  Massena  is 
gone  to  Nice.  At  any  rate  I  suspect  the  rumours  are  the  consequence  of  something  hav- 
ing transpired  from  the  bureaus  relative  to  the  intention  of  Government. 

Saturday,  19th.  Encore  des  bruits.  Every  one  says  today  that  Augereau  is  landed 
in  Ireland.  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it,  but  I  am  unwell,  and  cannot  go  out.  I  am  sure, 
however,  that  if  it  was  true  and  known  Dalton  would  have  written  me  a  note.  Law- 
less also  tells  me,  a  friend  of  his  who  had  opportunities  of  knowing,  assured  him  that 
an  expedition  would  very  shortly  sail  from  Brest  and  that  the  Irishmen  in  Paris  would 
be  hurried  off  suddenly;  this  corresponds  with  Dalton's  hint  on  the  same  subject. 

Monday,  December  6th.  Saw  Dalton  this  morning  in  consequence  of  a  proposal  I 
was  desired  to  make  to  Government  on  the  part  of  Thos.  Read,*  for  making  an  insur- 
rection in  the  British  Navy.  Read,  as  I  had  previously  learned  is  very  honest  but  cracked. 
He  had  made  something  of  his  proposal  personally  known  thro'  another  channel,  so  that 
I  did  not  take  Dalton  unawares.  He  said  the  measure  proposed  by  Read  could  not  be 
taken,  as  an  exchange  of  prisoners  must  be  made  from  the  situation  in  which  the  two 
countries  stand  to  one  another.  At  any  rate,  said  he,  four  months,  the  time  mentioned 
by  Read,  are  now  too  long.  The  French  Government  will  now  very  shortly  do  some- 
thing, or  not  do  it  at  all.  He  mentioned  that  he  had  a  personal  conversation  with  the 
first  consul  about  Dowdal  and  his  fellow  travellers  coming  from  Spain,  and  that  the  first 
consul  desired  to  know  would  they  take  a  destination  without  coming  to  Paris,  on 
which  I  must  write  to  them.  I  asked  him  confidentially,  among  friends,  whether  any- 
thing was  to  be  done  soon,  he  answered, — "Oui,  tenez-vous  a  cela",  and  after  a  little 
pause,  before  four  days,  said  he,  the  Irishmen  in  Paris  will  get  their  orders  to  set  off. 
I  answered  that  tho'  I  was  glad  they  were  provided  for,  it  was  not  about  that  I  was 
asking.  I  know  it  is  not,  said  he,  but  about  the  expedition.  He  told  me  before  the 
conversation  began  that  some  United  Irishmen,  whom  he  could  not  name,  had  let  sus- 
picion fall  on  their  conduct  by  being  too  intimate  with  Englishmen.  Perhaps,  says  he, 
their  circumstances  may  have  forced  them ;  but  we  are  going  to  provide  on  that,  at  any 
rate  it  is  now  of  no  great  consequence  as  all  the  English  are  being  sent  away.  I  said  I 
believe  Mr.  O'Connor,  Dr.  Macneven  and  myself  were  perhaps  more  in  the  line  than  any 
other  United  Irishmen  of  seeing  Englishmen.  As  to  you,  says  he,  all  the  English  say 
that  you  are  of  all  the  United  Irishmen  the  best  intentioned  for  the  liberty  of  his  country, 
so  much  so  as  almost  to  make  the  Government  look  on  you  suspiciously.  He  said  this 
with  a  half  laugh,  but  query,  are  the  French  Government  to  look  on  every  man  sus- 
piciously in  proportion  as  he  is  well  intended  for  the  liberty  of  his  country? 

I  see  by  some  letters  on  his  table  that  O'Connor  is  in  full  confidence  and  procuring 
commissions  in  the  new  corps  for  men  who  were  never  United  Irishmen,  while  the  real 
United  Irishmen  are  unprovided  for.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation  he  suggested  to 
me  to  give  an  account  of  Swiney's  mission  and  offered  to  translate  it.  I  am  sure  he  does  it 
because  he  thinks  matters  arc  coming  to  a  crisis.  I  shall  set  about  it  directly,  but  I 
sha'n't  ask  him  to  translate  it.  I  will  do  it  myself  and  address  it  to  the  Minister  of  War. 

Thursday,  8th.  Dalton's  promise  is  out,  the  orders  are  this  night  issued  for  the 
Irish  of  the  corps  to  go  without  delay  to  Morlaix  and  receive  further  orders  from  Mc- 
Sheehy.  My  letter  to  the  Minister  of  War  is  not  yet  finished,  writing  French  is  a  slow 
business. 

•Byrne  states  in  his  "Memoirs": — "Thomas  Reed,  Lieut.,  7th  December,  1803.  He  retired  on 
reform  pay  in  1806.  Reed  took  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  the  North  of  Ireland  for  which  he 
had  to  abandon  his  home  and  escape  to  France  in  1798.  Fortunately  for  him  he  brought  with  him 
a  small  sum  of  money,  the  interest  of  which  sufficed  for  his  frugal  habits  of  living,  fie  was  more 
than  fifty  years  of  age". 


374         Robert  Emmet's  Speech  Misreported 


Saturday,  December  10th.  Sent  off  my  letter  to  the  Minister  this  morning,  I  took 
the  opportunity  of  alluding  to  the  language  held  by  poor  Robert  [his  brother]  and  all 
his  friends,  respecting  the  French  and  plainly  stated  the  misfortunes  that  would  follow 
if  the  French  attempted  to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Ireland,  and  pointed  out 
what  I  thought  ought  to  be  their  conduct.  Vide  the  letter.  I  enclosed  it  to  Dalton  to 
deliver,  but  it  is  brought  back  with  the  word  that  Dalton  was  this  morning  sent  off  in  the 
utmost  hurry  on  a  mission;  query  to  what  place?  As  I  could  not  go  out  myself  Mac- 
neven  has  taken  the  letter  to  the  Bureau  de  la  Guerre  to  give  strict  charge  that  it  may 
be  put  into  the  Minister's  own  hands.  Harty  has  called  here  this  evening,  he  says  Dal- 
ton's  mission  is  on  that  subject,  but  he  will  be  back  in  a  few  days.  The  greatest  activity, 
he  says,  is  used  and  a  great  sudden  exertion  making ;  he  says  there  are  twenty-five 
thousand  men  at  Brest  and  a  General  in  Chief,  under  whose  orders  they  are.  The  Gen- 
eral is  neither  Massena,  nor  Bernadotte,  but  one,  he  says,  that  he  prefers  to  either,  hav- 
ing an  honester  character  than  Massena,  and  being  a  better  General  than  Bernadotte, 
he  made  a  considerable  figure  in  the  Army  of  Italy.  Gen'l  Harty  says  he  is  not  at 
liberty  to  mention  his  name,  but  I  will  probably  hear  it  in  a  few  days.  Harty  says  an- 
other Irish  Battalion  is  going  to  be  formed,  which  will  I  hope  provide  for  the  remainder 
of  the  Irish. 

Monday,  December  12th.  Called  on  Gen'l  Harty  this  morning  and  pressed  some 
provision  being  made  for  enabling  the  Irish  to  travel  to  Morlaix.  He  said  the  applica- 
tion had  been  already  made  and  wrould  probably  be  granted,  but  he  supposed  not  soon 
enough  to  be  received  before  they  set  off.  I  will  endeavour  to  enable  the  poorest  of 
them  to  go.  He  mentioned  again  the  formation  of  another  battalion  and  hinted  that 
those  who  did  not  show  their  devotion  to  the  cause  would  be  considered  as  English  sub- 
jects and  sent  to  Verdun.  I  mentioned  to  him  that  I  wished  to  concert  some  mode  of 
directing  the  mind  of  the  First  Consul,  without  making  a  formal  requisition  that  by  taking 
from  him  the  merit  of  originating  the  measure  would  perhaps  predispose  him  against  it, 
to  the  dangers  of  the  Irish  holding  his  commissions  if  they  should  be  taken.  The  Direc- 
tory had  suffered  them  to  be  executed  and  in  so  doing  they  acted  weakly,  but  it  would 
be  more  consistent  with  the  known  energy  of  his  character  to  protect  those  who  bore 
his  commission.  Harty  did  not  think  Bonaparte  would  depart  from  what  was  the  es- 
tablished custom  in  that  respect,  as  he  did  not  know  what  insurrections  might  be  raised 
against  himself.  He  would  be  probably  unwilling  to  begin  the  example,  that  the  French 
emigrant  suffered  in  the  same  way  and  as  long  as  our  efforts  could  be  considered  a  mere 
insurrection  he  did  not  believe  any  such  step  would  be  taken.  I  answered  that  I  believed 
every  liberal  man  thought  the  English  and  the  coalesced  powers  ought  to  have  protected 
the  emigrants ;  that  I  asked  no  more  than  what  France  had  done  for  the  Americans,  that 
if  France  did  not  think  our  insurrection  lawful  it  ought  not  to  profess  to  come  and  free 
us,  that  if  it  thought  our  attempt  to  throw  off  the  English  yoke  lawful,  it  ought  to 
protect  us  and  consider  us  aliens  to  England.  That  what  I  would  propose  was  that  the 
First  Consul  should  declare  the  Irish  in  France  should  be  answerable  for  their  bearing 
his  commission,  and  I  was  certain  the  English  would  attempt  nothing  against  us.  That 
as  to  our  efforts  being  considered  as  a  mere  insurrection  it  was  in  the  Consul's  power  to 
remedy  that  by  recognising  our  independence.  I  was  aware  of  his  unwillingness  to 
recognise  any  particular  government  in  Ireland,  'till  his  forces  were  there  and  properly 
supported,  and  therefore  he  would  sign  no  treaty  with  me  as  the  agent  of  my  govern- 
ment, but  I  was  willing  to  relieve  him  from  that  and  make  a  sacrifice  by  proposing  that 
he  should  conclude  a  simple  recognition  of  the  Independence  of  Ireland,  with  all  the 
United  Irishmen  in  France  who  were  known  to  have  been  leaders  and  I  would  sign  only 
as  one  of  them,  and  in  this  treaty  refer  the  details  'till  a  properly  organized  government 
should  declare  itself  in  Ireland  and  give  powers  to  its  Minister  to  treat  with  the  French 
Republic.  I  repeated  that  I  had  thought  on  all  this  and  could  put  it  very  strongly  in  a 
formal  demand ;  but  I  would  wish  the  idea  to  proceed  from  the  First  Consul  if  any  mode 
could  be  devised  for  suggesting  it  to  him.  We  were  interrupted,  but  he  promised  me 
he  would  speak  of  it  to  the  Minister  of  War  next  Wednesday. 


Napoleon's  Answer  to  Memoir 


Saturday,  January  21st,  1804.  I  have  for  this  sometime  past  too  much  neglected  to 
continue  these  notes,  but  I  will  now  endeavour  to  bring  forward  my  arrears. 

Finding  Genl.  Harty  did  not  speak  to  the  Minister  of  War  and  that  nothing  effectual 
was  likely  to  be  done  that  way,  I  determined  to  prepare  a  memoir  on  the  subject.  I  had 
spoken  to  him  of  it  on  the  12th  December.  While  I  was  occupied  on  that  subject  Mr. 
Reilly*  arrived  from  Ireland  and  brought  me  some  extracts  of  my  brother's  speech, 
which  completely  contradicted  the  abuse  he  had  been  said  to  utter  against  the  French, 
I  therefore  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  laying  this  before  the  Government,  together 
with  some  details  he  had  given  me  respecting  the  political  and  military  situation  of 
England  and  Ireland.  When  these  were  finished  I  gave  them  to  the  Minister  thro' 
Harty  and  had  some  reason  to  perceive  their  good  effects.  My  brother's  speech  gave 
very  great  satisfaction,  it  was  printed  in  the  Moniteur,  Argus  and  every  other  paper,  and 
was  equally  acceptable  to  the  People  and  Government.  I  followed  this  by  some  further 
details  respecting  the  military  state  of  Ireland  sent  to  me  by  Dowdall,  who  with 
three  others  had  escaped  to  Spain.  My  memoir  respecting  the  protection  of  the  Irish 
officers  and  the  Independence  of  Ireland  was  delayed  by  the  translation  and  other 
causes,  'till — 

Wednesday,  Jan.  \Ath.  I  gave  it  to  Dalton  with  a  letter  for  the  Minister  at  War. 
After  having  given  it,  I  had  reason  to  see  that  our  affairs  looked  better.  I  got  Swiney's 
arrears,  some  sucours  for  individuals  and  a  promise  of  more. 

Wednesday,  18th.  Finally  Dalton  delivered  to  me  an  answer  to  the  Memoiret  prom- 
ising that  the  first  Consul  had  communicated  it  to  the  Minister  at  War,  who  had  directed 
him  to  reduce  it  to  writing.  After  he  had  done  it,  the  Minister  approved  of  it  and  de- 
sired him  to  inform  me  that  he  would  confirm  it  to  me  by  word  of  mouth  whenever  I 
pleased,  for  the  detailed  contents  of  the  answer  see  itself.  It  promises  every  protection 
to  the  Irish  officers  and  reprisals  if  any  of  them  should  not  be  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war.  It  promises  that  the  General  commanding  the  expedition  should  have  sealed  letters 
by  which  he  will  be  directed  to  publish  on  landing  the  First  Consul's  promise  that  he 
will  not  make  peace  without  stipulating  the  independence  of  Ireland,  if  his  forces  shall 
be  joined  by  a  considerable  body  of  Irish.  It  promises  that  Ireland  shall  be  in  every 
respect  treated  as  was  America  in  the  war  for  its  independence.  In  case  of  failure  of  the 
expedition  it  promises  to  all  fugitive  United  Irishmen  either  places  in  the  brigades  or 
pensions.  It  expresses  the  First  Consul's  wish  for  the  formation  of  a  Committee  and 
suggests  that  it  might  issue  proclamations  to  make  known  those  matters,  which  should  be 
inserted  in  the  Argus  and  different  journals  of  Europe.  After  I  had  read  this  Dalton 
mentioned  that  it  was  the  First  Consul's  wish  that  Mr.  O'Connor  and  I  should  be  of 
that  Committee  and  that  he  was  instructed  to  make  copy  of  that  paper,  leaving  out  the 
first  sentence,  for  Mr.  O'Connor.  This  proposal  has  embarrassed  me  more  than  I  can 
well  express;  but  one  reason  decided  me.  If  at  any  time  hereafter  the  promises  which 
have  been  made  us  should  be  violated  I  would  not  leave  it  in  anyone's  power  to  blame 
me  and  say  my  pride  or  obstinacy  frustrated  the  good  intentions  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment. Besides,  if,  which  I  believe,  the  First  Consul  really  means  well  towards  Ireland, 
he  is,  however,  of  a  character  to  have  things  only  done  in  his  own  way,  and  I  could  be 
of  no  further  use  to  Ireland  if  he  took  offence  at  my  refusal.  Dalton  had  signified  that 
when  the  Committee  was  formed  the  Government  would  only  communicate  with  it  and 
thro'  it,  so  that  I  determined  to  divest  myself  of  my  ambassadorial  capacity  with  a  good 
grace.  I  told  him  that  with  the  feelings  Mr.  O'Connor  and  I  had  towards  one  another, 
I  would  never  act  along  with  him,  if  he  and  I  were  to  be  the  Committee  or  the  major 
part  of  it.    But  that  if  it  were  to  be  composed  of  such  a  number  as  that  our  passions 

'Terence  O'Reilly,  according  to  the  record  given  by  Byrne,  became  a  Lieutenant,  January,  1804, 
Captain  in  1810,  chef  de  bataillon  March,  1814.  With  Commander  Lawless  he  saved  the  eagle  of 
the  Irish  regiment  and  escaped,  after  the  siege  of  Flushing,  from  the  English,  to  Antwerp.  He  held 
other  commands  afterwards  with  bravery  and  distinction.  He  retired  on  half  pay  to  the  town  of 
Evreux,  where  he  finished  his  days  quietly.  It  is  stated  that  O'Reilly  was  a  well  informed  officer 
and  a  good  comrade. 

tSee  Chapter  XXIII. 


376 


A  Committee  Required 


and  prejudices  and  differences  would  be  lost  in  the  cooler  feelings  of  others,  I  would 
acquiesce.  Dalton  asked  me  who  I  thought  would  be  fit  members  of  such  a  Committee. 
I  said  H.  Evans,*  Sweetman,  Macneven,  McDonnell  and  Lawless.t  He  said  he  had  been 
desired  to  see  Lewins,t  but  had  answered  that  no  one  had  confidence  in  him  and  that  he 
would  be  very  unfit.  He  desired  me  to  think  on  the  subject  and  he  would  fix  a  time  for 
my  seeing  the  Minister,  so  we  parted. 

I  consulted  Sweetman,  who  highly  approved  of  my  conduct  and  thought  that  as 
the  Consul  had  required  a  Committee  it  could  not  be  declined.  But  he  started  appre- 
hensions about  our  property  and  an  idea,  which  had  forcibly  impressed  itself  on  me, 
that  we  and  our  proclamations  might  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  bullying  England  into 
peace  and  we  agreed  that  we  must  try  and  keep  clear  of  that  rock.  A  letter  I  had  re- 
ceived from  Macneven  tended  to  confirm  that  idea,  he  states  as  his  opinion  that  matters 
are  not  in  sufficient  forwardness  at  Brest,  that  he  hears  there  are  but  eight  sail  of  the 
line  equipped,  that  in  six  weeks  there  will  be  sixteen.  But  he  looks  on  six  weeks  as  the 
ultimate  limit  of  time  this  season.  His  suspicion  was  confirmed  by  Augereau  wanting 
to  get  a  person  to  go  to  Ireland  and  bring  back  consignments,  which  certainly  could  not 
be  done  in  less  time. 

With  these  impressions  I  went  to  the  Minister's  by  appointment  this  morning.  Be- 
fore I  saw  him  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Dalton.  O'Connor  offers  to  go  into 
the  Committee  heart  and  hand.  He  has  mentioned  as  fit  members  Chambers  and  Mc- 
Cormic.  I  believe  he  has  also  mentioned  others  not  United  Irishmen,  or  who  are  not 
known  as  such,  and  also  H.  Evans  and  Sweetman.  I  stated  my  fears  to  Dalton  about 
the  delay  of  the  expedition  and  some  of  my  reasons.  He  certainly  did  not  seem  to  me 
very  clear  that  the  expedition  would  take  place  this  season,  but  I  could  plainly  see  he 
had  no  idea  it  would  be  in  even  a  month's  time.  I  stated  my  wish  as  an  individual 
that  my  acting  in  that  Committee  should  be  sanctioned  by  the  approbation  of  my  country- 
men at  Morlaix.  Against  which  he  very  strong'y  advised  me  as  a  friend,  he  would  not 
wish  me  to  do  it.  Even  when  Ambassadors  are  recognised  they  must  in  doing  the  busi- 
ness of  their  country,  conform  themselves  to  the  Genius  of  the  Government  near  which 
they  reside.  A  delegation  would  do  me  no  good  and  had  never  done  me  any  and  the 
confidence  of  Government  in  me  resulted  not  from  that  but  from  my  individual  charac- 
ter, my  services,  suffering  and  the  known  devotion  of  my  family  to  the  cause  of  my 
country.  The  only  argument  which  he  used  that  had  weight  with  me  was  that  I  had 
already  had  the  suffrages  of  my  countrymen  to  act  even  alone  with  the  French  Government, 
a  fortiori,  I  had  it  to  my  being  one  of  a  committee  when  that  Government  chose  to  act 
by  such  an  organ.  At  length  I  saw  the  Minister,  who  confirmed  to  me  every  part  of 
the  Consul's  answer  to  my  Memoir.  I  expressed  all  my  gratitude  for  the  communica- 
tion, that  with  regard  to  the  committee  there  were  some  circumstances  probably  unknown 
to  the  First  Consul,  that  ought  to  be  considered.  Almost  every  one  of  those  who  might 
be  deemed  eligible  for  that  committee  had  their  property  in  the  hands  of  the  English 
Government,  which  would  undoubtedly  confiscate  all,  and  as  most  of  us  were  fathers  of 
families  it  was  natural  we  should  look  to  our  families.  He  interrupted  me  by  saying 
it  was  not  intended  to  expose  us  to  any  risk.  The  names  of  the  committee  might  be 
kept  secret  and  the  necessary  proclamations  published  without  names,  that  our  country- 


•Hampden  Evans  was  an  Irishman  who  had  long  lived  in  France,  but  was  in  close  sympathy 
with  the  Irish  cause.  He  was  a  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet  who  had  long  known  him  from  his  frequent 
visits  to  Paris  as  a  young  man.  Miles  Byrne  states,  after  having  bid  the  Emmet  family  farewell 
before  leaving  for  the  army: — "My  next  visit  was  to  Mr.  Hampden  Evans  and  his  family.  His  son, 
young  Hampden,  my  fellow  traveller  from  Bordeaux,  returned  there  and  married  a  young  French 
lady.  .  .  ."    Mr.  Evans'  daughter  married  William  Lawless. 

tThe  service  of  General  William  Lawless  to  Ireland  in  the  French  army  was  too  great  to  be 
stated  here.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet.  He  was  never  allowed  to  return  to  Ireland, 
but  died  in  Paris  in  1824. 

tEdward  Lewins  was  sent  by  the  Irish  leaders  on  a  mission  to  the  French  Government,  after 
Hoche's  expedition,  which  proved  a  failure,  but  he  was  retained  in  Paris  in  charge  of  Irish  affairs 
during  1797,  '98,  and  '99.  Many  of  the  Irish  leaders  were  doubtful  of  his  enthusiasm  for  the  Irish 
cause,  but  Miles  Byrne,  who  knew  him  well,  was  satisfied  great  injustice  had  been  done  him.  He 
continued  to  live  in  Paris  and  was  made  a  naturalized  citizen. 


O'Connor  to  be  Head  of  Troops 


37/ 


men  would  still  give  credit  to  them.  That  in  short  we  could  act  as  we  chose  for  these 
objects,  but  the  First  Consul  wished  a  body  to  which  he  could  adapt  himself  and  that 
would  combine  all  interests  and  keep  up  the  necessary  communications  with  Ireland.  I 
answered  that  the  conduct  of  those  who  might  go  into  the  committee  would  be  very 
much  regulated  by  the  knowledge  of  what  state  affairs  were  in.  If  matters  were  near 
the  point  men  would  naturally  run  such  risks  as  they  would  not  feel  warranted  in  doing 
if  the  crisis  were  remote.  He  said  "we  can't  tell  you  the  secrets  of  the  Government" ; 
and  after  an  instant's  hesitation  "it  is  the  intention  of  Government  to  do  it  in  six  weeks. 
I  do  not  say  it  will  be  done  then  because  I  can't  answer  for  the  weather,  but  everything 
will  be  ready  and  the  English  expedition  will  also  be  ready  then".  He  pressed  the  form- 
ing of  the  committee,  saying— "fix  among  yourselves  upon  the  proper  persons,  I  suppose 
five  will  be  enough,  and  when  you  are  agreed  you  can  take  such  steps  for  your  own 
security  as  you  may  think  fit".  "Mr.  O'Connor  and  you  need  have  no  difference,  your 
lines  are  not  the  same,  he  is  military  and  has  always  been  in  that  line,  you  are  for  the 
civil  administration.  He  desires  to  act  in  the  way  he  has  been  accustomed  to  and  it  will 
put  him  at  the  head  of  the  Irish  Troops".  "He  says  he  does  not  know  whether  he  has 
their  confidence,  if  he  has  not,  will  put  another  in  his  place".  So  that  all  my  suspicions 
are  confirmed,  and  my  friends  must  act  with  great  circumspection. 

The  Minister  also  mentioned  Lewins,  but  instantly  said,  "He  is  not  trusted  by  any  of 
you,  and  would  be  unfit".  He  expressed  a  wish  to  get  some  one  to  go  to  Ireland  to  com- 
municate the  substance  at  least  of  the  Consul's  answer  to  me.  I  observed  that  when 
speaking  on  the  subject  of  the  time  of  the  Expedition  going  and  the  possibility  of  its 
being  delayed,  he  did  not  confine  himself  within  the  limits  of  that  answer,  but  went  the 
length  of  his  former  assurance, — "it  is  the  intention  of  the  First  Consul  not  to  make 
peace  'till  the  independence  of  Ireland  is  recognised".  At  the  conclusion  he  requested 
me  to  give  him  my  own  ideas  of  the  best  place  for  debarkation  and  the  number  of 
forces  that  would  suffice  and  when  the  committee  was  formed  he  would  wish  for  theirs. 
I  speaking  of  the  possible  number  of  that  Committee,  which  I  said  ought  to  be  more 
than  five,  Dalton  said  to  me  "I  have  a  person  to  propose  to  the  Minister  whom  you  do 
not  know,  but  whose  respectability  will  I  am  sure  secure  your  approbation".  On  my 
looking  inquisitive,  he  said  he  could  not  communicate  his  name  'till  he  had  obtained  his 
permission.  If  I  conjecture  right  he  is  a  man  very  unfit,  because  not  of  our  principles 
and  I  suspect  foisted  in  by  O'Connor. 

When  I  returned  home  I  met  McDonnell  just  returning  from  the  country  and  shewed 
him  the  First  Consul's  answer  &c.  He  agreed  that  a  Committee  must  be  formed,  as  it 
is  asked  for,  and  I  believe  he  will  consent  to  be  one.  Sweetman  also  called  on  me,  Evans 
has  refused;  he  disapproves  of  the  Committee  and  is  not  sufficiently  polite  to  bend  to 
the  First  Consul's  wishes.  He  says  it  can  do  no  good  that  is  not  done.  All  Europe 
knows  the  state  of  Ireland,  and  it  wants  no  preparations  from  a  Committee.  He  is  not 
far  wrong,  but  it  would  be  very  culpable  in  me  to  object  to  its  formation  on  that  ground. 
He  suspects  it  is  some  trap  and  meant  to  deceive  us,  if  deception  be  intended  I  ought 
doubly  to  wish  for  its  formation,  both  the  better  to  see  into  and  counteract  the  deception 
and  to  relieve  myself  from  the  entire  responsibility  of  being  a  dupe  and  the  instrument 
of  deceiving  my  country. 

Sweetman  proposes  procuring  a  person  to  send  over  to  have  our  properties  secured 
by  our  friends,  and  who  might  perhaps  also  be  the  bearer  of  any  political  message ;  I 
will  see  him  tomorrow. 

Tuesday,  February  7th.  As  on  the  last  occasion,  I  have  a  considerable  arrears  to 
pull  up.  Sweetman  failed  entirely  in  procuring  the  person  he  counted  on  for  going  to 
Ireland  and  no  one  seems  very  anxious  to  hurry  the  formation  of  the  Committee  ex- 
cept the  Government,  whose  agents  spoke  of  it  several  times.  The  reluctance  on  my 
part  arose  from  the  notions  already  mentioned,  from  a  growing  conviction  that  no  im- 
mediate expedition  would  take  place,  and  from  perceiving  O'Connor's  efforts  for  gradu- 
ally setting  aside  those  I  have  named  and  slipping  in  persons  of  his  own  nomination. 
The  present  fears  of  peace  are  very  much  done  away  by  the  failure  of  the  American 


378  Difficulty  of  Forming  Committee 


offers  of  mediation  and  by  the  personal  animosity  which  prevails  between  the  two  gov- 
ernments, but  the  other  reasons  for  declining  the  Committee  become  every  day  stronger. 
In  the  meanwhile  I  presented  to  the  Minister  the  plan  of  operations  that  seemed  to  me 
best  calculated  for  Ireland  and  shortly  after  Gen'l  Donzelot,  Chef  D'Etat  major  du  Camp 
de  Brest,  requested  an  interview  with  me  in  which  we  had  a  very  detailed  conversation. 
Every  time  I  saw  Dalton  some  sounding  conversation  arose  about  the  Committee,  in 
which  he  either  stated  some  objection  against  some  one  of  those  I  had  originally  men- 
tioned, such  as — "puisque  Macneven  est  la  bas,  nous  l'y  laisserons,  il  pourra  nous  y  etre 
utile",  or  else  he  asked  me  would  not  Chambers  be  a  good  man,  or  Sampson,  tho'  he  was 
a  great  egotist  and  vain,  yet  he  had  connections  and  fortune,  or  Arthur  McMahon,*  who 
might  act  as  Secretary.  Apropos  of  this  last,  I  believe  him  very  honest  and  that  O'Con- 
nor would  be  mistaken  in  his  subserviency,  but  the  reason  he  was  mentioned  I  am  con- 
vinced was  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  lay  himself  under  some  pecuniary  obligation  to 
O'Connor.  Dalton  also  said  that  the  objection  respecting  the  danger  to  our  families  and 
properties  might  be  removed  by  mutually  giving  an  oath  of  secrecy.  But  I  had  seen 
enough  to  convince  me  that  no  Committee  was  necessary  and  that  no  proper  one  would 
be  formed,  and  that  no  blame  might  fall  on  me  for  thwarting  it  prematurely  I  quietly  let 
matters  take  their  course  'till  this  morning.  I  had  occasion  to  see  Dalton  on  a  very 
secret  and  important  subject,  which  he  said  was  an  additional  motive  for  forming  the 
Committee.  I  then  asked  him  whom  Government  had  in  contemplation  to  place  on  it, 
he  said  O'Connor  and  myself,  Sweetman,  Chambers,  Sampson,  another  gentleman  whom 
he  named  of  his  own  friends,  and  who  if  he  was  ever  an  United  Irishman  and  a  repub- 
lican would  be  very  proper,  and  finally  Arthur  McMahon.  I  then  said  that  I  had  many 
observations  to  make  on  that  subject  whenever  was  the  proper  time;  he  said  to  make 
them  now.  I  then  went  on  and  observed  that  when  I  had  consented  to  go  into  a  Com- 
mittee with  Mr.  O'Connor,  I  did  it  under  the  impression  that  an  expedition  was  on  the 
point  of  sailing  and  that  a  proclamation  and  provisional  measures  were  urgently  wanting. 
Under  that  impression  I  was  willing  to  make  great  sacrifices  which  I  could  not  so  readily 
do  under  my  present  conviction  that  no  expedition  was  speedily  intended,  and  that  the 
Committee  would  only  be  occupied  about  things  of  which  I  could  not  see  the  end,  nature, 
or  object.  Dalton  said  he  had  observed  to  the  Minister  the  other  day  that  there  would 
be  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in  forming  a  Committee;  observe  this  was  the  first  time  I 
had  appeared  to  make  any,  and  that  men  would  not  willingly  risk  their  fortunes  in  an 
affair  "qui  pourrait  trainer".  I  said  that  was  unquestionably  true  and  objection  against 
forming  any  Committee;  but  that  further  I  must  observe  that  when  I  consented  to  be 
one  I  said  provided  it  was  composed  of  independent  men  and  that  any  consequences  of 
Mr.  O'Connor  and  my  personal  feelings  might  be  lost  in  the  independence  of  the  rest. 
I  had  mentioned  some  on  whom  I  was  convinced  the  choice  of  the  United  Irishmen 
would  fall  if  they  were  to  choose.  They  had  all  been  set  aside  one  by  one,  as  I  was 
sure  on  Mr.  O'Connor's  objections  and  others  mentioned,  as  I  was  equally  sure  on  his 
suggestion.  I  then  asked  him  if  it  was  not  Mr.  O'Connor  who  had  named  Chambers, 
Sampson  &  McMahon,  he  said  it  certainly  was,  and,  either  said  himself,  or  repeated 
O'Connor's  expression  of  them,  which  I  think  was  the  fact  "qu'ils  seraient  assez  nuls". 
I  said  I  was  very  certain  Mr.  O'Connor  objected  to  those  of  my  naming,  because  he 
knew  they  would  not  be  his  instruments,  and  he  proposed  the  others  hoping,  whether 
truly  or  falsely,  that  he  might  make  them  so ;  that  for  my  part  I  would  never  consent 
to  lend  whatever  name  or  character  I  had  to  the  acts  of  himself  and  his  instruments. 
I  begged  it  therefore  to  be  expressly  understood  that  tho'  I  saw  no  use  of  the  Com- 
mittee in  the  present  state  of  things,  yet  I  gave  it  no  opposition,  but  reserved  to  myself 
the  right  of  withdrawing  myself  from  it  if  it  should  consist  of  such  men  as  should  not 
be  selected  out  of  the  United  Irishmen  in  France,  and  as  would  not  be  chosen  by  the 
United  Irishmen  in  France  or  Ireland,  if  they  were  permitted  to  make  an  election.  I 


*Dr.  Arthur  MacMahon,  an  Irish  physician,  practising  his  profession  in  Paris,  who  took  an  active 
part  in  Irish  affairs.    He  was  one  of  the  trustees  for  the  Irish  College  in  Paris. 


Attack  on  United  Irishmen 


379 


forgot  to  state  that  both  Macneven  and  Swiney  had  written  to  me  against  going  into 
any  Committee  with  O'Connor,  and  stated  that  to  be  the  opinion  of  their  friends  at 
Morlaix. 

Saturday,  Feb.  \7th.  I  had  today  occasion  to  have  another  interview  with  Dalton 
on  a  subject  which  I  cannot  well  commit  to  paper.  But  I  am  more  and  more  convinced 
that  it  is  not  intended  to  do  anything  speedily  for  Ireland,  which  would  if  possible  indis- 
pose me  more  than  I  was  to  the  projected  committee;  but  in  truth  all  idea  of  that  seems 
past  as  will  appear  by  the  following  conversation.  Dalton  told  me  he  had  been  last 
Sunday  at  Malmaison,  at  a  ball  of  Madame  Bonaparte,  that  the  Chief  Consul  had  taken 
him  aside  and  talked  to  him  a  great  deal  about  me,  that  he  expressed  great  anxiety  that 
Mr.  O'Connor  and  I  should  be  brought  together  and  to  act  together.  Thinking  this  al- 
luded to  the  Committee,  I  began  to  repeat  what  I  had  before  said,  that  if  a  sufficient 
number  of  really  independent  men  could  be  brought  together,  I  should  not  oppose  it, 
but  he  interrupted  me  and  said  it  was  not  a  committee  the  Consul  alluded  to,  but  that  we 
two  should  act  together  without  any  committee.  I  instantly  replied  that  was  what  I 
would  never  do  and  asked  what  necessity  was  there  for  the  measure,  had  we  been  giving 
different  advices  and  opinions?  He  said,  no,  on  the  contrary  we  agreed  in  all  our  sug- 
gestions; I  then  said  there  could  be  no  reason  for  doing  what,  if  I  did,  I  should  hold 
myself  criminally  responsible  to  my  country.  For  I  took  the  opportunity  of  alluding  to 
what  the  Minister  said  were  the  intentions  of  the  French,  to  put  O'Connor  at  the  head 
of  the  Irish  Army  on  landing,  and  I  said  the  Government  must  have  been  grossly  de- 
ceived if  it  believed  him  a  Military  man.  Who  had  told  them  so?  I  affirmed  it  was  not 
the  fact,  and  that  he  had  never  seen  any  service  or  array  of  troops,  nor  was  he  qualified 
for  any  such  station.  His  answer  was  most  remarkable  "The  French  you  know  have 
sometimes  a  singular  and  eccentric  way  of  accomplishing  their  objects,  and  perhaps 
they  would  prefer  placing  in  that  situation  a  man  who  knows  nothing,  so  would  let  him- 
self be  directed,  than  one  who  might  take  advantage  of  his  military  knowledge  and  not 
be  so  much  under  orders".  "Au  reste",  says  he,  "the  Government  wont  be  deceived". 
If  they  think  O'Connor  will  be  under  orders  from  diffidence  of  himself  and  his  knowl- 
edge, they  are  grossly  deceived,  if  they  think  he  will  let  himself  be  at  their  orders  from 
other  motives  they  may  know  him  about  as  well  as  I  do. 

Thursday,  March  1st.  In  consequence  of  a  paragraph  which  has  appeared  in  yes- 
terday's Argus,  attacking  the  United  Irishmen  and  one  of  their  fundamental  principles, 
religious  liberty,  and  their  formally  maintaining  the  necessity  of  a  Catholic  Establishment 
in  Ireland,  I  have  prepared  a  very  strong  letter  to  the  Ministry  requiring  its  being  dis- 
avowed as  speaking  the  sentiment  of  Government,  and  if  that  should  not  be  complied  with, 
withdrawing  from  all  further  connection  with  Government. 

Indeed  I  have  many  accounts  to  be  dissatisfied.  I  wrote  to  the  Minister  at  War  the 
22nd  of  February  on  the  subject  alluded  to  in  my  last  as  one  I  ought  not  to  commit  to 
paper,  but  which  is  really  of  great  importance  and  requires  a  very  prompt  decision ;  it 
has  been  dragging  on  this  month  and  that  letter  was  to  hurry  their  decision,  but  I  have 
yet  received  no  answer.  The  manner  in  which  the  appointments  have  been  made  at 
Morlaix  show  that  they  were  made  by  O'Connor's  influence  under  cover  of  McSheehy's 
discretion  and  I  understand  is  to  have  some  great  military  command,  far  out  of  pro- 
portion to  the  others,  and  all  is  kept  a  secret  from  me,  who  have  not  been  at  all  con- 
sulted. 

Saturday,  March  3d.  Delaney  has  not  yet  translated  my  letter  to  the  Minister,  and 
the  delay  vexes  me  exceedingly;  but  what  vexes  me  still  more  and  astonishes  me  above 
measure,  is  that  O'Connor  is  appointed  a  General  of  Division,  and  is  to  set  off  in  fifteen 
days  for  Brest !  He  says  that  he  has  the  First  Consul's  promise  that  when  they  land  in 
Ireland,  Augereau  will  yield  the  command  to  him,  is  that  possible?  I  am  to  dine  at 
Augereau's  tomorrow  where  he  is  to  be.  O'Connor  is  to  make  McSheehy  head  of  his 
staff,  that  accounts  for  the  appointments  at  Morlaix.  O'Connor  is  going  on  rapidly  to 
the  object  I  know  he  aims  at,  being  First  Consul  in  Ireland,  but  I  hope  my  countrymen 
will  have  spirit  and  virtue  to  prevent  him. 


380 


"Argus  "  Article  Disavowed 


Monday,  March  5th.  I  gave  in  my  letter  to  Lesperat,  Berthier's  Secretary,  yesterday 
morning  and  he  says  he  is  sure  the  answer  will  be  favourable.  I  dined  yesterday  at 
Augereau's  where  I  certainly  was  received  with  every  mark  of  distinction  and  politeness. 
O'Connor  was  there  and  he  had  the  impudence  to  come  up  and  speak  to  me,  but  I  an- 
swered him  very  coldly.  I  mentioned  to  Augereau  in  conversation  that  the  season  for  the 
expedition  seemed  passed.  He  said  not  and  that  all  the  sea  officers  said  we  had  yet  'till 
the  end  of  April.  I  put  him  in  mind  of  the  little  Naval  preparation  at  Brest.  He  said 
he  had  himself  seen  sixteen  sail  of  the  line  ready  and  in  ten  days  there  would  be  twenty 
one.  That  they  would  sail  from  different  ports  and  in  short  would  have  enough  for 
transporting  thirty  thousand  men.  I  objected  to  the  crews  as  not  being  sailors;  he  con- 
fessed they  were  not  experienced,  but  they  were  practising  every  day  and  the  officers 
were  good.  All  this  indeed  Macneven's  letter  from  Brest  confirms.  He  spoke  in  the 
warmest  terms  of  Ireland  and  assured  me  everything  would  be  so  conducted  as  to  give 
the  people  the  utmost  satisfaction.  Truguet  and  Donzelot,  were  also  there,  and  all 
speak  of  the  expedition  as  immediately  to  take  place,  and  they  are  all  going  down  to 
Brest  without  delay.  But  I  do  not  believe  that  they  are  so  near  sailing,  indeed  Truguet  in 
conversation  with  me  admitted  the  probability  that  the  King's  illness  might  bring  about 
peace  and  prevent  it.  Harty  has  called  on  me  this  morning,  he  was  at  the  Consul's  yes- 
terday, who  personally  told  him  he  would  get  his  orders  for  going  to  Brest  directly, 
and  asked  him  abruptly  if  O'Connor  and  I  were  agreed  yet.  He  said  the  question  em- 
barrassed him  but  he  answered  we  were  "d'accord  aufond  sur  nos  affaires",  which  I  am 
sure  is  not  the  fact.  He  says  Augereau  has  great  consideration  for  me  and  the  Consul, 
&c.  I  suppose  to  make  O'Connor's  appointment  palatable  to  me.  He  says  that  if  I  had 
chosen  a  military  line,  I  would  have  had  as  high  and  that  I  am  much  thought  of,  per- 
haps so,  but  not  as  much  listened  to,  nor  as  respectfully  treated,  as  may  be  seen  by  the 
Minister  not  condescending  to  answer  my  applications,  will  see  what  the  last  will  do, 
it's  rather  a  tartar. 

Saturday,  March  Wth,  1804.  This  day's  Argus  contains  an  article  that  may  be  con- 
sidered as  coming  from  the  orders  of  Government  in  consequence  of  my  remonstrance 
and  disavowing  the  former  publication  as  speaking  the  language  of  Government.  So 
far  it  is  satisfactory,  but  it  is  very  dryly  so  and  further  if  it  proceeds  from  Government 
I  am  treated  very  cavalierly,  for  no  communication  or  message  direct  or  indirect  has  been 
made  to  me,  nor  any  apparent  notice  taken  of  my  letter. 

I  shall  therefore  avoid  doing  anything  and  keep  myself  in  the  background  unless 
Government  chooses  to  show  me  some  little  civility  and  to  convince  me  that  they  wish 
for  the  continuance  of  my  communications. 


This  diary  of  Mr.  Emmet  was  contained  in  three  parts,  evidently  home- 
made, by  stitching  together  a  number  of  sheets  small  enough  in  size  to  be 
carried  in  a  coat-pocket.  The  manuscript  we  have  given  was  very  closely 
written  and  ends  abruptly,  leaving  several  blank  pages  at  the  back  of  the  third 
part  which  would  have  been  utilized  in  all  probability  if  the  record  had  been 
continued  during  the  following  six  months  of  Mr.  Emmet's  residence  in  Paris. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  are  left  in  ignorance  of  the  cause,  or  final  affront 
from  the  French  Government,  which  compelled  Mr.  Emmet  to  give  up  his 
position  and  leave  France  during  the  following  October  to  settle  in  the  United 
States. 

The  historical  student  will  naturally  seek  for  the  cause  of  war  between 
England  and  France,  after  the  rebellion  of  1798.  A  pretext  for  war  can 
at  all  times  be  found  between  two  countries  if  it  be  sought  in  the  interest  of 
either  party  or  both.    Neither  country  at  this  time  could  profit  by  a  war,  but 


Napoleon  as  Pitt's  Agent 


381 


it  is  well  known  that  the  best  interests  of  a  country  are  often  held  of  second- 
ary importance  by  the  ruler.  To  the  student  nothing  is  made  more  evident 
than  that  the  Irish  people  were  goaded  into  the  rebellion  of  1798  through 
statecraft,  by  the  most  cold-blooded  movement  ever  perpetrated;  and  which 
was  the  immediate  cause  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  lives  being  lost  to 
Ireland,  of  men,  women  and  children,  through  slaughter,  starvation  and  legal- 
ized murder  by  packed  juries,  where  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  victim 
was  not  considered.  After  the  struggle  of  1798,  when  the  people  were  utterly 
exhausted,  England  refused  to  do  anything  to  conciliate,  but  on  the  contrary 
did  everything  to  keep  the  country  in  a  state  of  disaffection  for  years  after, 
so  that  the  rebellion  of  1803  was  a  natural  consequence,  if  it  was  not  directly 
a  forced  issue,  brought  about  by  Pitt's  orders.  If  Bonaparte's  course  towards 
the  Irish  people  and  Mr.  Emmet's  diary  be  carefully  considered,  it  will  be 
found  that  a  different  course  could  not  have  been  followed,  as  he,  Bonaparte, 
was  Pitt's  agent  throughout.  That  some  understanding  existed  between  Pitt 
and  Bonaparte  has  already  been  suggested,  as  being  the  only  explanation  for 
Pitt's  course  towards  Ireland  and  Bonaparte's  treatment  of  the  Irish  people 
and  leaders.  The  purpose  of  war  as  conducted  between  these  two  nations 
seemed  to  be  to  inflict  as  little  injury  on  each  other  as  possible.  The  more  the 
subject  is  investigated  the  greater  becomes  the  conviction  that  Pitt  and  Bona- 
parte had  come  to  some  understanding.  These  two  men  were  equally  unre- 
liable so  far  as  any  faith  could  be  placed  in  their  word,  for  truth  was  absolutely 
foreign  to  the  nature  of  both.  They  were  both  crafty,  but  Pitt  was  greatly 
Bonaparte's  superior  from  an  intellectual  point  of  view,  and  if  there  was  an 
understanding,  the  overture  doubtless  originated  with  Pitt,  and  in  the  end 
he  alone  reaped  the  fullest  benefit,  if  not  all  the  advantage.  England's  navy 
was  superior  to  that  of  France,  but  the  French  had  the  best  army;  Pitt  de- 
termined to  establish  the  "Union"  between  Ireland  and  England,  but  could  not 
possibly  have  done  so  had  Ireland  been  assisted  by  France.  Nor  could  the 
war  have  lasted  a  month  had  Bonaparte,  with  the  aid  of  the  Irish  people, 
invaded  Ireland  and  England  at  the  same  time. 

Bonaparte  aided  Pitt  to  carry  out  his  purpose  in  Ireland,  by  gaining  the 
confidence  of  the  Irish  people  with  promises,  thus  encouraging  the  turbulent 
condition  which  existed  there  for  years. 

Napoleon  had  a  most  accurate  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  England  and 
of  the  dissatisfaction  existing  among  her  own  people,  due  to  the  fact  that  her 
army  and  navy  were  in  a  totally  unreliable  condition,  as  the  greater  part  of  the 
men  were  from  Ireland,  every  one  of  whom  had  been  tampered  with  by  the 
agents  of  the  United  Irishmen.  Her  condition  was  thus  a  helpless  one,  and 
the  declaration  of  war  by  Pitt  was  a  farce.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  benefit  to 
England  from  a  pretended  war,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  surmise  in  what 
direction  Napoleon  was  to  be  benefited !  Possibly  the  invasion  of  Egypt,  with 
the  army  pretended  for  Ireland,  was  a  suggestion  of  Pitt,  Napoleon  to  have 
been  left  with  a  free  hand  to  build  up  a  French  domain  in  Africa,  similar  to  that 
of  England  in  India.  After  Napoleon  had  spent  his  strength  and  could  no  longer 


382 


Napoleon's  Generalship 


serve  England,  Pitt  had  the  English  fleet  reorganized  and  ready  at  hand  for  the 
battle  of  Trafalgar !  In  the  end  Pitt  doubtless  was  successful,  and  France 
was  not  the  gainer. 

Had  Napoleon  wished  at  any  time  to  injure  England,  he  could  have  quickly 
done  so  to  any  extent  by  establishing  Ireland  as  a  French  province.  With 
this  condition  perfected  and  Ireland  at  his  back  as  a  necessary  recruiting 
ground,  he  could  have  brought  about  such  changes  in  the  map  of  the  world, 
which  he  did  attempt  afterwards,  when  it  was  too  late,  that  a  century  or  more 
would  have  lapsed  before  political  gravitation  could  have  again  brought  about 
a  natural  readjustment. 

Pitt  was  a  man  of  unusual  ability,  but  was  by  nature  a  coward,  and  so 
cold  in  impulse  that  he  never  moved  a  pawn  without  foreseeing  the  conse- 
quences, and  took  no  chances.  Bonaparte  possessed  the  fullest  development 
of  animal  instinct,  and  as  an  animal  he  knew  no  fear.  He  gained  his  point 
or  battle  by  brute  force  so  long  as  he  had  men  enough,  and  gave  no  thought 
to  his  losses  in  the  expectation  of  always  gaining  his  object. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  possibly  a  presumptuous  one,  it  is  not  believed 
Napoleon  was  by  nature  a  soldier.  Possibly  fifty  officers  could  have  been 
selected  from  either  the  northern  or  southern  army,  during  our  Civil  War,  who 
would  have  proved  Napoleon's  superior  in  gaining  the  best  advantage  with  an 
inferior  force.  It  was  the  want  of  reasoning  power  which  rendered  Bona- 
parte Pitt's  inferior,  and  likely  his  tool,  so  long  as  Pitt  maintained  his  health. 


No  credulity  can  believe  that  had  Ireland,  girt  ivith  the  Atlantic  and  embraced  tvithin  the 
sphere  of  European  mind,  been  left  as  independent  in  tvill  as  in  station,  she  could  at 
this  day  exhibit  such  a  miserable  contrast  as  she  presents  to  the  strength,  the  opulence, 
and  the  policy  of  her  neighbour. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


When  a  nation  nvhich  refuses  to  bend  is  broken  by  the  tempest,  its  fame  is  measured,  by 
the  storm.  But  in  the  sad  picture  of  her  destitution,  Ireland  exhibits  not  the  majestic 
ruins  of  a  nation. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXIII 

The  Irish  Legion  formed  to  become  part  of  the  army  fitted  out  at  Brest,  for  the 
invasion  of  Ireland — The  leaders  in  Paris  decide  to  have  Mr.  Emmet  prepare  a  memoir 
to  be  presented  to  the  French  Government  and  Dr.  Macneven  to  draft  a  proclamation 
from  the  leaders  to  the  Irishmen  abroad  and  to  be  issued  as  soon  as  the  expedition  is 
about  to  sail  for  Ireland — Bonaparte's  answer  declaring  his  intention  to  fit  out  an  expedi- 
tion for  securing  the  independence  of  Ireland — Letter  from  Mr.  Emmet  to  Dr.  Mac-, 
neven  containing  a  copy  of  the  First  Consul's  answer  to  the  Irish  memorial — Mr.  Emmet's 
interview  with  the  Minister,  who  confirms  in  detail  everything  as  promised — O'Connor 
causing  trouble — Bonaparte's  promise  that  the  Irish  in  the  French  army  will  receive  the 
same  aid  from  France  as  was  given  America — Details  as  to  the  rules  to  govern  the  Irish 
expedition — Macneven  prepares  the  proclamation — Mr.  Emmet  begins  to  doubt  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  French  government — Dines  with  Genl.  Augereau  as  one  of  a  large  party, 
receives  every  civility  but  believes  the  whole  to  be  for  political  effect  alone — With 
the  new  constitution  the  Irish  in  the  service  of  the  government  will  have  to  become 
French  subjects — Mr.  Emmet  ceases  to  have  any  faith  in  French  promises — Unable  to  see 
the  Minister  or  to  receive  explanations  needed — Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Dr.  Macneven 
announcing  his  departure  from  Paris  for  America,  and  his  reasons  for  it — Dr.  Madden's 
acknowledgment  of  aid  received  from  Mr.  Emmet's  son,  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr. 

R.  EMMET  shows  in  his  diary  that  the  Irish  Legion  was 
formed  for  the  French  army  and  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  MacSheehy  as  part  of  the  force  being 
fitted  out  at  Brest  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland.  The 
leaders  in  Paris  decided  that  a  memorial,  to  be  prepared 
by  Mr.  Emmet,  should  be  presented  to  the  French  govern- 
ment from  the  United  Irishmen  abroad,  while  Dr.  Mac- 
neven was  to  draft  a  proclamation  to  be  issued  to  the 
same  Irishmen,  in  relation  to  the  French  invasion  of  Ire- 
land. The  Diary  records :  In  the  autumn  of  1803,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet's 
memorial  was  received  by  the  First  Consul,  and  on  the  15th  of  November  he 
addressed  a  personal,  but  official  communication  to  the  government.  On  the 
13th  of  December  following,  Bonaparte  replied  declaring  his  intention  to  set  on 
foot  preparations  for  an  expedition  to  secure  the  independence  of  Ireland. 
The  copy  given  is  from  the  Macneven  papers.  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  from  Paris 
to  Dr.  Macneven  who  had  already  entered  the  army,  expecting  to  serve  in 
Ireland. 

383 


384 


Mr.  Emmet's  Memoir 


Directed: — "A  Monsieur  Macneven,  Officier  du  Battaiuon  Irlandois  a  Morlaix", 
and  Dated, 

1st  Pluviose  (21st  Jan.),  1804. 

My  dear  Macneven — I  have  received  Gallagher's,  Sweeney's,  and  your  letters,  all 
which  I  acknowledge  with  very  sincere  love  to  the  respective  parties.  But  the  length  and 
nature  of  this  letter,  with  my  having  at  this  moment  a  great  press  of  business,  will,  I  hope, 
be  a  sufficient  excuse  for  my  not  writing  to  them  at  present.  As  to  the  conjecture  you 
make  in  your  letter  about  the  time  before  which  matters  will  not  be  ready,  I  am  clear 
you  are  well  founded ;  though  not,  perhaps,  for  the  reasons  you  have  assigned,  as  I 
perceive  your  traveller  did  not  give  you  an  exact  account  of  what  was  in  Brest,  and  none 
at  all  of  what  was  in  the  neighbouring  ports;  but  your  conclusion,  nevertheless,  is  true. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  (if  any  faith  can  be  placed  in  assurance)  it  is  intended  to  attempt 
something.  I  am  not  seaman  enough  to  calculate  the  chances  of  success;  but  this  I 
know,  that  similar  things  were  done  in  August;  and  further,  none  of  us  know  what 
combinations  of  plans  may  be  used  to  facilitate  the  measure,  even  in  an  unfavourable 
time.  So  much  for  that.  Now  for  what  will  perhaps  surprise  and  please  you,  as  it  has 
done  me.  I  presented  the  memoir  I  was  writing  at  your  departure  on  the  13th  Nivose ; 
on  the  27th,  I  received  the  annexed  answer. 

When  Dalton  delivered  me  this,  he  stated  the  readiness  of  the  minister  to  confirm 
it  by  word  of  mouth  whenever  I  pleased.  As  the  latter  paragraph  afforded  ample  room 
for  reflection,  and  for  consulting  my  friends,  I  would  willingly  have  avoided  the  inter- 
view for  some  time  ,and  professed  myself  perfectly  satisfied  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the 
answer;  but  by  his  eagerness  in  pressing  the  matter,  I  quickly  perceived  that  the  minis- 
ter's readiness  to  confirm  was,  in  fact,  a  desire  to  see  me  on  the  subject.  After  I  had 
read  the  answer  through,  Dalton  subjoined:  "I  have  to  add  that  it  is  the  First  Consul's 
wish  that  you  and  Mr.  O'Connor  should  be  of  that  committee;  and  I  have  directions  to 
present  him  a  copy  of  this  answer,  leaving  out  the  first  sentence.  When  that  committee 
is  formed  it  will  give  the  present  government  the  means  of  communicating  at  once  with 
all  parties  of  United  Irishmen,  and  give  them  the  certainty  that  whatever  may  be  offered 
in  their  behalf  will  not  be  contradictory  and  drawing  in  different  directions." 

He  added  a  great  deal  more,  &c.  We  took  leave,  he  in  a  great  hurry  to  procure  me 
an  interview  with  the  minister,  and  I  in  none.  One  reason  for  this  disposition,  besides 
what  I  already  stated,  was  that  I  apprehended  very  strongly — as  the  American  mediation 
is  not  yet  ended — the  proclamations  of  the  committee  might  be  an  engine  for  terrifying 
England  into  terms ;  and  I  wished,  and  still  wish  to  waste  time,  until  I  have  reason  to 
hope  that  the  best  exertions  of  the  committee  may  not  be  turned  into  a  cause  of  mischief 
to  our  country.  I  therefore  postponed,  but  was  yesterday  obliged  to  have  the  interview, 
of  which  I  shall  speak  directly.  You  may  be  assured  I  lost  no  time  in  consulting  Sweet- 
man,  M.  D.  [Matthew  Dowling?],  and  my  other  friends  here,  who  all  agreed  that  as 
the  Consul  made  a  point  of  it,  it  could  not  be  avoided;  and  they  even  saw  considerable 
advantage  from  it,  provided  it  acts  with  caution. 

Before  I  saw  the  minister  yesterday  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Dalton,  the 
greater  part  of  which  turned  on  the  best  mode  of  appointing  the  committee.  The  mode 
he  contemplated,  and  with  him  the  government,  was  that  O'C.  and  I  should  each  name 
whom  we  thought  fit;  that  government  should  add  to  us  some  person  or  persons,  if  we 
should  omit  any  it  thought  important.  I  said— "If  I  were  of  the  committee,  I  certainly 
should  not  object  to  any  person  of  whom  I  thought  sufficiently  well  and  whose  presence 
government  thought  of  importance;  but  that  for  myself  I  wished  to  be  sanctioned  by  the 
approbation  of  my  countrymen;  which  could  be  easily  had,  as  they  are  collected  at 
Morlaix".  Against  this  he  remonstrated  with  a  good  deal  of  energy,  and  in  truth  it 
made  the  principal  part  of  our  conversation.  I  was  free  to  make  whatever  proposal  I 
pleased ;  but  as  a  friend,  and  in  confidence,  he  advised  me  against  that.  He  added  some 
observations,  in  no  respect  disreputable  to  our  countrymen,  but  which  I  don't  consider 


Napoleon's  Answer 


385 


myself  free  to  repeat;  and  said  I  at  least  had  no  occasion  for  any  such  scruples,  for 
acting  alone  and  a  fortiori  for  acting  with  others. 

At  length  I  saw  the  minister,  who  confirmed,  in  the  fullest  manner  Dalton's  paper, 
and  assured  me  it  was  what  the  Consul  intended  to  abide  by;  and  asked  me  if  I  had 
thought  of  the  committee  and  who  would  be  the  most  proper  members?  On  my  part 
I  expressed  the  utmost  gratitude  to  the  Consul  for  his  assurances  and  intentions.  As  to 
the  committee,  I  said — "There  was  one  peculiarity  in  the  situation  of  most  of  us  which 
was  probably  unknown  to  the  Consul,  but  which  made  the  formation  of  that  committee 
a  matter  of  some  difficulty — though  our  persons  were  free,  the  property  of  almost  every 
man  who  might  be  thought  eligible  was  in  the  power  of  the  English  government  and  if 
they  did  anything  that  could  be  taken  hold  of,  that  property  would  certainly  be  confis- 
cated. This  was  a  great  consideration  for  fathers  of  families;  and  although,  under 
certain  circumstances,  when  men  had  a  full  assurance  that  matters  were  come  to  a  crisis, 
they  might  run  risks,  they  could  not  feel  warranted  in  doing  so  under  uncertainties".  To 
this  he  answered,  among  other  things,  that  we  should  not  be  required  to  run  any  risks 
we  did  not  think  fit. 

"Form  your  committee,  give  government  the  body  with  which  it  wants  to  com- 
municate, and  manage  your  own  affairs  as  you  may  think  fit;  publish  your  proclamations 
without  any  names ;  and  if  you  think  your  countrymen  will  give  sufficient  credit  to  them, 
keep  your  names  secret;  but  form  the  committee". 

A  good  deal  more  was  said,  that  perhaps  ought  not  to  be  repeated.  Thus,  however, 
matters  stand.  I  will  not  throw  any  impediment  in  the  way;  but  I  do  not  intend  to 
break  my  neck  in  trying  to  bring  about  what  I  do  not  perfectly  understand  the  drift  of. 
I  wish  you  were  here  and  I  think  you  may  be  called  for;  but  you  need  not  fear  being 
left  behind,  as  the  commanders-in-chief  of  the  Irish  will  be  here  also.  Sweeny  was  very 
right  not  to  offer  to  get  to  Ireland  on  Augereau's  invitation.  Let  him  consider  if  he 
should  be  asked  whether  he  would  go  on  any  other  condition  different  from  what  he 
has  already  offered.  As  I  know  there  is  an  anxiety  of  transmitting  the  substance  of  the 
Consul's  answer  to  me,  you  will  see  how  much  discretion  is  necessary  with  respect  to  the 
foregoing  parts  of  this  letter. 

You  will,  no  doubt,  be  rejoiced  to  hear  that  the  First  Consul  himself  has  taken  the 
trouble  of  dictating  the  device  for  your  colours.  They  are  to  be  green  in  the  centre;  a 
tri-coloured  circle,  with  R.  I.  The  legend  on  the  colours  is  to  be,  "L'independance  de 
l'lrlande — Liberte  de  Conscience".  You  are  also  aware  that  your  uniform  is  somewhat 
changed,  on  the  demand  of  MacSheehy;  the  amarinth  is  exploded,  and  yellow,  the  second 
national  colour,  substituted  in  its  place. 


Copy  of  the  First  Consul's  Answer  to  My  Memoire  of  13th  Nivose,  Delivered  to  Ms 
27th  Nivose  (13th  December,  1803).* 

The  First  Consul  has  read  with  the  greatest  attention  the  memoire  which  has  been 
addressed  to  him  by  Mr.  Emmet  the  13th  of  December. 

He  desires  that  the  United  Irish  should  be  convinced  that  it  is  his  intention  to  secure 
the  independence  of  Ireland,  and  to  give  protection,  entire  and  efficacious,  to  all  those  of 
their  body  who  will  take  part  in  the  expedition,  and  enter  the  French  service. 

The  French  government  cannot  issue  any  proclamation  before  the  Irish  territory 
has  been  reached  [by  the  expedition].  But  the  general  who  will  command  the  expedition 
will  be  furnished  with  sealed  letters*  wherein  it  shall  be  declared  by  the  French  Consul 
that  he  will  not  make  peace  with  England  without  stipulating  for  the  independence  of 
Ireland;  provided,  however,  that  the  [French]  army  shall  be  joined  by  a  considerable 
body  of  the  United  Irish. 

Ireland  shall  be  treated  in  every  respect  as  America  has  been  in  the  late  war. 

Every  person  who  shall  embark  with  the  French  army  destined  for  the  expedition 


*A  copy  in  French  of  the  original  is  given  in  the  Appendix,  Note  XIV. 


386 


Macneven's  Proclamation 


shall  be  commissioned  as  French ;  in  case  of  being  arrested  and  not  being  treated  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  reprisals  will  be  made  on  English  prisoners. 

Each  corps  formed  in  the  name  of  the  United  Irish  will  be  considered  as  making  part 
of  the  French  army.  Finally,  if  the  expedition  should  not  succeed,  and  that  the  Irish 
should  be  compelled  to  return  to  France,  France  will  maintain  a  certain  number  of 
brigades,  and  will  give  pensions  to  all  persons  who  shall  have  formed  part  of  the  govern- 
ment or  of  the  authorities  of  the  country. 

The  pensions  will  be  assimilated  to  those  which  are  accorded  in  France  to  those  of  a 
corresponding  grade  or  part,  not  on  active  service. 

The  First  Consul  desires  that  a  committee  of  United  Irish  should  be  formed.  He 
sees  no  inconvenience  in  members  of  this  committee  issuing  proclamations  and  instructing 
their  countrymen  of  the  state  of  affairs. 

These  proclamations  will  be  inserted  in  The  Argus  and  the  different  journals  of 
Europe  in  order  to  enlighten  the  Irish  people  on  the  part  they  have  to  take,  and  the 
hopes  on  which  they  have  to  rest.  If  the  committee  should  desire  to  make  a  relation  of 
the  acts  of  tyranny  exercised  by  the  English  government,  it  shall  be  inserted  in  The 
Moniteur.* 

Dr.  Madden  makes  the  following  statement : 

The  expectations  which  the  reply  of  the  First  Consul  to  the  memoir  of  T.  A.  Emmet 
gave  birth  to,  and  the  full  conviction  that  was  felt  by  many  of  the  leaders  of  the  United 
Irishmen  at  that  period  (December,  1803),  that  an  invasion  of  Ireland  was  intended,  led 
to  the  duty  being  delegated  to  Dr.  Macneven  of  writing  the  proclamation  that  was  to  be 
issued  in  the  event  of  that  invasion  taking  place. 

The  following  is  a  copy  in  English  of  this  proclamation,  which  was  found 
among  Dr.  Macneven's  papers : — 

Friends  and  Countrymen !  The  hour  of  your  emancipation  is  at  length  arrived.  We 
announce  to  you  allies  and  arms,  which  will  enable  you  to  throw  off  the  English  yoke.  An 

auxiliary  force  of    thousand  of  those  illustrious  warriors  who  have  repeatedly 

triumphed  over  our  enemies,  with  arms  to  equip    thousand  Irishmen,  as  valiant 

as  even  those  warriors.  These  are  the  ample  means  that  are  offered  to  you  for  re- 
dressing the  wrong,  and  asserting  the  independence  of  your  country.  United  brethren, 
who  have  maintained — even  in  servitude — the  dignity  of  freemen  by  a  gallant,  though 
unsuccessful  struggle  against  the  tyranny  of  George  III,  we  do  not  at  this  day  presume 
to  inflame  your  valour.  Could  courage  alone  given  independence  to  our  country,  you 
would  long  since  have  made  it  free ;  but  when  virtue  was  unavailing  to  break  its  fetters, 
it  was  at  least  preserved  by  your  magnanimous  daring,  from  dishonour.  Placed  in  the 
dreadful  alternative  of  resigning  yourselves  to  despotism,  or  contending  with  its  power, 
you  proved  to  the  world  that  the  most  intolerable  evil  to  Irishmen  is  slavery. 

A  consolatory'  task  awaits  you  now;  you  will  meet  the  foe  with  advantages  equal 

*Dr.  Madden  adds  this  footnote:— 

"In  1842  I  had  a  copy  of  this  important  document  in  the  handwriting  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  which 
he  had  placed  in  the  hands  of  his  friend,  John  Sweetman,  at  the  period  of  his  departure  for  America, 
jut  at  my  disposal  by  the  son  of  Sweetman.  From  this  copy  the  reply  of  the  First  Consul  to  Mr. 
Emmet's  memoir,  which  was  printed  in  the  memoir  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  in  the  former  edition,  published 
in  1843,  vol.  ii.  p.  123,  was  taken.  In  the  fifth  paragraph,  however,  on  comparing  it  with  the  copy 
sent  me  with  Mr.  Emmet's  papers.  I  find  an  omission  of  the  following  eight  words,  'la  rcpresai'le 
s'  exercera  sur  les  prisonnurs  Anglais',  as  they  exist  in  the  copy  of  the  document  sent  to  me  by  Mr. 
Robert  Emmet.  I  have  further  to  observe  that,  in  the  copy  given  by  T.  A.  Emmet  to  John  Sweet- 
man, at  the  end  of  the  document  the  following  note  is  appended.  The  preceding  copy,  as  well  as  the 
succeeding  note,  is  in  the  handwriting  of  T.  A.  Emmet: 

"The  foregoing  is  a  correct  copy  of  the  First  Consul's  answer  to  my  memoir;  and  in  consequence 
of  my  quitting  Europe  for  America,  I  leave  this  copy  in  the  hands  of  John  Sweetman. 

(Signed)  'thomas  addis  emmet.' 

"  'Paris,   2nd   September,  1804'. 

"I  have  further  to  observe  that  in  the  document  given  by  T.  A.  Emmet  to  Sweetman.  after  the 
words  in  the  heading  commencing,  'Copy  of  the  First  Consul's  answer  to  my  memoire  of  13th  Nivose', 
the  following  words  occur:    'Delivered  to  me  by  Mr.  Dalton,  27th  Nivose,  same  year*. — R.  R.  M". 


Mr.  Emmet  Loses  Hope 


387 


to  his  own.  On  the  ruins  of  what  he  acquired  by  oppression,  rapine  and  bloodshed  you 
will  establish  the  happiness  of  millions,  and  you  will  rescue  from  provincial  degradation 
the  exalted  character  of  your  country. 

Cited  to  the  field  by  your  wrongs  and  by  your  sufferings,  by  the  forlorn  exile  of  your 
friends,  and  by  the  unexpiated  murders  of  your  relations;  with  the  sword  of  liberty  in 
your  hands,  and  the  spirit  of  independence  in  your  hearts,  what  can  your  enemies  avail 
against  your  sacred  cause  and  ardent  enthusiasm?  Another  effort  of  national  energy, 
made  in  conjunction  with  our  victorious  allies,  will  annihilate  a  calamitous  domination, 
and  establish  forever  the  glory  and  welfare  of  Ireland. 

Countrymen  of  all  descriptions!  Where  has  England  triumphed  that  we  have  not 
bled  from  her  victory;  where  is  she  famed  that  you  partake  of  her  renown?  The  French 
army  comes  with  positive  orders  to  act  as  an  auxiliatory  force  to  the  Irish  nation — its 
government,  but  what  is  stronger  than  every  other  pledge,  you  are  called  on,  countrymen, 
to  embody.without  delay,  an  Irish  army,  under  the  command  of  Irish  officers,  who  shall 
be  commissioned  by  the  Irish  government,  and  thus  to  take  into  your  own  hands  your 
fate,  your  honour  and  your  country! 

"The  sincerity  of  the  first  Consul,"  observes  the  son  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  "as  to  this 
expedition  seems  not  to  have  been  doubted  by  Mr.  Emmet  until  about  the  month  of  April 
following.  What  may  have  taken  place  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining,  but  from  that 
period  he  seems  to  have  given  up  all  expectation  of  assistance".* 

My  dear  Macneven — By  yours  of  the  6th,  as  well  as  by  one  of  Sweeney's  which 
came  to-day,  I  find  that  my  postscript  to  Mrs.  G.'s  [Gallaghar]  letter  has  led  you  all 
into  a  very  great  mistake.  I  certainly  never  said,  nor  did  I  mean  to  insinuate,  that  any 
offer  had  been  made  to  me.  I  had  reason  to  conclude  from  two  different  quarters  that 
something  was  in  contemplation,  and  therefore  I  wished  to  anticipate  the  necessity  of 
deciding  by  asking  your  advice  beforehand,  but,  so  far  from  any  offer,  if  I  were  to  draw 
any  conclusion  from  continued — I  must  say  marked  and  obstinate  silence — I  should  say 
none  was  ever  intended. 

You  may  remember  I  once  mentioned  that  you  would  probably  meet  a  general  at 
Morlaix — why  you  did  not  will  perhaps  one  day  become  in  our  own  country  matter  of 
investigation — but  the  person  to  whom  I  alluded  has  since  requested  me  to  make  some 
applications,  which  I  have  done,  but  without  receiving  an  answer.  I  enclosed  MacSheehy's 
memorial — on  the  subject  of  your  being  considered  as  French  citizens — to  the  minister 
on  Saturday  last,  with  a  very  civil  note,  requesting  an  interview,  in  order  to  take  his 
instructions ;  but  no  answer  as  yet. 

Under  all  those  circumstances,  I  am  not  so  foolish  as  to  flatter  myself  with  any  very 
sanguine  expectations.  I  adhere  to  my  original  plan  of  going  to  America,  and  do  not 
think  it  probable  that  anything  will  occur  to  prevent  me.  Suppose,  however,  an  offer 
should  be  made  I  do  not  entirely  agree  with  you.  If  I  do  not  exceedingly  alter  my 
opinion  I  will  not  accept  either  of  the  situations  you  have  advised,  and  for  reasons 
that,  with  your  knowledge  of  my  politics,  you  can  be  at  no  loss  to  guess.  I  am  an 
Irishman,  and  until  necessity  forces  me  to  contract  ties  of  allegiance  elsewhere,  I  will 
hold  no  situation  that  is  not  Irish  or  obviously  directed  to  the  emancipation  of  that 
country. 

If  I  am  to  contract  a  new  allegiance  and  to  undertake  civil  duties  not  connected  with 
my  native  land,  let  not  the  latter  part  of  my  political  life  be  at  variance  with  the  begin- 

*There  exists  little  doubt  that  Napoleon  only  intended  to  use  Ireland  so  far  as  he  could  to  his 
own  advantage.  However,  this  subject  should  not  be  closed  without  a  copy  of  the  following  letter 
showing  that  whatever  may  have  been  his  reason,  he  did  intend  at  one  time  to  invade  both  England 
and  Ireland. 

Fitzpatrick  in  his  work  "Secret  Service  Under  Pitt"  makes  reference  to  the  following  letter:  

"The  'Correspondence  of  Napoleon'  (Bingham's  'Correspondence  of  Napoleon',  II.,  96,  Chapman 
and  Hall,  1884)  contains  a  letter  to  Berthier,  dated  Sept.  27,  1804.  He  says  that  an  expedition  to 
Ireland  has  been  decided  upon;  that  18,000  men  for  that  purpose  were  ready  at  Brest;  that  simul- 
taneous landing  was  to  be  attempted  in  Kent,  while  in  Ireland  the  French  army  would  march  straight 
to  Dublin.  Meanwhile  200,000  men  were  encamped  in  Boulogne,  but  hostile  plans  collapsed  with 
the  smash  of  the  French  fleet  at  Trafalgar". 


388 


Augereau's  Civility 


ning.  What  then  can  I  expect?  Nothing  but  what  is  Irish  in  all  its  objects;  and  if 
nothing  of  that  kind  can  be  found  or  created,  I  am  too  old,  too  poor,  and  too  heavily 
laden  to  await  the  issue  of  reiterated  procrastinations.  You  will  judge,  then,  what  chance 
there  is  of  my  wintering  in  Europe. 

Since  I  began  this  letter  I  have  learned  that  the  Minister  at  War  has  set  off  for  the 
camp  at  St.  Omer,  and  will  not,  probably,  be  back  for  some  time.  As  he  did  not  answer 
my  note  that  accompanied  General  MacSheehy's  memorial  I  presume  I  am  to  take  no 
steps  in  that  affair  till  his  return,  my  instructions  being  that  I  should  act  under  his 
directions.    .    .  . 

This  was  followed  in  a  short  time  by  another  letter: 

Saturday,  12th  May,  1804. 

My  dear  Macneven — 

I  yesterday  received  a  letter  from  Sweeny,  enclosing  a  half  sheet  from  you.  I  mean 
to  answer  both,  but  I  put  off  writing  to  Sweeny  till  I  can  tell  him  all  his  commissions  are 
executed.  In  the  meantime  your  half  sheet  would  afford  matter  for  more  than  one  very 
long  letter,  if  I  could  unbosom  myself,  and  express  all  I  think  and  feel  on  certain  sub- 
jects. As  to  your  idea,  that  there  is  no  fear  but  that  Sweeney's  and  the  other  commis- 
sions of  the  same  date  will  be  confirmed,  I  hope  you  are  right,  and  my  hopes  are  stronger 
than  when  I  wrote  to  him ;  but  still  I  am  very  far  from  having  no  apprehensions. 

The  very  day  after  I  sent  in  my  remonstrance  against  the  famous  paragraph  in  "The 
Argus",  I  received  an  invitation  to  dinner  with  Augereau  for  the  next  day  but  one  or  two. 
As  it  was  still  undecided  whether  I  should  have  any  further  connection  with  government 
or  not,  I  thought  it  right  to  accept  the  invitation,  and  went.  It  was  a  parade  dinner — O'C, 
Truguet,  Donzelot,  &c,  &c. — and  I  certainly  experienced  every  attention  and  civility.  In 
the  course  of  the  evening,  Donzelot,  with  whom  I  had  before  had  some  conversation  on 
business,  requested  me  to  call  on  him  again,  before  he  left  town,  to  continue  the  conversa- 
tions. I  told  him  of  the  remonstrance  I  had  just  given  in,  and  of  the  intention  it  ex- 
pressed of  withdrawing  from  all  connection  with  government  if  I  were  not  satisfied  on 
the  subject,  but  assured  him  that  if  I  were  satisfied  I  would  not  fail  to  call,  and  give 
him  every  information  in  my  power.  I  was  never  satisfied,  and  I  never  called.  The  same 
circumstances  prevented  me  from  consulting  General  Augereau,  with  whose  reception 
of  me  I  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied.  Even  the  civilities  necessary  for  keeping  up  a 
personal  acquaintance  might  be  considered  as  putting  in  for  a  confidence  I  affected  to  re- 
nounce, and  as  I  knew  that  my  personal  acquaintance  was  solicited  on  political  grounds, 
I  felt  that  the  former  was  rendered  unnecessary  by  my  declining  to  act  on  the  latter  if 
ever  the  opportunity  occurred.  I  own  I  should  not  be  sorry.  Augereau  knew  this,  that 
he  might  not  attribute  to  ill  manners  a  conduct  that  proceded  from  very  different  mo- 
tives. Now,  however,  my  determination  not  to  interfere  further  in  French  and  Irish 
politics  combined,  whatever  explanations,  offers,  or  assurances  may  be  given,  is  stronger 
than  ever,  and  grows  on  every  day's  reflection. 

If  you  read  attentively  my  last  letter  to  Lawless  you  will  divine  all  my  reasons,  I  am 
afraid  my  interference,  if  it  were  to  produce  any  effect,  would  be  injurious  to  my  country. 
I  think  it  would  be  injurious  to  my  fame;  I  am  sure  it  would  be  repugnant  to  my  con- 
science— but  all  this  is  talking  to  the  air.  No  motives  will  be  held  out  to  me  to  stay,  and 
I  am  much  mistaken  if  peace  will  not  be  made  without  any  attempt  at  invasion.  Do  you 
think  the  emperor  will  hazard  his  new  title  and  popularity  by  an  attempt  with  his  fleet 
on  one  country,  or  his  gun-boats  on  the  other,  which,  if  it  failed  would  be — either  in  a 
naval  or  military  point  of  view — tremendous  and  irreparable,  particularly  as  he  has  no 
opportunity  of  balancing  the  miscarriage  by  brilliant  success  in  another  quarter.  I  am 
determined,  however,  to  give  your  proclamation  as  strict  a  scrutiny  as  if  I  thought  it 
would  be  used. 

But  now  that  I  am  on  the  subject,  let  me  say  a  little  more.   I  have  not  heard  from 


The  Irish  as  French  Citizens 


389 


the  minister;  but  if  I  thought  it  would  be  useful  to  my  countrymen,  that  should  not  delay 
me  for  an  instant  and  I  would  at  once  address  the  Consul.  But  what  should  I  solicit? 
That  they  might  be  made  French  citizens  and  take  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  government 
of  this  country? 

Have  you  learned  what  will  be  the  rights  and  duties  of  French  citizens  under  the 
new  constitution,  or  what  declaration  you  will  be  called  on  to  make?  When  you  went 
down  you  intended  to  be  Irishmen,  and  as  such  to  fight  under  the  French  banners  in  your 
own  country,  and  for  its  freedom.  Have  you  all  determined  now  to  become  subjects  of 
the  French  empire,  and  to  follow  a  military  life?  If  you  intend  only  to  procure  an 
exemption  from  the  droit  d'aubaine,  I  think  you  are  right,  and  I  have  long  meditated  to 
try  and  procure  it  for  my  exiled  countrymen ;  and  if  my  connection  with  government  had 
continued  I  should  have  sought  for  it  long  since,  and  independent  of  the  procuration ; 
but  as  to  being  a  French  citizen,  I  should  neither  wish  myself  to  be  one,  nor  to  ask  it 
for  you  and  some  other  of  my  friends.  I  only  need  the  procuration  to  prevent  a  bad  use 
being  made  of  your  name,  and  to  influence  and  to  prevent  your  being  committed  in 
character,  by  an  act  not  sufficiently  well  considered  by  those  among  you  who  intend 
leaving  France  in  the  event  of  peace. 

If,  however,  you  do  on  due  reflection  wish  the  claim  to  be  pushed  in  its  full  extent; 
indeed,  circumstanced  as  I  am  with  government,  and  decided  as  to  my  own  conduct,  if 
you  wish  any  steps  at  all  to  be  taken,  I  shall  cheerfully  make  over  the  procuration  to  any 
person  of  respectability  that  may  be  marked  out  to  me;  and  on  your  desiring  me  I  will 
write  a  suitable  letter  to  MacSheehy.  But  let  me  call  the  serious  attention  of  you  and 
some  other  friends  to  what  you  are  doing  at  the  bottom  of  Brittany,  and  by  no  means 
an  fait  of  what  is  going  on  here  in  the  capital.  You  are  getting  a  band,  and  incurring  a 
thousand  expenses,  very  fit  for  military  men  by  profession,  or  who  count  upon  following 
it  for  a  considerable  time.  Will  you  follow  it  in  the  event  of  a  peace  ?  Mark,  I  tell  you, 
there  will  be  peace — and  that  soon  unless  England  be  actuated  by  the  most  insolent  and 
foolish  madness.  This  I  say,  not  from  my  own  reasoning  merely,  but  from  facts  that 
have  been  told  me  confidently  and  confidentially  ever  since  I  began  to  write  this  letter. 

A  change  of  ministry  in  England  now  appears  certain,  and  this  government  is  only 
waiting  that  change  to  make  such  proposals  as  no  English  ministers  ought  to  reject. 
It  will  make  commercial  arrangements ;  but  I  mention  this  only  to  our  particular  friends. 
What  will  then  become  of  your  band,  your  regimentals,  and  your  right  of  French  citi- 
zenship, &c?    .    .  . 

Adieu, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

A  valuable  historical  letter,  showing  Mr.  Emmet's  remarkable  sagacity  and 
forethought  in  being  able  to  foresee  Napoleon's  future  purpose,  so  far  as  it 
lay  within  his  power  to  direct  it.  Mr.  Emmet,  in  the  spirit  of  his  convictions, 
acted  promptly  by  leaving  Paris  for  Bordeaux,  where  he  began  making  prep- 
arations for  his  passage  to  the  United  States.  Before  sailing  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Macneven  in  explanation  of  his  course: 

My  dearest  Macneven, 

I  expect  that  you  and  my  other  friends  at  Lisneven  will  be  extremely  angry  with 
me  for  having  left  Paris  without  giving  you  previous  information,  but  I  did  so  ex- 
pressly, and  in  order  to  prevent  a  struggle  between  your  inclinations  and  your  duty. 

By  yours  and  the  other  letters  I  perceived  the  intention  of  eluding  military  regula- 
tions and  going  to  meet  me  at  Nantes,  if  I  had  gone  there.  As  my  destination  was 
changed  for  Bourdeaux,  I  saw  you  could  not  attempt  coming  without  the  utmost  danger; 
and  I  determined  to  set  your  minds  at  ease  as  to  my  self  reproaches  for  not  having 
done  so,  by  making  the  matter  impossible. 


390 


Off  for  America 


I  wish  most  earnestly  and  anxiously  to  embrace  you  all  again,  but  it  must  be  on 
American  ground ;  and  if  you  wish  to  see  me,  come  there. 

I  do  not  blame  the  resolution  you  have  taken,  of  waiting  a  little  longer  for  the 
victory  you  are  promised ;  but  I  am  much  mistaken  if  you  will  not  be  disappointed. 

I  repeat  it,  do  not  let  yourselves  be  blinded  even  by  a  temporary  victory.  Win  it  if 
you  can ;  but  come  to  America  as  soon  as  you  can. 

The  reception  I  have  met  with  has  surprised  and  gratified  me;  for  it  is  impossible  to 
be  more  civilly  or  cordially  received,  even  by  those  who  do  not  pretend  to  think  as  I  do  on 
politics. 

As  to  the  time  of  my  departure,  it  is  not  fixed,  nor  even  the  vessel,  owing  to  the 
non-arrival  of  my  baggage  by  the  "Roulage" ;  but  it  will  not  be  postponed  beyond  six 
days,  nor  perhaps  beyond  three. 

American  papers  are  not  to  be  had ;  but  I  will  take  every  precaution  I  can  against 
the  English  — or,  rather,  that  if  they  should  think  fit  to  seize  me,  they  shall  find  nothing 
with  me  that  could  injure  me. 

I  do  not  bid  you  adieu,  because  I  wish  to  bind  you  by  every  obligation  to  see  me 
again ;  but  I  pray,  may  heaven  bless  and  prosper  you. 

Accept  the  sincere  love  of  Mrs.  Emmet,  myself,  and  all  the  little  ones,  who,  trust  me, 
never  will  forget  you. 

Ever  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Dr.  Madden  states  in  his  "Lives  of  the  United  Irishmen" : 
"So  far,  the  correspondence  of  T.  A.  Emmet,  inserted  in  this  chapter  is 
that  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  sons  of  Mr.  Emmet."  For  this  reason, 
credit  is  not  being  given  to  Dr.  Madden,  as  the  copies  or  the  originals  which 
he  returned  are  in  the  possession  of  the  writer.  The  same  is  true  in  relation 
to  the  material  taken  from  Dr.  Macneven's  papers  for  his  use.  Much  now 
known  to  be  unreliable  has  been  omitted,  and  with  the  addition  of  new  mate- 
rial, the  whole  is  now  more  valuable  for  historical  purposes. 


Had  the  Duke  of  Normandy  been  king  of  France;  and  the  strength  of  France  been  con- 
solidated by  the  Union  of  the  great  fiese  to  the  crotvn,  Britain  might  be,  at  this  day 
to  France  tvhat  Ireland  is  to  Britain,  a  miserable  province,  'without  a  constitution, 
'without  a  navy  and  'without  a  name. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


That  the  subjugation  of  a  country,  superior  in  almost  every  natural  advantage  to  the 
country  by  tuhich  it  <was  subjugated,  should  produce  neither  glory  in  victory  nor 
sympathy  in  defeat,  is  a  singular  historical  phenomenon. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXIV 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  with  his  family,  leaves  Paris  and  emigrates  to  the  United 
States — He  makes  application  to  become  a  citizen — Some  letters  of  introduction — His 
letter  to  Joseph  McCormick,  a  fellow-prisoner  at  Fort  George — Dr.  Macneven's  letter 
to  Mr.  McCormick — Mr.  Emmet  had  thought  of  becoming  a  farmer  in  Ohio,  but  through 
the  influence  of  friends  settles  in  New  York — Application  to  practise  law  in  the  mayor's 
court — The  document  an  interesting  one — Application  granted — Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to 
Robert  Simms,  also  a  fellow-prisoner  at  Fort  George,  giving  an  account  of  his  prospects — 
Arrival  from  Ireland  of  Mr.  Emmet's  three  sons  and  their  experience  on  landing — An 
article  on  Mr.  Emmet's  professional  course  by  A.  Oakey  Hall — Mr.  Emmet's  successful 
ruse  for  recovering  a  client's  money. 

ITH  the  arrival  of  the  Emmet  family  in  New  York  we 
take  leave  for  a  time  of  Irish  affairs,  for  they  have  at 
length  reached  a  land  of  promise,  though  not  of  strangers. 
From  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  country,  Ireland  had 
given  a  larger  proportion  of  her  sons,  by  birth  or  direct 
descent,  to  the  army,  the  navy  and  the  senate,  and  also 
to  that  class  which  furnished  the  special  labor  and  brain 
work  needed  to  develop  the  country,  than  had  come  from 
any  other  nation  or  people.*  England's  centuries  of  mis- 
rule had  driven  the  Irish  people  into  exile  and  to  wander  over  the  earth  in 
quest  of  a  haven.  In  the  American  colonies  they  became  pre-eminent  in  every 
walk  of  life,  as  they  have  prospered  everywhere  but  in  the  mother  country. 

In  the  autumn  of  1804,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  left  Paris  for  Bordeaux, 
where  he  embarked,  on  the  4th  of  October,  for  New  York.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  his  eldest  son,  Robert,  and  three  daughters,  Margaret  and 
Elizabeth,  who  were  born  in  Ireland,  and  Jane  Erin,  born  in  Fort  George.  A 
daughter,  Catherine,  was  born  in  Paris  on  January  11th,  1804,  and  died  shortly 
after  birth.  The  three  younger  sons,  John,  Thomas  and  Temple,  remained  in 
Dublin  until  March,  1805,  when  they  joined  their  parents  in  New  York. 
Nothing  is  known  of  the  incidents  of  the  voyage  beyond  the  fact  that  Mr.  Em- 
met and  his  family  arrived  in  New  York  to  begin  life  anew  on  November 
11th,  1804. 

The  first  step  towards  becoming  identified  with  this  country  was  taken 

*It  would  be  but  just  if  this  fact  were  more  generally  known  and  appreciated. 

391 


392  Kosciuszko  Introduces  Mr.  Emmet 


by  Mr.  Emmet  three  days  after  his  arrival,  when  he  declared  and  placed  on 
record  his  intention  to  become  an  American  citizen  as  soon  as  he  could  be 
naturalized.* 

He  brought  with  him  a  number  of  introductory  letters  from  Lafayette  and 
others.    The  originals  of  those  that  follow  are  in  the  possession  of  the  writer. 

General  Kosciuszko  to  General  Gates. 

Dear  General: 

Permit  me  to  recommend  to  your  acquientens  and  friendship  Mr.  Emmet  good 
republican  and  sufferer  for  his  opinion,  be  so  kind  as  to  make  his  residence  so  agree- 
able as  you  can  in  your  town  and  recommend  him  to  your  friends. 

As  to  me  I  am  always  your  friend,  and  I  hope  you  will  be  ever  mine. 

T.  Kosciuszko. 

My  respects  to  your  lady 
Paris  29  July  1804 
rue.le  Province — No:  43. 

To  Gen'l  Gates,  New  York. 

Mr.  Horry  to  General  Gates. 

Paris,  12th  August,  1802. 

Dear  General: 

I  am  encouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  the  kind  civilities  I  received  from  you  when 
I  was  in  New  York  to  present  to  you  Mr.  Addis  Emmet  (lately  released  from  a  four 
years'  imprisonment  in  Scotland).  He  was  before  the  disturbances  in  Ireland  an  eminent 
lawyer  in  that  country,  highly  respected  for  his  talents,  information  and  probity.  I  have 
not  the  pleasure  of  being  personally  acquainted  with  him,  but  my  Lady  Montcastle  (who 
I  am  sure  would  not  bestow  undeserved  praise),  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  his 

worth  and  character.    All  persons  agree  in    to  his  conduct,  the  purest  motives 

and  the  most  disinterested  views.  Unfortunate  circumstances  oblige  him  to  seek  shelter 
in  a  foreign  land  with  an  amiable  wife  and  young  family.  Should  you  be  able  to  be  of 
service  to  these  deserving  people,  your  good  offices  will  much  oblige  your  very 

Sincere  and  obliged  humble  servt, 

C.  L.  Pinckney  Horry. 

Genl.  Gates. 

Mr.  Horry  was  from  South  Carolina,  and  Lady  Montcastle,  of  whom  he 
speaks,  was  a  connection  of  the  Emmets  through  the  Colville  family. 

The  following  very  interesting  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  shortly 
after  his  arrival  in  New  York.  It  is  to  Joseph  McCormick,  one  of  the  Irish 
leaders  who  had  been  confined  with  him  in  Fort  George  and  with  him  in 
Paris,  and  who  was  already  settled  in  Georgia.  Through  long  association  he 
had  become  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet  and  his  family.  This  letter  is 
the  earliest  incident  connected  with  Mr.  Emmet's  life  after  his  arrival  in 
this  country,  with  the  exception  of  the  record  of  his  declaration  of  his  inten- 
tion to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 


*The  original  volume  in  which  this  declaration  for  naturalization  was  recorded,  with  all  others 
covering  a  period  of  some  sixty  years,  was  subsequently  sold  by  the  city,  or  by  some  official  from 
City  Hall,  for  waste  paper,  and  was  purchased  by  the  late  George  Moore.    From  the  public  sale  of 

Mr.  Moore's  effects  in  1S94  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  writer,  and  now  forms  part  of  the 
Emmet  Collection  in  the  Public  Library,  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


Letter  to  Joseph  McCormick 


393 


New  York,  January  28,  1805. 

My  dearest  Joe: 

Never  did  a  letter  give  greater  pleasure  to  an  entire  family,  than  was  felt  by  ours 
on  the  receipt  of  yours.  On  our  first  landing  in  New  York,  we  had  inquired  concerning 
you,  among  others,  and  had  been  informed  that  you  had  caught  cold,  and  had  died  of  a 
consumption.  Believing  this  melancholy  intelligence,  we  were  astonished  and  delighted 
at  getting  a  letter  from  you,  which  had  almost  the  appearance  of  coming  from  the 
other  world. 

******** 

I  am  on  the  point  of  setting  out  on  another  journey,  which  will  show  you  that  my 
lot,  as  to  my  future  residence  in  America,  is  pretty  nearly  cast.  You  desire  me  not  to 
decide  on  that  subject,  without  further  inquiry  about  the  Southern  States.  You  know 
the  insuperable  objection  I  have  always  had  to  settling,  where  I  could  not  dispense  with 
the  use  of  slaves,  and  that  the  more  they  abound,  the  stronger  are  my  objections;  but,  in 
truth,  circumstances  have  decided  me  to  settle  here,  if  I  can. 

On  my  arrival,  I  received  so  much  friendship  from  the  most  influential  people  in 
this  state,  and  so  many  promises  of  assistance  to  overcome  any  difficulties  that  might 
occur  to  my  settling  professionally,  that  both  Mrs.  E.  and  I  agreed  it  was  impossible  to 
refuse  them,  because,  if  I  fail,  I  have  nothing  to  reproach  myself  with ;  but  if,  having 
declined  those  offers,  and  thrown  away  that  opportunity,  I  tried  elsewhere,  and  then 
failed,  I  should  blame  myself  exceedingly.  Their  friendship  and  assistance  continue 
unabated,  and  I  am  going  to  Albany,  tomorrow,  to  get  an  act  passed  by  the  state  legis- 
lature, enabling  me  to  be  admitted  to  practice  as  a  lawyer,  notwithstanding  my  being  an 
alien;  and  if  I  succeed  in  that  shape,  I  shall  be  called  to  the  bar  immediately.  In 
Georgia,  I  probably  should  not  succeed  so  rapidly,  and  yet  my  friends  here  do  not 
permit  me  to  doubt  of  success. 

You  will,  probably,  expect  to  hear  from  me  some  news  of  our  friends  in  France. 
I  wish  I  could  give  you  such  as  you  would  like  to  hear;  but  the  situation  of  those  you 
love  and  esteem  is  unpleasant.  General  O'Connor  is  a  general  of  division.  No  other 
United  Irishman  is  more  than  a  captain.  You  know  the  general's  skill  in  making  a  party. 
Swiney  has  had  a  duel  with  Tom  Corbett,  in  which  S.  was  wounded,  and  Corbett  has 
lost  his  life.  Swiney,  Macneven,  Lawless,  Tennent,  Dowdall,  and  some  others,  have 
given  in  their  resignations,  which  would  not  be  accepted.  Nor  could  they,  or  Chambers, 
get  permission  to  come  here.  I  myself  escaped  but  by  a  day,  an  order  having  been  issued 
to  bring  me  back;  but  I  had  sailed.  It  is  now  a  horrid  country,  and  all  I  conceived  of  it, 
at  a  distance,  is  nothing  to  what  I  found  it  to  be  on  close  inspection.  It  will  do  nothing 
for  our  country;  and,  if  it  attempted  anything,  I  believe  it  would  do  harm.  Our  friends 
are  prisoners  there,  forced  to  continue  in  the  service  against  their  will.  I  rejoice  you  are 
not  there,  and  I  wish  those  who  are  were  here;  except  Wilson,  who  is  doing  very  well 
at  Bordeaux.  Ware,  I  understand,  has  joined  O'Connor  with  all  his  might;  he  was 
Corbett's  second ;  Macneven  was  Swiney's. 

Our  little  family  are  well.  Mrs.  Emmet,  Robert,  Margaret,  and  Elizabeth,  desire  a 
thousand  loves  to  you.  Your  little  fellow-traveler,  Jane  Erin,  is  still  our  youngest,  we 
having  lost  a  lovely  little  baby  in  Paris.  But  a  few  weeks  promise  to  make  us  once  more 
amends.  Jane  Erin  is  a  darling  child,  and  a  universal  pet.  Give  my  most  affectionate 
love  to  your  brother. 

Ever  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Mr.  Joseph  McCormick. 

The  following  letter  from  Dr.  Macneven  to  Mr.  McCormick  is  of  equal 
interest  owing  to  its  reference  to  the  movements  of  the  Emmet  family. 


394 


Macneven  Leaves  France 


New  Brunswick,  August  5,  1805. 

My  dear  Joe  : 

After  having  waited  long  enough  in  France,  and  seen  my  expectations  in  favor  of 
our  unhappy  country  repeatedly  baffled,  I  saw  it  was  fit  I  should  at  last  look  to  my  own 
interest,  and  I  accordingly  came  out  to  America.  I  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  4th 
of  July,  but  though  not  in  time  for  all  the  exhibitions  of  the  day,  I  could  witness  the 
important  parts  which  the  Irish  bore,  where  there  was  a  very  general  display  of  the 
strength  of  the  republicans.  The  immense  majority  are  on  this  side,  and  I  trust  they 
never  will  be  so  unprincipled  or  foolish  to  desert  it. 

You  may  have  heard  that  an  Irish  legion  was  imbodied  in  France.  I  accepted  of  a 
commission  in  that  corps,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  tactics,  and  of  going  with  it  to 
Ireland;  but  while  at  Brest,  and  in  its  neighborhood,  it  was  evident  to  me  that  this  same 
corps  was  only  held  up  as  a  scarecrow  to  frighten  England  into  a  peace,  and  that  we  were 
in  reality  made  mere  instruments  by  Bonaparte,  to  answer  his  own  selfish  views.  This 
was  not  all;  but  he  sought,  through  this  association  of  Irishmen,  to  agitate  their  coun- 
try, and  thereby  bring  England  the  sooner  to  his  terms.  I  could  not  lend  myself,  after 
that,  to  so  mischievous  a  purpose,  and  I  accordingly  resigned.  I  am  also  of  opinion, 
and  I  have  the  most  direct  reasons  for  it,  that,  if  ever  Bonaparte  does  land  a  force  in 
Ireland,  he  will  endeavor  to  dictate  a  form  of  government  and  administration  to  that 
country,  unless  the  vigor  of  the  Irish  themselves  shall  deter  him  from  it.  Lawless,  for 
reasons  similar  to  my  own,  sent  in  his  resignation  after  me ;  but  it  was  not  immediately 
accepted.  Tennent,  I  heard,  wished  to  quit  the  corps  likewise ;  Tierney  quitted  when  I 
did,  and  he  would  have  been  out  with  me,  but  for  a  nice  young  lady  in  Morlaix,  whom 
he  staid  to  marry.   She  has  a  handsome  fortune. 

Not  wishing  to  pass  the  month  of  August  in  New  York,  and  wishing  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  country,  I  have  come  out  to  pass  two  or  three  weeks  in  New  Brunswick,  with 
Emmet  and  his  family,  who  have  taken  a  house  here  for  the  summer.  Every  body  tells 
me  I  shall  do  well  in  New  York,  in  a  little  time;  but  by  Jove,  I  have  very  little  more 
time  to  lose.  One  physician  tells  me  there  is  no  fortune  in  the  profession,  though  one 
may  live.  //  is,  I  believe,  his  own  case.  The  expense  of  living  is  very  great,  and  patients 
pay  as  little  as  they  can. 

Let  me  know  everything  that  interests  you.  You  know  how  much  1  am  attached 
to  you  all,  and  that  I  will  be  happy  to  hear  of  your  welfare;  being 

Your  sincere  and  affectionate  friend, 

W.  J.  Macneven. 

P.  S.  I  left  our  friend  Sweetman  well.  He  mostly  lives  in  Paris;  but  poor  Mat 
Dowling  died  last  winter,  after  a  short  illness. 

In  a  letter  dated  January  28,  1856,  to  the  writer  from  Mr.  Robert  C.  Win- 
throp,  a  connection  of  the  family  through  Sir  John  and  Robert  Temple,  he 

states : — 

Among  my  family  papers  I  find  one  letter  from  your  distinguished  name-sake,  im- 
mediately after  his  arrival  in  America,  to  Governor  Bowdoin's  son  James,  in  which  he 
recognizes  the  relationship  and  asks  for  letters  of  introduction  at  Washington  and  else- 
where. He  hardly  anticipated  the  proud  career  which  awaited  him  and  which  makes  it 
a  pleasure  to  us  all  to  trace  even  so  remote  a  connection  with  him. 

Believe  me,  Dear  Sir,  Your  obliged  Servt. 

Robert  C.  Winthrop. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.,  M.D. 

Mr.  Emmet's  first  intention  was  to  settle  on  a  farm  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
as  that  seemed  to  offer  the  best  means  of  furnishing  a  ready  support  for  his 
family,  and,  if  the  opportunity  presented,  he  intended  to  resume  the  practice 


Application  to  Practise  in  Mayor's  Court  39o 

of  medicine.  He  spent  several  months,  after  his  arrival,  in  Washington,  and 
in  seeing  the  country  with  reference  to  deciding  as  to  his  future  course.  At 
length,  George  Clinton,  then  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  whom  he 
had  also  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Kosciuszko,  with  De  Witt 
Clinton,  his  nephew,  then  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  Daniel  D.  Tomp- 
kins, afterwards  Vice-President  of  the  United  .States,  and  others,  urged  him 
to  remain  in  New  York,  where  there  was  an  opening  at  the  Bar,  made  by 
the  recent  death  of  Alexander  Hamilton.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that 
Mr.  Emmet  had  decided  to  remain  in  New  York,  the  objection  was  at  once 
raised  that  as  an  alien,  he  could  not  practise  until  he  had  become  natural- 
ized. To  test  the  question  he  made  application  for  permission  to  practise 
in  the  "Mayor's  Court",  then  presided  over  by  De  Witt  Clinton.  He  was 
requested  by  Mr.  Clinton  to  put  his  application  to  the  Court  in  the  form  of 
a  letter  setting  forth  his  claims  for  granting  the  plea.  As  this  document  was 
certainly  Mr.  Emmet's  first  legal  effort  in  this  country  it  should  be  placed 
on  record,  particularly  as  it  is  such  an  able  and  clear  exposition  of  the  subject 
that  a  legal  training  is  not  necessary  to  appreciate  its  worth.  This  applica- 
tion was  as  follows : 

April  7th,  1805. 

SiR: 

Availing  myself  of  your  permission,  I  take  the  liberty  of  laying  before  you  some 
observations,  on  the  subject  of  my  application,  to  be  admitted  a  practitioner  in  your 
court.  I  shall  confine  myself  entirely  to  the  question,  how  far  my  situation  as  an  alien, 
creates  any  legal  disability  or  objection  to  its  being  granted.  What  effect  that  situation 
ought  to  have  in  the  discretion  of  a  Court,  I  shall  not  presume  to  say ;  but  shall  content 
myself  with  acknowledging  that  I  should  consider  the  admission  as  a  favour  only,  and 
as  one  of  the  very  highest  kind.  The  liberality  I  have  already  experienced,  and  the 
disposition  to  extend  it  further,  which  you  have  been  pleased  most  strongly  to  express 
on  your  part,  leave  me  no  room  to  apprehend  the  necessity  for  urging  anything  on  that 
head. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  shew  that  alienism  creates  no  such  legal  disability.  This  I 
consider  certain,  because  in  the  Statute  or  Common  law,  no  disqualification  of  that  kind 
is  anywhere  created  or  recognised ;  nor  is  any  rule  or  principle  to  be  found,  from 
which  it  could  be  inferred,  except  the  position  be  true,  that  an  alien  cannot  legally  hold 
an  office.  That  position  is  not  true  and  even  if  it  were,  it  would  be  inapplicable,  because 
the  professional  situation  of  Attorney,  Solicitor  or  Counsellor,  is  not  an  office,  in  the 
strict,  legal  acceptation  of  the  term.    These  propositions  I  shall  discuss  in  their  order. 

Allow  me  to  observe,  in  the  outset,  the  great  difficulty  of  actually  proving  the  negative, 
that  no  such  disqualification  is  to  be  found.  If  I  were  arguing  with  an  adversary,  I 
should  call  on  him  to  produce  the  law,  which  created  any  prohibition  of  that  nature, — 
the  authority,  the  adjudication  or  the.  dictum,  which  stated  any  such  disability;  and  I 
should  contend,  that  until  he  had  done  so,  it  was  not  incumbent  on  me  to  prove  anything, 
in  as  much  as  I  should  come  under  the  maxim,  that  what  the  law  does  not  prohibit,  it 
permits.  That  line  of  argument,  however,  I  do  not  mean  to  pursue.  I  avail  myself  in- 
deed of  the  maxim,  that  the  law  permits  all  that  it  does  not  prohibit,  but  I  shall  en- 
deavour to  show  that  no  law  whatsoever  has  made  that  prohibition,  or  created  that 
disability. 

If  any  such  prohibition  has  existence,  it  must  be  found  either  in  the  Constitution 
and  Laws  of  the  United  States,  in  those  of  this  State,  or  in  so  much  of  the  English  law 
as  is  still  binding  here. 


396 


Aliens  and  Office 


After  looking  very  carefully  over  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  United  States, 
I  cannot  find  anything  regulating  the  admission  of  Solicitors,  Attornies,  or  Counsellors; 
it  is  not  a  point  touched  upon  by  them,  and  therefore  they  certainly  create  no  disability 
or  prohibition.  Respecting  the  rights  or  disqualifications  of  Aliens,  the  same  thing  may 
be  said.  Those  laws  provide  rules  for  naturalization,  but  none  of  them  say  anything  of 
what  an  Alien  can  or  cannot  be,  except  the  articles  in  the  Constitution,  which  require 
Citizenship  of  a  certain  standing,  for  some  offices. 

The  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  State  are  equally  silent  respecting  the  incapacities 
of  aliens,  if  you  except  the  Acts,  which  partially  removes  one  of  those  incapacities  by 
giving  a  restricted  permission  to  purchase  and  hold  land.  Those  laws  however,  and  the 
State  Constitution,  take  notice  of  the  Professors  of  the  law,  in  its  different  depart- 
ments; but  not  so  as  to  create  any  prohibitions;  leaving  the  entire  matter  of  their  ad- 
mission, except  the  requisite  oath,  and  their  entire  regulation  to  the  Courts  themselves. 

It  is  then  perfectly  clear  that  none  of  those  laws  create  any  objection  to  my  receiv- 
ing the  favour  I  solicit,  and  that  if  any  such  exist,  it  must  be  found  under  the  English 
Common  Law.  I  say  the  Common  law,  for  by  the  act  for  the  amendment  of  the  law  &c, 
none  of  the  English  Statutes  are  law  in  this  State.  If  any  English  Statute  touching 
this  question,  therefore,  could  be  produced,  of  which  I  am  not  aware,  it  could  do  me 
no  injury;  and  even  the  necessity  of  making  it,  would  afford  a  strong  proof,  that  with- 
out it  no  such  objection  could  have  force. 

Turning  over  the  English  books,  I  find  the  Common  law  disqualification  of  for- 
eigners entirely  reduced  to  those  which  are  well  known — viz : — an  alien  cannot  hold  a 
freehold  in  lands  by  purchase  or  inheritance — cannot  be  tenant  to  the  curtesy,  nor  en- 
dowed,— cannot  maintain  a  real  or  mixt  action,  nor,  if  an  alien  enemy,  any  action  at  all. 
These  disqualifications  relate  solely  to  Estates  and  their  incidents,  and  they  are  the  only 
ones  known  to  the  Common  law.  Certain  others  relating  to  carrying  on  trades,  having 
apprentices,  &c,  and  are  therefore  out  of  the  question.  Permit  me  then  to  ask  is  there 
anything  resulting  from  these  disqualifications,  which  were  of  mere  feudal  origin,  to 
raise  by  analogy,  inference  or  implication  of  any  kind,  an  obstacle  to  a  foreigner  being 
permitted,  if  otherwise  competent  by  knowledge  and  the  performance  of  previous  re- 
quisites, to  act  professionally  in  the  Courts  of  Justice?  It  certainly  was  a  thing  not 
likely  to  happen  often,  because  the  diversity  between  the  English  laws  and  language, 
and  those  of  every  other  country,  rendered  it  scarcely  possible,  or  desireable,  for  any 
foreigner  to  practice  at  the  barr.  Perhaps,  however,  some  subsequent  observation  may 
lead  to  the  belief,  that  in  former  times,  foreigners  may  have  actually  practiced  in  certain 
English  Courts,  with  which  their  own  laws  were  to  a  great  degree  common — and  at 
this  day,  I  am  persuaded  the  only  objection  to  an  American  being  admitted  in  England, 
if  he  had  kept  the  necessary  terms,  would  arise  from  the  oath  of  Allegiance,  which  is 
required  by  Statute,  or  from  reasonings  respecting  it. 

The  objection  against  my  application  has  I  believe  been  put  this  way — an  Alien  can- 
not be  a  Counsellor  or  Attorney  because  he  cannot  hold  an  office.  With  the  utmost 
submission  and  respect,  I  conceive  that  proposition  to  contain  two  errors — one,  that  an 
alien  cannot  hold  any  office,  and  the  other,  that  the  situation  of  counsellor,  or  even  of 
attorney  is  an  office  within  the  strict  meaning  of  that  term. 

By  no  law-writer  that  I  have  been  able  to  consult,  do  I  find  the  position  laid  down 
as  true  at  Common  law,  that  an  alien  could  not  hold  any  office.  I  find,  on  the  contrary, 
that  he  could.  It  is  laid  down,  1st  Com:  Dig:  431,  title  Alien  (D.  3.)  that  if  the  King 
grant  an  office  to  an  alien,  it  does  not  make  him  a  denizen ;  for  it  shall  not  enure  to  two 
intents.  For  that  position  he  quotes  3.  Sec.  243 — which  I  have  not  immediately  by  me, 
and  have  not  been  able  to  consult;  but  I  have  no  doubt  the  question  is  correct,  and  it 
proves  that  the  King's  grant  of  an  office  to  an  alien,  shall  enure  to  the  purpose  of  his 
holding  it,  and  that,  tho'  he  still  continues  an  alien.  It  is  also  stated,  1st  Com :  Dig.  426. 
title  Alien  (c.  2.)  and  for  which  he  quotes  2.  Rol.  93,  that  a  corporation  may  purchase, 
tho'  the  head  of  the  corporation  be  an  alien;  thereby  admitting  the  fact,  that  an  alien 
could  be  the  head  of  a  corporation,  which  undoubtedly  is  to  hold  an  office.    Indeed,  no 


No  Common  Law  Disqualification 


doubt  can  exist  that  aliens  were  by  the  law  permitted  to  be  corporations,  both  sole  and 
aggregate.  Before  the  Reformation  there  were  many  religious  houses,  consisting  en- 
tirely of  foreigners,  known  by  the  name  of  foreign  Convents  and  Priories — that  they 
were  corporations,  if  it  could  be  doubted,  is  evident  from  their  having  held  large  and 
extensive  estates,  which  were  subsequently  seized.  Many  aliens  formed  corporation 
sole.  During  the  times  of  the  Papal  Power,  Italian  and  other  foreign  Clergymen  used 
to  go  over  to  England  and  be  promoted  to  Ecclesiastical  Benefices.  This  arose  to  a 
very  great  height ;  but  when  Richard  the  Second  was  inclined  to  break  the  Pope's  in- 
fluence in  England,  his  Parliament  passed  the  3.  Ric:  2.  Cap.  3.  which  prohibited  aliens 
from  taking  benefices,  without  the  King's  licence.  This  statute  confirms  two  facts,  1st 
that  aliens  might  before  that  have  legally  held  benefices  without  obtaining  the  King's 
consent;  and  2nd  that  after  that  they  might  have  done  the  same  thing,  on  obtaining  a 
licence,  which  neither  naturalized  them,  nor  made  them  denizens,  but  left  them  aliens 
still. 

Here  I  would  beg  leave  to  remark,  that  altho'  I  can  produce  no  proof  of  the  fact, 
and  it  is  impossible,  I  believe,  to  ascertain  it  at  this  day,  yet  it  seems  very  probable  that 
when  the  Ecclesiastical  and  Equity  Courts  were  struggling  to  adopt  almost  entirely  the 
civil  law,  and  when  the  practitioners  therein,  as  well  as  the  judges  were  clergymen,  those 
foreign  Ecclesiastics,  who  had  come  from  countries,  where  the  civil  law  was  generally 
adopted,  were  very  frequently  admitted  to  practice  as  civilians. 

It  may  be  asked,  then,  since  the  Common  law  creates  no  disqualification  to  an  Alien 
holding  office,  what  prevents  him  in  any  case?  I  answer,  in  England  many  things,  not 
applicable  to  this  argument,  principally  the  landed  tenures  necessary  for  certain  offices, 
as  those  of  Coroner,  Knights  of  the  Shire,  or  Peer  of  Parliament,  the  official  oaths  to 
be  taken,  the  charters  and  bye-laws  of  corporations,  particularly  Acts  of  Parliament, 
and  lastly  the  unwillingness  to  name  a  foreigner,  on  the  part  of  the  crown,  body  or 
person  having  the  right  to  appoint.  And  it  is  very  observable  that  when  that  unwilling- 
ness did  not  exist  on  the  part  of  the  crown,  directly  after  the  Revolution,  which  by  the 
bye,  conferred  the  very  highest  office  of  the  state  on  William  the  Third,  an  office  which 
had  been  before  inherited  by  James  the  First,  and  which  it  was  never  supposed  that 
any  law  disqualified  either  of  them  from  holding  in  consequence  of  alienism.  When 
William  came  to  the  throne,  the  desire  of  gratifying  his  followers,  caused  him  to  grant 
them  many  offices  and  even  to  have  them  naturalized  and  to  create  them  Peers  of  the 
Realm.  This  produced  the  generally  excluding  law,  the  12  &  13,  W.  3,  Cap.  2,  which 
enacts  that  no  alien,  tho'  naturalized  or  made  a  denizen,  should  enjoy  any  office  or  place 
of  trust,  either  Civil  or  Military.  On  this  statute  I  would  observe,  that  if  it  had  been 
merely  calculated  to  prevent  the  enjoyment  of  offices  by  denizens  or  naturalized  persons, 
it  would  have  probably  said  so,  and  simply  enacted  that  no  denizen  or  naturalized  person 
should  enjoy  &c,  but  by  using  the  larger  expression,  which  excludes  all  aliens,  it  shows 
the  doctrine  to  have  been  recognized  as  law  that  aliens  could  hold  office. 

It  appears  to  me  certain  then,  that  there  is  no  common  law  disqualification  of  this 
kind,  unless  the  office  by  its  nature  requires  landed  tenure.  Is  there  anything  and  what, 
in  the  American  codes  to  disqualify  an  alien? 

In  the  federal  constitution  and  laws  I  know  of  nothing — except  that  the  Constitu- 
tion guards  certain  of  the  most  important  offices  of  the  State  to  Citizens— the  most 
important  of  all  to  a  non-naturalized  citizen ;  and  it  requires  the  members  of  the  federal 
and  State  Legislatures  and  all  Executive  and  Judicial  officers  to  be  bound  by  oath  to 
support  the  Constitution.  Under  the  protection  of  this  oath,  without  super-adding  even 
that  of  allegiance,  it  leaves  the  nomination  of  aliens  as  officers  to  the  discretion  of  those 
in  whom  may  be  vested  the  powers  of  appointment.  This  liberal  conduct  was  consonant 
to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  in  which  the  Constitution  was  made,  and  was  not  I  am  con- 
vinced the  result  of  mistake  or  omission.  The  Acts  of  Congress  made  no  material  al- 
teration in  this  respect,  that  I  have  found,  except  that  by  the  Army  Act,  all  officers  and 
privates,  &c,  are  obliged  to  take  the  oath  of  Allegiance. 


398 


What  Constitutes  an  Officer 


In  this  assertion,  that  by  the  Common  or  United  States  law  there  is  no  general  dis- 
qualification to  an  alien  from  holding  office,  I  am  confirmed  by  the  very  highest  authority. 
At  Washington,  many  of  the  most  respectable  characters,  with  whom  I  had  the  honour 
of  being  acquainted,  were  of  that  opinion.  The  President  (Jefferson)  repeatedly,  in 
conversation  on  this  subject,  not  only  maintained  that,  whatever  prudential  reasons  might 
regulate  the  discretion  of  the  Court,  there  was  no  legal  objection  to  my  being  admitted 
to  the  Barr,  but  he  went  further  and  first  suggested  to  me  the  position  I  have  stated, 
that  there  was  no  general  legal  disqualification  to  an  alien  holding  office — he  added  that 
many  instances  to  the  contrary  might  be  produced,  and  expressed  his  conviction  that 
if  the  matter  were  accurately  investigated,  the  idea  would  be  found  to  originate  in 
mistake.  At  the  same  city,  there  is  actually  an  instance,  as  I  am  assured,  of  an  alien 
holding  an  office  with  a  salary,  under  the  House  of  Representatives.  I  mean  that  of 
Mr.  Laurie,  who  is  chaplain  to  that  House,  and  has  not  been  three  years  in  the  country. 

It  only  remains  then,  on  this  position,  to  enquire  whether  the  Constitution  or  Laws 
of  this  State  have  created  any  such  disqualification.  The  Constitution  has  required  that 
certain  officers,  which  it  specifies  shall  be  free  holders,  and  with  that  restriction,  has  left 
the  appointment  of  all  officers  to  the  discretion  of  those  having  the  power  of  making 
it.  The  Act  concerning  Oaths,  has  imposed  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  on  every  officer  civil 
and  military — but  no  act  has  created  any  other  incapacity,  necessary  to  be  noted  here,  then 
what  may  result  for  the  difficulty  of  taking  that  oath. 

I  hope  the  foregoing  statement  will  be  considered  as  demonstrating  the  error  of  the 
position,  that  by  law  an  alien  cannot  hold  any  office.  But  even  were  it  true,  I  shall  now 
endeavour  to  show  that  the  situation  of  Counsellor,  or  even  of  Solicitor  or  Attorney, 
is  not  an  office  within  the  strict  meaning  of  that  term. 

Permit  me  to  premise,  that  it  is  become  a  matter  of  some  consequence,  not  I  hope 
to  me,  but  certainly  to  others  of  considerable  worth  and  respectability,  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  this  doctrine.  Some  Gentlemen  have  been  found  guilty  under  the  Duelling  Act, 
— one  of  the  penalties  it  inflicts  is  an  incapacity  to  hold  any  office  of  honour,  profit  or 
trust.  To  them,  therefore,  as  well  as  to  me,  it  is  of  importance  to  establish  that  their 
profession  is  not  an  office. 

Attornies  have  often  been  called  officers  of  the  Court  and  undoubtedly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  checking  and  controlling  their  conduct,  they  are  so  entirely  at  its  discretion,  that 
it  has  never  before  been  worth  while  to  discuss  the  question,  how  far  they  are  officers 
in  the  proper  legal  or  political  acceptation  of  the  word.  Counsellors  have  not  been  so 
frequently  considered  in  the  same  light,  and  on  the  received  distinction  between  those 
two  situations  was  founded  on  an  opinion  given  me  by  the  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  [Thos.  McKean]  that  if  he  presided  as  he  had  done  for  many  years,  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State,  he  would  instantly  admit  me  as  a  Counsellor,  tho'  he 
might  hesitate  to  do  so  as  an  Attorney — at  that  time  we  spoke  on  the  supposition  that 
an  alien  could  not  hold  an  office.  I  do  not  however  mean  to  ground  anything  on  the 
distinction  between  attornies  and  counsellors,  but  shall  consider  them  in  the  same  light. 

In  3  Bac:  Abr.  718,  title  offices  and  officers  (A),  it  is  laid  down  on  the  authority 
of  Carth,  478,  to  be  a  rule,  that  where  one  man  hath  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  another 
against  his  zuill,  and  xvithoui  his  leave,  tis  an  office.  Bacon  then,  on  the  authority  of  2 
Sid.  142,  states  the  difference  between  an  office  and  an  employment — saying  that  every 
office  is  an  employment,  but  that  there  are  Employments  which  do  not  come  under  the 
denomination  of  offices;  such  as  an  agreement  to  make  hay,  plough  land,  herd  a  flock 
&c,  which  differ  widely  from  that  of  Steward  of  a  Manor.  Tho'  the  illustrations  are 
taken  from  very  humble  life,  yet  I  think  they  disclose  principles  that  will  support  the 
following  definition :  An  officer  is  one  who  is  bound  to  perform  certain  things  for  another, 
which  the  party  interested  in  them  would  not  be  permitted  to  perform  for  himself,  and 
which  the  officer  when  duly  called  upon  cannot  refuse  to  perform. 

For  the  existence  then  of  an  office,  two  things  are  necessary,  1st,  that  the  party  in- 
terested in  the  discharge  of  its  functions,  shall  not  be  permitted  to  act  for  himself,  and 


7^7 


^^^^  f^^fyk^^^^  ^ 


■(uc^rz^/  ^  ts^c^LS^ /rf&ttj rfsL**^^ 


-^7   f^i-e^cy^  | 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

CLOSING  OF  MR.  EMMET'S  PLEA  BEFORE  MAYOR  DE  WITT  CLINTON 


C^^tca^yy  ,%Ly4ei&£  'tft^yr,  /^-C  ^Cz^  J^C^^y  ^^^^^ 
J^L^  /£L  ^Zk^rt^  &  ^7  ^£yf^a^ 


faaJ^  jfe&C wU^-y 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Legal  Profession  and  Citizenship 


2nd,  that,  as  a  compensation  for  that  incapacity,  the  officer  must  act  when  called  upon. 
Now  are  either  of  these  two  necessary  characteristics  of  an  office,  to  be  found  in  the 
employment  of  Attorney  or  Counsellor?  May  not  a  party  to  a  suit,  if  he  pleases,  ap- 
pear and  act  for  himself  and  can  an  Attorney  or  Counsellor  be  compelled  to  appear  and 
act  for  another?  So  long  as  he  continues  in  the  employment  of  the  party,  he  is  bound 
to  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  trust,  like  every  other  servant  or  person  employed — 
but  his  undertaking  the  employment  is  in  every  instance  entirely  voluntary.  As  the  sit- 
uation requires  peculiar  information,  of  which  suitors  are  not  competent  judges,  and 
also  very  considerable  integrity,  the  Courts  do  right  in  making  provision — that  the  em- 
ployment shall  not  be  confided  to  the  ignorant  or  the  dishonest — but  they  do  no  more 
than  the  Universities  and  Colleges  of  Physicians,  which  only  grant  degrees  and  licences 
to  practice  physic,  after  due  inquiry  into  the  skill  and  character  of  the  person  offering  him- 
self— or  than  Bishops  and  other  heads  of  Churches  do,  before  they  ordain  a  clergyman.  In 
the  fair  and  rational  point  of  view,  they  are  all  professions  or  employments,  in  which  vol- 
untary services,  requiring  peculiar  learning  and  good  conduct,  are  performed  for  vol- 
untary applicants  and  in  consideration  of  the  necessity  of  such  learning  and  good  conduct 
a  power  is  vested  in  those  who  are  qualified  to  judge  on  those  subjects,  that  they  may 
examine  and  decide  on  the  fitness  of  those  who  wish  to  enter  into  the  profession,  for 
the  mass  of  society,  which  is  incapable  of  forming  any  judgement,  respecting  at  least  one 
of  the  necessary  qualifications.  Physic  and  Divinity  are  professions  open  to  duly  quali- 
fied and  learned  aliens.  Why  should  not  the  profession  of  the  law  be  also  open  to  an 
alien  whose  studies  and  learning  have  been  of  the  legal  kind? 

The  laws  of  this  State  seem  to  recognize  the  distinction  between  this  profession 
and  an  office  so  called.  But  before  I  examine  them  I  would  premise  that  officers  act 
und«r  a  Commission  or  Warrant,  that  is  under  an  order  to  do,  or  a  security  from  injury 
for  doing  certain  things  which  they  are  bound  to  do ;  but  lawyers  receive  only  a  licence 
or  bare  permission  to  practice  if  they  choose.  The  Act  of  this  State  concerning  Counsel- 
lors &c.  was  passed,  and  I  think  the  date  material,  on  the  20th  March,  1801,  and  enacts 
(Sec:  4.)  that  no  person  shall  be  admitted  a  Counsellor  &c.  without  taking  an  Oath  duly 
to  demean  himself  in  the  practice  &c. — and  this  is  the  only  oath  whatsoever,  which  it 
imposes  as  a  preliminary  qualification  for  being  admitted  to  practice  in  those  capacities. 
On  the  2nd  of  April,  1801,  only  thirteen  days  after,  was  passed  an  act  concerning  oaths, 
which  requires  that  every  person  who  shall  hereafter  be  appointed  to  any  office,  Civil  or 
Military,  shall  take  an  oath  renouncing  all  foreign  allegiance  and  professing  allegiance 
to  this  State.  Now,  I  beg  leave  to  observe,  that  those  two  acts,  at  the  same  time  under 
the  eye  of  the  Legislature,  and  enacted  so  nearly  at  once,  must  be  considered  as  made, 
if  I  may  say  so,  uno  statu;  the  one  prescribes  the  only  oath,  and  every  legal  qualification 
required  from  the  non-commissioned  members  of  the  legal  Profession — the  other  act 
marks  out  what  Oaths,  whether  of  office  or  Allegiance,  shall  be  required  from  all  officers 
appointed,  that  is,  deriving  their  authority  from  the  Council  of  appointment  or  any  other 
persons  having  a  right  to  appoint.  A  careful  examination  and  comparison  of  these  two 
acts  induced  the  Supreme  Court  to  decide  that  Counsellors  &c,  were  not  within  the  pur- 
view of  the  last,  which  requires  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  therefore,  I  presume,  if 
officers  at  all,  not  of  that  description,  that  if  any  disqualification  for  non-citizenship 
could  on  general  principles  be  supposed  to  exist,  would  fall  within  it. 

These  observations  have  been  extended  considerably  more  than  was  originally  in- 
tended, and  certainly  their  length  stands  yery  much  in  need  of  apology.  I  shall,  there- 
fore, only  observe,  that  five  courts  have  now  admitted  me,  and  therefore  judicially  ex- 
pressed their  opinion,  that  my  want  of  citizenship  formed  at  least  no  legal  objection 
to  my  admission,  for  altho'  I  feel,  and  very  gratefully  acknowledge,  that  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  my  case,  have  induced  them  to  exercise  their  discretion  towards  me, 
with  the  utmost  liberality — yet  I  cannot  pay  them  so  bad  a  compliment  as  to  suppose 
they  sacrificed  the  smallest  portion  of  what  they  conceived  to  be  the  law  of  the  land. 
They  dispensed  indeed  with  requisites,  which  they  had  themselves  created  for  cases  not 


400 


Letter  to  Robert  Simms 


similar  to  mine, — and  being  convinced  that  I  am  not  an  adventurer,  whom  professional 
disrespectability  or  failure  has  forced  to  try  a  new  speculation  here,  but  that  my  immigra- 
tion to  this  country  has  arisen  from  very  different  causes,  and  when  they  became  con- 
vinced that  no  other  obstacle  lay  in  my  way,  but  those  resulting  from  their  own  rules, 
over  which  they  had  entire  control,  they  accorded  to  me  the  permission  of  following 
the  profession  to  which  I  was  bred,  and  in  which  I  was  known — and  by  that  kind  and 
generous  conduct,  conferred  on  me  the  greatest  favour  I  could  possibly  receive  at  their 
hands. 

I  beg,  Sir,  that  you  will  excuse  the  length  of  this  letter — its  importance  to  myself 
and  to  my  family  have  perhaps  made  me  enter  too  minutely  into  detail — but  as  I  am 
conscious  I  do  not  submit  it  to  an  unfriendly  Judge,  I  venture  to  lay  it  before  you, 
with  these  defects,  which  I  could  not  now  correct,  without  considerably  increasing  the 
great  delay,  that  has  already  unavoidably  occurred,  by  my  being  obliged,  for  those 
days,  to  devote  myself  to  other  business. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect 

Sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

No.  43  Water  St.,  New  York. 

New  York,  June  1st.,  1805. 

The  following  letter*  published  in  the  Ulster  "Journal  of  Archaeology" 
(July,  1898),  will  cast  some  light  upon  the  views  held  by  Mr.  Emmet  after 
leaving  France.  It  will  also  show  the  purpose  of  Arthur  O'Connor,  who 
seems  to  have  made  an  effort  "to  revive  the  ancient  title  of  O'Connor,  King 
of  Ireland".  This  letter  was  written  to  Robert  Simms  of  Belfast,  who  was 
appointed  to  the  chief  command  of  the  Antrim  United  Irish  forces  in  1798. 
Madden  states  (Lives  of  the  United  Irishmen,  etc.,  IV.,  p.  455),  that  on  one 
occasion  John  Hughes,  apparently  an  active  United  Irishman,  but  in  reality 
an  unsuspected  English  spy  and  informer,  charged  Simms  with  incapacity  for 
his  position,  and  proposed  to  the  incorruptible  James  Hope  that  he,  Hughes, 
should  inform  against  Simms  with  the  object  of  thus  getting  rid  of  him.  Hope 
indignantly  drew  a  pistol  and  threatened  to  shoot  Hughes  if  ever  he  repeated 
such  a  proposal.  Mr.  Simms  was  also  a  fellow-prisoner  in  Fort  George,  Scot- 
land, with  Mr.  Emmet  and  the  other  leaders  of  the  United  Irishmen. 

New  York,  June  1st,  1805. 

My  Dear  Friend, 

With  very  great  pleasure  I  received  yours  from  Belfast,  and  I  am  gratified  to  find 
that  I  continue  to  preserve  that  place  in  your  esteem  and  friendship  for  which  I  shall  be 
ever  solicitous. 

You  judge  rightly  as  to  the  motives  which  induced  me  to  leave  France.  I  saw 
there  enough  to  confirm  me  in  the  opinion  1  always  maintained — that  a  permanent  and 
useful  union  between  virtue  and  vice  is  impossible  and  that  the  virtuous  and  honest 
will  always  be  deceived  and  injured  by  permitting  any  attempt  at  such  a  union  to  be 
made.  France  is  the  headquarters  of  fraud,  deceit  and  despotism,  and  under  its  present 
rulers  no  nation  or  people  that  love  liberty  need  look  for  its  honest  co-operation. 

Wishing  to  doubt  this  truth,  I  remained  there  as  long  and  went  as  far  as  my  prin- 
ciples would  permit;  but  when  the  opportunities  I  enjoyed,  both  of  observation  and 
information,  convinced  me  that  if  a  French  force  ever  landed  in  Ireland,  its  influence 
and  strength  would  be  employed  to  eradicate  every  vestige  of  Republicanism,  to  prevent 
and  corrupt  the  public  mind  and  then,  by  a  mixture  of  force,  fraud  and  delusion,  but 

•From  "Ireland  Under  English  Rule",  second  edition,  Vol.  II.,  p.  348. 


"  O'Connor,  King  of  Ireland" 


401 


always  under  the  color  and  pretext  of  the  public  will,  to  establish  a  government  which 
should  be  modelled  after  that  of  the  protecting  country, — I  use  language  that  has  been 
used  to  myself, — and  in  order  the  better  to  support  that  fabric,  to  prop  it  by  a  Catholic 
Establishment,  which  the  arrogant  and  self-opinionated  despot  and  his  minions  obstin- 
ately and  in  the  teeth  of  every  evidence  that  could  be  produced,  supposed  would  be  highly 
gratifying  to  the  Irish  Catholics  at  large. — When  I  became  satisfied  that  these  views  were 
entertained,  if  ever  it  should  become  physically  possible  for  the  French  to  land  in  force 
in  Ireland,  and  very  unjustly  acquired  reputation  by  asserting  the  impolicy  of  any 
Religious  Establishment,  but  who  would  now  (to  adopt  the  expression  respecting  him 
[O'Connor]  "of  one  who  ought  to  know  his  secret  compact")  make  terms,  and  who, 
after  disavowing  his  ever  having  been  a  Republican,  in  a  pamphlet  which  appeared  with 
his  name  at  the  very  crisis,  that  Bonaparte  was  declaring  himself  Emperor,  would  I 
am  convinced  be  selected  under  the  auspices  of  the  protecting  country  to  be  a  greater 
man  than  Schimmelpenninck  is  likely  to  be  in  Holland,  and  to  receive  the  ancient  title 
of  O'Connor,  King  of  Ireland. — When  I  perceived  all  this  I  determined  to  fly  from  the 
sanctuary  of  crimes,  and,  as  I  am  incapable  of  compromising  with  the  English  Govern- 
ment, the  constant  and  bloody  oppressions  of  my  native  land,  to  retire  to  this  happy 
country,  where  liberty  is  triumphant  and  cherished  and  where  the  principles  to  which  I 
have  sacrificed  so  much  would  be  a  kind  of  portion  to  my  children.  I  write  to  you  what 
are  my  own  sentiments  of  England,  France  and  Ireland,  without  adverting  to  what 
yours  may  be,  because  I  should  do  the  same  thing  to  any  friend,  or  to  any  enemy,  were 
he  ever  a  member  of  the  English  or  Irish  administrations,  if  I  did  not  dread  that  he 
might  pervert  the  terms  of  abhorrence  in  which  I  speak  of  France  to  something  like 
soliciting  an  amnesty  or  reconciliation,  and  from  my  soul  I  detest  the  English  tyranny; 
but  in  truth  I  wish  my  sentiments  to  be  known  to  my  countrymen  at  large,  and  I  should 
long  since  have  given  them  greater  publicity  but  for  the  fear  of  the  imputation  I  have 
mentioned,  and  of  its  being  supposed  that  I  wished  to  support  the  dominion  of  England 
in  Ireland.  What  your  political  sentiments  may  be  I  do  not  presume  to  know.  I  only 
write  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  my  own,  and  I  write  them  to  one  of  whose  private 
friendship,  abstracted  from  all  political  considerations,  I  am  confident. 

From  my  coming  to  this  country  unaccompanied  by  any  of  my  political  friends,  you 
might  suppose  that  the  opinions  I  have  stated  are  not  entertained  by  them ;  if  you 
think  me  right  you  would  be  inclined  to  censure  them,  but  you  would  do  them  a  very 
great  wrong.  Many  of  them  were  entangled  with  situations  they  had  entered  into  under 
the  expectation  of  being  useful,  and  could  not  pursue  any  line  of  conduct  as  promptly 
as  I  have  done.  I  can  say,  however,  that  those  whom  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  es- 
teeming and  loving  coincide  with  me  in  every  particular;  that  when  the  idea  of  a 
Catholic  Establishment  of  Ireland  was  first  broached  in  France  the  Irish  Catholics  there 
of  any  consideration  reprobated  it  in  a  most  marked  and  decided  manner,  and  that  my 
resolution  of  quitting  that  country  was  approved  on  principle,  by  those  who  were  so 
circumstanced  as  not  to  be  able  immediately  to  adopt  the  same  conduct. 

I  have  the  pleasure  further  to  add  that  many  of  them  have  withdrawn  from  a  mili- 
tary life  from  the  same  motives  and  devoted  themselves  to  other  pursuits.  James  Joseph 
McDonnell,  whose  name  you  must  unquestionably  have  heard  of,  arrived  from  Bordeaux 
on  the  26th  of  May,  and  he  informed  me  that  Macneven  and  Swiney  were  there  pre- 
paring to  come  here,  and  that  Macneven's  sea-stores  were  ready.  I  expect  that  others 
will  follow  them;  and  even  of  those  who  may  remain  behind,  do  not  suppose  that  they 
all  approve  of,  will  endeavour  to  effectuate  the  views  of  France  respecting  Ireland. 
Some  men  there  undoubtedly  are  for  whom  I  would  not  say  so  much ;  but  with  one  ex- 
ception, they  are  very  little  known  or  thought  of  at  home. 

I  rejoice,  my  dear  friend,  to  think  that  the  resolution  you  have  taken  of  settling 
yourself  and  family  here  will  withdraw  you  from  scenes  which  I  cannot  but  suppose 
must  be  extremely  irksome,  and  from  a  country  the  future  prospects  of  which  appear 
to  me  extremely  gloomy.  Believe  me,  it  is  with  pain  I  find  that  you  are  determined 
to  defer  your  voyage  for  one  year  more.    The  determination  to  quit  one's  native  home, 


402 


American  Dislike  of  "Popery" 


natural  connections,  and  ancient  friends  is  so  serious  and  important  that  I  would  scarcely 
venture  to  advise  it  to  any  man  ;  but  you  have  taken  the  resolution,  and  as  your  choice 
is  made,  I  may  say  I  do  not  believe  you  will  ever  repent  it,  and  I  may  urge  that  every 
moment  which  you  unnecessarily  delay  the  execution  of  your  plan  is  so  much  thrown 
away  out  of  your  happiness  in  this  country. 

As  for  myself,  you  will,  I  am  sure,  rejoice  to  learn  that  my  good  fortune  has  been 
complete.  The  exertions  of  my  friends  have  procured  me  the  permission  of  following 
my  profession  here,  tho'  an  alien,  and  not  qualified,  by  performing  the  usual  preliminary 
studies  within  the  State;  and  my  prospects  in  business  are  to  the  full  as  good  as  my 
most  sanguine  expectations  ever  conceived.  Within  this  fortnight  or  three  weeks  I 
have  received  a  very  large  and  troublesome  addition  to  my  family  by  the  arrival  of  my 
three  youngest  boys  from  Dublin*  They  are  in  perfect  health,  and  so  much  the  harder 
to  manage.  I  am  now  surrounded  by  my  eight  children,  equally  divided  as  to  sex;  the 
three  eldest — your  old  fellow  prisoners — are  extremely  well  and  very  fine  children. 
Your  favourite,  Margaret,  tho'  inferior  in  beauty,  is  perhaps  the  best  and  most  valuable. 

They  all  remember  you  with  very  lively  affection.  The  little  Scotch  lassie  is  a 
great  beauty,  and  a  great  pet;  the  eighth  is  a  brave  American  girl  of  only  two  months 
old.    I  had  another  lovely  little  girl  who  died  of  the  chin  cough  after  we  left  France. 

So  much  for  my  children.  Mrs.  Emmet,  who  is  as  eager  as  I  am  to  see  you  and 
desires  the  most  affectionate  remembrance  to  you,  would  be  very  tolerable  if  she  did 
not  persevere  in  nursing,  which  never  agrees  with  her;  but  we  are  at  this  moment 
also  laboring  under  the  most  crying  grievance  in  America — the  badness  of  servants — of 
which,  and  the  enormity  of  their  wages  you  can  scarcely  form  an  idea.  This,  in  addi- 
tion to  nursing,  harrasses  and  fatigues  her.  When  you  come  out,  if  there  be  any  servant 
really  attached  to  your  family  that  would  accompany  you  from  affection  and  not  from 
speculation,  jump  at  the  proposal.  Be  so  good  as  to  present  my  repects  to  Mrs.  Simms, 
tho'  I  do  not  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  her  acquaintance  personally,  and  to  your  brother, 
who  I  hope  has  not  forgotten  me;  and  believe  me,  my  dear  friend,  very  sincerely  yours 

„        „         _  T.  A.  Emmet. 

Robert  Simms,  Esq. 

At  the  time  the  sons  of  Mr.  Emmet  landed  from  Ireland,  as  described  in 
the  following  footnote,  the  people  of  all  stations  in  New  York,  with  but  few- 
exceptions,  stood  in  dread  of  what  they  termed  "Popery"  quite  as  much  as  of 
a  pestilence.  The  Irish  therefore  were  disliked  and  mistrusted.  It  needed 
the  intercourse  of  many  generations  to  convince  these  people  that  "Popery" 
was  not,  after  all,  so  deadly  as  supposed,  and  that  in  any  case  all  Irishmen 
were  not  so  afflicted,  that  there  were  indeed  some  Irishmen  who  knew  no 
more  of  it  than  they  did.  It  will  be  shown  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  to  fight  his 
way  bitterly  until  he  finally  succeeded  in  establishing  his  position,  and  his  boys 


•John  Patten,  Thomas  Addis,  and  Christopher  Temple,  the  three  youngest  sons,  had  been  left 
with  their  grandparents  after  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  their  father.  Shortly  after  the  death 
of  Dr.  Emmet,  their  grandfather,  his  wife  left  "Casino"  and  took  a  smaller  house  in  the  neighbor- 
hood but  a  little  further  distant  from  Dublin.  Mrs.  Holmes  (Mary  Anne  Emmet),  with  Mr.  Robert 
Holmes  and  the  children  accompanied  the  grandmother.  The  sunt  had  charge  of  the  house  after  her 
father's  death  and  she  only  continued  the  care  of  the  children  after  the  death  of  her  broken-hearted 
mother  until  they  could  be  sent  to  New  York  to  rejoin  their  parents  Much  delay  occurred  in  con- 
sequence of  the  difficulty  in  finding  some  one  to  take  charge  of  them  and  the  opportunity  did  not 
occur  until  the  spring  of  1805.  A  Mr.  Thompson  who  brought  them  out,  probably  a  distant  relative 
through  the  Colvilles.  was  a  school  master.  He  established  a  noted  boys'  school  on  Long  Island, 
and  educated  them  all  afterwards. 

The  arrival  in  the  port  of  New  York  of  a  ship  from  Ireland  was  at  that  day  an  event  of  rare 
occurrence  and  it  was  one  of  singular  attraction  for  causing  the  assembling  of  a  crowd.  John,  the 
eldest,  the  father  of  the  writer,  with  Thomas  and  their  younger  brother,  were  sent  ashore  in  quest 
of  a  conveyance  to  take  them  to  their  father's  residence.  On  leaving  the  dock  the  boys  had  to  fight 
their  way,  as  they  were  attacked  by  severa'  Vreet  Arabs  about  their  age  and  pelted  with  clods  of 
dirt  and  stones,  and  were  laughed  at  by  the  grown  persons  along  the  sides  of  the  street  who  seemed 
to  consider  it  a  good  joke  to  join  in  calling  them  "Paddies  from  Cork".  John  got  a  black  eye  in  the 
first  scuffle,  but  the  two  boys  managed  to  hold  their  own  and  protect  their  younger  brother,  until 
they  procured  a  conveyance.  Mr.  Thompson,  who  was  behind  with  their  trunk  on  his  shoulder,  knew 
nothing  of  the  attack  until  it  was  all  over. 


Mr.  Hall's  Article 


403 


on  landing  were  only  being  initiated  into  what  they  had  to  bear  in  some  form 
or  other  for  the  greater  part  of  their  lives.  These  lives  were  well  -spent  before 
there  was  a  change  in  this  point  of  view. 

Mr.  Emmet's  business  increased  rapidly  in  furnishing  the  means  for  sup- 
port of  his  family.  But  no  one  has  written  anything  to  show  the  character  of 
his  work  or  any  interesting  feature  of  his  practice. 

For  "The  Green  Bag",  issued  at  Boston-  (July,  1896),  Mr.  A.  Oakey  Hall, 
at  one  time  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York,  prepared  a  careful  article  on 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  with  the  accompanying  couplet: — 

Dear  son  of  Memory,  great  heir  of  fame, 

What  need'st  thou  such  weak  witness  of  thy  name? 

(Milton's  Sonnet  on  Shakespeare) 

Some  of  Mr.  Hall's  observations  will  be  quoted  and  noted  here,  while  the 
cases  dealt  with  by  Mr.  Emmet  in  the  course  of  his  legal  practice  and  com- 
mented on  by  Mr.  Hale  will  be  distributed  through  the  volume  in  chronological 
order.  The  author  has  long  adhered  to  the  rule  of  having  all  material  used  by 
him  verified,  where  possible.  In  conformity  with  this  rule  Mr.  Hall's  article 
was  carefully  compared  with  the  public  records,  and  it  was  found  that  although 
some  mistakes  had  been  made  they  were  comparatively  unimportant.* 

When  the  writer  was  a  small  boy  it  was  a  common  circumstance  for 
strangers  who  had  heard  a  story  related  of  his  grandfather,  to  come  seeking 
to  learn  if  it  were  true,  and  a  good  laugh  would  accompany  the  re-telling  of 
it.  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  following  story 
related  by  Mr.  Hall. 

There  was  an  Irish  lawyer  who  took  the  place  at  the  New  York  Bar  left  vacant 
by  the  untimely  death  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  like  him  was  an  emigre  from  British 
dominions.  His  name  was  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  whose  face  and  virtues  are  com- 
memorated on  a  white  marble  shaft  that  faces  every  pedestrian  who  passes  St.  Paul's 
church  on  lower  Broadway  in  New  York  City.  The  tradition  of  its  Bar  and  its  law 
reports  during  the  first  quarter  of  this  century  keep  his  legal  memory  green.  Consid- 
ered as  a  mere  man,  the  name  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  is  one  for  Irishmen  everywhere 
to  conjure  with  as  having  been  a  martyr  to  their  revolutionary  animosity  toward  Great 
Britain.  He  and  his  brother  Robert  collaborated  in  patriotic  writings  and  perhaps  rash 
undertakings  which  the  English  government  called  treason.  Together  they  crossed  to 
the  Continent  in  hopes  of  enlisting  foreign  aid,  and  at  Paris  the  elder  brother  saw 
his  younger  one  depart  to  engage  in  Irish  rebellion,  and  to  meet  with  unexampled  cour- 
age a  fate  which,  but  for  the  Muses  of  History,  might  have  been  termed  ignominious. 
Thomas  Addis  was  arrested  for  treason  in  1797,  and  imprisoned  in  Scotland,  in  that 
Kilmainham  jail  made  famous  in  later  times  by  the  cells  of  O'Connell  and  Parnell.  But 
as  the  Irish  chroniclers  of  that  day  have  said,  the  English  government  remained  satis- 
fied with  the  death  of  one  Emmet,  and  so  gave  Thomas  and  his  wife — who  had  shared 
his  imprisonment — their  freedom,  on  condition  that  they  left  their  native  country  never 
to  return  to  it.  They  exiled  themselves  first  to  Paris,  and  next  to  New  York,  where 
they  were  received  with  open  arms  by  its  governor,  George  Clinton,  himself  of  the 
strongest  Irish  sympathies  because  of  Irish  birth,  and  an  adversary  of  King  George 
during  revolutionary  times. 

•This  commission  was  given  to  a  great-grandson  of  Mr.  Emmet,  Mr.  Harris,  bearing  his  fr'l 
name  through  his  grandfather,  the  author,  who  assigned  to  Mr.  Harris  the  execution  of  the  searc.ii, 
which  was  the  first  professional  obligation  discharged  by  him. 


404 


Characteristics  of  Mr.  Emmet 


Emmet  arrived  at  New  York  in  the  year  of  Hamilton's  decease,  and  was  after  only 
a  short  pupilage  admitted  and  welcomed  to  its  Bar.  He  succeeded  from  the  start,  for 
he  was  well  grounded  in  the  principles  of  the  common  law,  and  being  a  medical  juris- 
prudent, found  his  learning  as  a  physician  additionally  serviceable.  He  was  magnetic 
in  manner,  of  polished  behavior,  and  a  florid  and  impassioned  orator  without  sacri- 
ficing logic.  His  hobby  as  a  college  student  had  been  mathematics,  and  as  every  lawyer 
knows,  he  who  is  master  of  Euclid  and  differential  calculus  readily  grasps  the  skill  of 
syllogisms  and  enthymeme,  and  can  demonstrate  legal  problems  with  persuasive  effect  to 
court  or  jury. 

Although  Governor  George  Clinton  had  given  warm  welcome  to  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  and  by  his  influence  tided  him  over  the  quicksands  of  Bar-admission,  there 
were  several  leading  members  of  it  who  stood  aloof  from  "the  interloper",  and  who, 
to  put  it  in  plain  English,  showed  jealousy  of  him.  It  was,  too,  the  era  of  the  Adams 
alien  legislation,  and  politics  had  some  hand  in  the  feeble  attempt  to  put  Emmet  into 
Coventry.  But  Cadwallader  D.  Colden,  one  of  Governor  Clinton's  allies,  who  had  been 
mayor  of  the  city,  and  who  led  in  its  society,  took  Emmet  by  the  hand,  and  being  a 
Bar  leader,  became  of  great  value  to  the  Irish  barrister. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet's  appearance  in  court  was  rather  that  of  a  rollicking  middle- 
aged  Irish  squire,  fond  of  the  hunt  and  the  bottle— although  he  was  a  model  of  sobriety. 
He  had  roguish  Hibernian  eyes,  a  very  florid  complexion,  was  of  sound  physical  make, 
displayed  an  expansive  head,  and  one  that  an  enthusiastic  phrenologist  would  have 
revelled  to  manipulate  in  a  search  for  bumps;  and  he  used  a  musical,  expressive  and 
variable  voice,  pleasantly  tinctured  with  a  winning  Corkonian  brogue.*  He  was  per- 
suasive and  convincing,  rather  than  strictly  eloquent,  but  eminently  graceful  in  gesture 
and  pose. 

The  term  rollicking  in  application  to  Mr.  Emmet's  appearance  cannot  be 
allowed  to  pass  unchallenged.  The  responsibilities  of  the  world  were  placed 
on  Mr.  Emmet's  shoulders  at  too  early  an  age  for  a  rollicking  nature,  suppos- 
ing it  ever  to  have  existed,  to  survive  his  early  manhood.  He  remained  in 
after  years  a  quiet  and  most  dignified  man,  but  always  with  a  cheerful  smile 
of  great  individuality,  as  a  greeting  alike  for  the  humblest  and  most  exalted 
person.  As  Mr.  Hall  has  just  shown,  Mr.  Emmet's  bodily  carriage  was  ex- 
tremely graceful,  and  he  retained  this  characteristic  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
His  appearance  in  the  street  was  such  that  no  stranger  would  ever  pass  him 
without  turning  to  look  back.  His  manner  was  the  striking  one  of  a  dis- 
tinguished man,  and  the  eccentricity  recorded  by  Mr.  Hall  was  probably  the 
only  one  he  possessed. 

He  had  but  one  odd  foible,  which  was  in  taking  a  goose-quill  pen — his  was  not  the 
era  of  the  steel,  the  gold,  or  the  capricious  fountain  pen — between  his  fingers,  then  put- 
ting his  hands  behind  him,  would  reduce  the  quill  and  feather  to  shreds  with  nervous 
clutchings,  while  to  the  observer  in  front  of  him  he  appeared  cool,  collected,  and  talk- 
ing to  point  and  purpose.  He  was  gifted  with  great  nervous  energy  and  mental  control. 
When  his  argument  ended,  jurors  or  judges  or  adversary  would  seem  to  notice  what 
immense  force  remained;  the  engine  had  easily  performed  its  work,  but  there  was 
power  remaining  for  any  further  onward  movement. 

The  following  traditional  anecdote  is  of  record  in  the  annals  of  the  New  York  Bar, 
illustrative  of  the  craft  and  shrewdness  of  Mr.  Emmet  as  a  counselor.  The  transaction 
to  which  it  refers  having  been  bruited  about  publicly  at  the  time,  gave  him  much  popular 

•What  is  termed  "Irish  brogue"  is  the  Irishman's  fashion  of  speaking  better  English  than  that 
spoken  by  the  Englishman  of  the  present  day.  He  has  simply  preserved  the  English  mode  of  speak- 
ing the  language  as  it  was  spoken  when  the  English  first  went  to  Ireland. 


A  Clever  Ruse 


405 


fame.  A  journeyman  saddler  of  the  city,  having  accumulated  a  few  hundred  dollars, 
proposed  to  establish  himself  in  a  suburban  village,  and  while  at  its  inn  entrusted  its 
landlord  with  the  keeping  over  night  of  two  hundred  dollars.  This,  on  demand  the  next 
morning  the  rogue  denied  having  received.  The  guest  had  not  taken  a  receipt, 
nor  was  it  the  time  when  a  suitor  could  witness  for  himself,  and  Mr. 
Emmet  was  obliged  to  inform  him  that  he  had  been  tricked  without  recourse, 
"but",  added  he,  "if  you  have  another  two  hundred,  return  and  tell  him 
you  must  have  been  mistaken,  and  apologetically,  taking  a  friend  with  you  as  a  witness, 
deposit  another  two  hundred  with  him";  which  the  client  did.  "Now",  said  Emmet,  a 
day  or  two  after,  "go  and  claim  the  two  hundred  dollars  while  alone,  and  he  will  give  it 
to  you".  And  so  it  proved,  and  the  bewildered  client  returned  with  it  to  ask  how  he 
was  better  off.  Then  Emmet  added,  "Tomorrow  go  to  the  innkeeper  with  your  witness 
friend  and  say,  "Having  returned  me  my  first  two  hundred  dollars  I  come  now  for  the 
second  two  hundred". 

The  rogue  of  course  on  another  visit  denied  its  reception,  but  the  witness  spoke  up 
and  said,  "I  saw  the  transaction,  and  will  bear  testimony  in  court".  The  village  boni- 
face,  fearing  for  the  reputation  of  his  house  if  suit  was  brought,  and  exposure  resulted, 
paid  over  the  money,  and  realized  how  he  had  been  beaten.  Then  the  client  returned 
exultingly  to  Emmet,  who  refused  a  fee.  And  the  saddler  and  his  witness  friend  were 
not  chary  in  telling  to  everybody  what  a  shrewd  man  was  the  Irish  rebel  lawyer  from 
the  old  country. 


In  a  country  really  independent,  the  laius  and  policy  originate  within  its  own  bosom,  and 
are  calculated  to  extend  the  advantages  of  the  State,  whether  natural  or  acquired, 
and  to  recover  its  defects. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


When  civilization  is  imposed,  it  <will  be  fashioned  by  the  habits,  the  prejudices  and  the 
interests  of  conquest  to  form  a  society  of  slaves,  not  a  community  of  freemen. 

T.  A.  Emmet . 


Chapter  XXV 

Mr.  Emmet  visits  Washington  before  deciding  as  to  a  place  of  final  residence — Is 
permitted  to  practise  in  the  United  States  Supreme  Court — Through  the  influence  of 
Hon.  George  Clinton,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  is  licensed  to  practise  in  the 
courts  of  that  State  before  being  naturalized — There  being  fortunately  no  law  to  the 
contrary,  Mr.  Emmet  gains  his  purpose,  but  great  opposition  is  ranged  against  him,  and 
at  once  a  law  is  passed  forbidding  any  one  to  practise  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States — Receives  a  visit  from  Harman  Blennerhassett — Having  been  a  physician,  the 
profession  recognizes  him  as  still  of  the  fraternity,  and  he  holds  until  his  death  the  posi- 
tion of  Counsellor  of  the  New  York  Medical  Society — Reference  to  some  of  his  legal 
cases — Interesting  letter  in  reply  to  Peter  Burrowes — No  relative  of  the  name  of  Emmet 
left  in  Ireland — Desires  that  none  of  the  family  should  visit  Ireland  until  she  be  free — 
Meets  with  much  political  opposition  on  account  of  connection  with  the  Republican  or 
Democratic  party — His  correspondence  with  Rufus  King,  and  success  in  defeating  his 
election  as  Governor — Rufus  King's  protest  to  the  English  Government  against  allowing 
the  Irish  leaders  to  emigrate  to  the  United  States. 


VERY  inducement  was  offered  Mr.  Emmet  to  settle  in  New 
York  after  the  Mayor  had  granted  him  permission  to 
practise  in  his  court,  but  before  making  his  decision  he 
visited  the  city  of  Washington,  where,  without  any  action 
on  his  part,  he  was  admitted  to  practise  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  On  his  return  to  New  York 
the  Clintons,  Mr.  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  and  other  friends 
caused  a  special  Act  to  be  passed  through  the  Legislature 
by  which  Mr.  Emmet  was  admitted  regularly  to  the  Bar 
and  entitled  to  practise  in  all  the  courts  of  the  State,  as  there  was  no  law  to,  the 
contrary. 

But  it  appears  from  page  386  of  2  Carnes,  New  York  Reports,  objection  was  ex- 
pressly made  to  Emmet's  admission,  which  took  place  at  the  February  term  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  1805,  on  the  ground  of  his  alienage,  and  the  discussion  resulting  in  the 
Court's  exercising  its  discretion  was  accentuated  by  the  adoption  of  a  rule  at  an  ensuing 
term  requiring  citizenship  in  admission  to  the  Bar  (1  Johnson's  Reports,  528). 

Business  was  offered  to  him  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  take  charge  of  it. 
The  first  case  he  received  was  from  the  Quakers  to  defend  a  fugitive  slave, 
and  as  we  will  see  hereafter,  his  last  case  was 'for  charity. 

He  had  scarcely  settled  his  family  and  begun  his  career  when  he  received 
a  visit  from  his  old  friend  and  distant  relative,  Harman  Blennerhassett.  We 

406 


Harman  Blennerhassett 


407 


find  this  visit  referred  to  in  "The  Blennerhassett  Papers"  (edited  by  Wm.  H. 
Stafford,  Cincinnati,  1864)  in  the  following  manner: 

About  this  time,  Blennerhassett,  having  received  intelligence  of  the  arrival  in 
New  York  of  his  classmate  and  friend,  the  celebrated  Thomas  Addis  Emmet, 
who  had  been  compelled  to  flee  his  country  by  reason  of  serious  political  difficul- 
ties, hastened  to  meet  him.  The  feelings  of  the  exiles,  as  they  again  clasped  hands,  on  the 
western  borders  of  the  Atlantic,  can  only  be  fully  appreciated  by  those  who  experienced 
similar  vicissitudes.  Here  he  found  one  with  whom  he  could  freely  sympathize,  and 
who,  in  return,  could  as  freely  sympathize  with  him.  Often  in  early  life,  had  they  sported 
together  over  the  same  green  meadows,  and  participated  in  the  same  amusements.  And 
when,  at  a  more  advanced  age,  they  had  been  honorable  competitors  for  academic  honors, 
no  selfish  ambition  had  served  to  loose  the  bonds  which  early  childhood  welded,  although 
the  contest  was  never  so  spirited,  or  the  prize  was  never  so  dazzling.  Still  later  in  life, 
they  had  deplored  together  the  fate  of  their  country;  had  witnessed  her  deep  degradation 
and  sighed  over  the  hopeless  prospects  which  were  shadowed  in  the  distant  future.  After 
several  weeks  spent  with  his  friend,  during  which  time  he  renewed  his  former  acquaint- 
ance in  the  city,  he  returned  to  his  family  on  the  island. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Blennerhassett's  visit  to  New  York  he  became  acquainted 
with  Aaron  Burr,  and  involved  with  him  in  what  was  charged  to  be  treason 
against  the  United  States — the  fitting  out  of  an  expedition  for  the  supposed 
purpose  of  capturing  territory  held  by  a  friendly  power.  He  was  arrested  and 
tried  with  Burr  on  this  charge,  but  was  finally  acquitted,  as  the  evidence  was 
insufficient. 

Blennerhassett  was  ably  defended  by  voluntary  counsel.  In  answer  to  some 
queries  addressed  to  him  from  Burr,  through  Colonel  Alston,  Blennerhassett 
wrote : 

I  had  no  doubt  Emmet's  friendship  for  me  would  bring  him  hither  to  assist  in  my 
defense,  if  he  thought  I  stood  in  need  of  him;  but  as  I  was,  on  the  one  hand,  determined 
to  expend  no  money  in  my  defense,  I  was,  on  the  other,  equally  averse  to  bringing  my 
friend  on  a  journey  from  his  large  family,  or  withdrawing  his  industry  from  that  harvest 
on  which  that  family  depended  for  their  support;  but  could  I  engage  Mr.  Emmet  at  a 
suitable  compensation,  I  would  write  to  him  forthwith. 

Great  injustice  was  done  Blennerhassett,  for,  whatever  may  have  been 
Burr's  ulterior  purpose,  Blennerhassett's  great  object  was  evidently  to  seek  a 
new  settlement  for  his  family  in  some  more  genial  climate. 

He  settled  on  a  large  island  in  the  Ohio  River,  near  Marietta,  and  had  made 
the  wilderness  about  him  teem  with  plenty.  But  as  the  Spaniards  then  held 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River  there  was  no  market  or  outlet  for  his  prod- 
uce, so  for  this  reason  and  because  of  the  absence  of  the  social  relations  to 
which  he  had  been  accustomed  he  became  anxious  to  change  his  habitation. 

After  his  arrest  his  house  was  nearly  destroyed  and  his  estate  was  made  a 
barren  waste  by  the  lawlessness  of  soldiers  who  were  in  charge,  awaiting  the 
result  of  the  trial.  His  family  had  separated,  and  in  their  support,  together 
with  the  liabilities  he  had  incurred  by  indorsing  notes  for  Colonel  Burr  and  in 
meeting  the  necessary  expenses  connected  with  his  trial,  he  was  at  length  re- 
duced from  affluence  to  a  state  of  great  embarrassment.  He  returned  to  his 
home  broken,  not  only  in  fortune,  but  in  health.   He  hoped  to  save  something 


408 


Miranda's  Expedition 


from  the  wreck  and  to  obtain  some  redress  from  the  United  States  Government 
for  the  losses  he  had  sustained,  but  he  was  destined  to  disappointment. 

One  of  the  most  important  cases  in  which  Mr.  Emmet  was  retained,  and 
one  not  mentioned  by  Mr.  Hall,  was  very  early  in  his  professional  career  for 
the  defence  of  William  S.  Smith  who  was  charged  with  being  concerned  in  pre- 
paring a  military  expedition,  set  on  foot  in  the  city  of  N'ew  York  and  intended 
to  be  carried  on  against  the  dominions  of  Spain  and  South  America,  at  a  time 
when  peace  existed  between  the  United  States  and  Spain.  This  was  known  as 
"Miranda's  Expedition" ;  a  general  account  of  which  was  published  in  New 
York  in  1808.  The  trial  of  Smith  took  place  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  New  York  District,  in  July,  1806  * 

It  is  one  of  three  trials  in  Mr.  Emmet's  practice  which  were  reported  in  full 
and  were  taken  in  shorthand  by  Mr.  Wm.  Sampson.f  The  writer  has  a  copy 
of  the  report  of  this  trial,  as  published. 

The  medical  men  of  New  York  always  claimed  Mr.  Emmet  as  a  member 
of  their  own  profession,  and  one  of  the  first  official  recognitions  he  received 
was  from  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  New  York.  This  is  shown  by 
the  following  letter,  in  which  he  accepts  the  position  of  Counsellor  to  the 
Society,  which  position  he  held  until  his  death : — 

New  York,  July  12th,  1806. 

Dear  Sir: 

Permit  me  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  polite  note,  and  to  express  my  regret 
that  I  had  not  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  and  the  other  gentlemen  of  your  committee, 
when  you  were  so  good  as  to  call  upon  me. 

I  request  you  to  return  my  most  sincere  thanks  to  the  members  of  the  Medical  Society 
for  the  Honour  they  have  done  me  in  appointing  me  their  Counsellor,  and  to  assure 
them,  that  in  return  for  their  confidence  I  shall  always  endeavour  to  discharge  my  duty 
to  the  best  of  my  abilities. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be  Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  Servant, 
James  Tillary  Esq.,  M.  D.,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

Broadway. 

Mr.  Hall  states: — 

The  first  reported  case  in  which  Mr.  Emmet  appeared  is  that  of  Mumford  v.  McPher- 
son,  1  Johnson,  414,  tried  in  August,  1806,  in  which  he  successfully  defended  on  appeal 
a  nonsuit  that  he  had  obtained  at  nisi  prius  on  the  point  that  a  plaintiff,  suing  upon  a 
verbal  warranty  that  the  ship  which  he  sold  was  copperfastened,  could  not  maintain  his 
declaration  after  a  bill  of  sale  had  been  offered  in  evidence  that  was  silent  as  to  warranty. 
His  brief  is  given,  in  which  he  cites  memorable  English  cases  on  the  subject  of  the  re- 
lation of  parole  contracts  to  those  put  in  writing.  This  relation  is  so  well  settled  now-a- 
days  that  a  reading  of  the  old  case  cited  sounds  oddly.  Emmet  cited  cases  from  Yelver- 
ton  and  Peake,  stating  that  verbal  and  written  warranty  could  not  coalesce.  It  seems 
that  the  case  was  subsequently  cited  in  twelve  different  decisions  in  many  States. 

In  the  next  volume  of  Johnson,  in  Welsh  v.  Hill,  p.  100,  Mr.  Emmet  argues,  Novem- 
ber, 1806,  for,  and  obtains  the  discharge  of  his  defendant  client  because  of  flaws  in  the 
bail  piece. 


♦See  Lloyd's  Reports. 

fSee  Appendix,   Note  No.  XV. 


Peter  Burrowes 


409 


February,  1807 — James  Kent  being  presiding  justice.  In  Pintard  v.  Ross,  p.  186,  Mr. 
Emmet  brought  an  old  practitioner  to  book,  in  correcting  and  taking  advantage  of  his 
blunders  in  procedure.  This  case  must  have  brought  him  good  advertisement,  for  his 
client,  John  Pintard,  was  one  of  New  York's  most  eminent  citizens  in  his  day.  That 
clientele  also  showed  that  his  learning  and  ability  both  at  nisi  prius  and  in  banco  were 
appreciated  by  the  highest  class  of  litigants. 

Mr.  Peter  Burrowes  became  a  member  of  the  United  Irishmen  early  in  its 
organization  and  about  the  time  his  friend  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  joined  it.  At 
that  time  the  object  of  the  association  was  to  bring  about  Catholic  Emancipa- 
tion and  a  reform  in  the  Irish  Parliament.  He  was  never  in  favor  of  separation 
from  England,  but  as  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England  he  never  changed 
his  opinion  or  relaxed  his  efforts  for  gaining  Catholic  Emancipation.  As  a 
lawyer  his  professional  advancement  was  sacrificed,  for  the  Government  with- 
held all  official  preferment.  When  some  petty  office  was  offered  him  by  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  when  he  was  Prime  Minister,  it  was  declined  by  Mr.  Burrowes 
as  he  felt  that  he  could  not  adopt  the  views  of  the  Government  of  the  day,  nor 
would  he  change  his  own  as  to  Catholic  Emancipation. 

In  Mr.  Burrowes'  "Memoirs",  page  67,  the  editor  writes : — 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  throughout  an  active  and  long  life,  and  until  old  age  had 
overtaken  him  he  failed,  while  in  possession  of  the  most  transcendant  abilities  and  un- 
blemished integrity,  to  obtain  any  employment  except  that  of  counsel  to  the  com- 
missioners. 

The  most  affectionate  intercourse  subsisted  between  Mr.  Burrowes  and  the  family  of 
the  Emmets,  of  whom  he  was  a  great  admirer.  He  lost  no  time  in  communicating  the 
change  of  administration  of  1806  to  his  friend  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  with  whom  he  was 
most  closely  united,  apprizing  him  of  his  own  good  fortune,  and  of  the  political  and  ju- 
dicial arrangements  incident  on  the  change;  inviting  him  at  the  same  time  to  return  or  at 
least  send  over  some  of  his  children  to  be  educated.  This  letter  produced  the  following 
reply  from  Emmet,  exhibiting  a  friendship  which  no  adversity  could  shake  or  diminish, 
yet  breathing  hostility  keen  and  inveterate  against  those  men  whose  political  rancour  and 
personal  ambition  stifled  every  feeling  that  was  honourable  to  human  nature,  and  who  had, 
as  he  considered,  treacherously  contributed  to  blast  his  own  happiness  and  disappoint 
the  hopes  of  himself  and  his  family. 

New  York,  Nov.  19th,  1806. 
My  Dear  Burrowes — I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  yours  of  July  last  in  due  time. 
And  first  as  to  the  matter  of  business  to  which  it  alludes.    I  have  inquired  after  Mr. 

 's  claim  to  property  in  Baltimore,  and  the  result  is  pretty  conclusive  that  nothing 

can  now  be  done,  and  probably  never  could,  even  if  the  party  entitled  had  come  out  here 

to  urge  his  claim.  Mr.  is  at  present  in  Baltimore,  and  I  have  furnished  him  with 

all  the  information  I  could  get  before  his  departure,  and  on  his  return  shall  put  into  his 
hand  another  letter  I  have  since  received.  He,  therefore,  will,  I  suppose,  write  more  par- 
ticularly than  I  have  time  to  do.  As  to  your  late  law  arrangements,  I  sincerely  rejoice, 
my  good  friend,  that  promotion  has  fallen  upon  your  head,  and  those  of  some  others 
where  I  think  it  will  be  bestowed ;  however,  there  are  in  the  list  of  promotion  men  of 
whom  I  never  wish  to  think  because  I  cannot  think  of  them  without  the  strongest  emo- 
tions of  aversion  and  disgust,  strong  and  warm  as  was  my  former  friendship.  In  the 
conclusion  of  your  letter  you  ask  a  question  which  if  I  did  not  know  the  occasional  ab- 
sence of  your  thoughts,  would  have  caused  me  much  speculation. — Do  you  ever  mean  to 
visit  us?  says  an  influential  officer  of  the  Government  of  Ireland,  to  a  proscribed  exile, 
whose  return  would  be  death  by  law; — or  to  send  over  any  of  your  children?    A  man 


410 


Mr.  Emmet's  Opponents 


who  was  very  anxious  to  return  would  catch  at  this  offer,  but  that  is  not  my  case.  I  am 
settled  here  with  the  fairest  prospects  for  myself  and  children. 

My  principles  and  my  sufferings  were  my  first  passport  and  introduction  here,  and 
they  procured  me  the  effective  regard  of  the  leading  characters  of  this  State,  and  in  the 
Union  at  large.  In  proportion  as  I  cherish  these  principles  I  am  respected,  and  every 
day's  reflection  and  observation  makes  them  dearer  to  me.  Ought  I  to  go  where  they 
are  treasonable  and  sufficient  ground  for  perpetual  proscription?  Besides,  my  good 
friend,  I  am  too  proud  when  vanquished  to  assist  by  my  presence  in  gracing  the  triumph 
of  the  victor.  And  with  what  feelings  should  I  tread  on  Irish  ground?  As  if  I  were 
walking  over  graves,  and  those  the  graves  of  my  nearest  relatives  and  my  dearest  friends. 
No,  I  can  never  wish  to  be  in  Ireland  except  in  such  a  way  as  none  of  my  old  friends 
connected  with  the  Government  could  wish  to  see  me  placed  in.  As  to  my  children,  I  hope 
they  will  love  liberty  too  much  ever  to  fix  a  voluntary  residence  in  an  enslaved  country. 
Nothing  in  their  future  prospects  gives  me  greater  pain  than  the  fear  that  my  eldest 
son  will  be  obliged,  when  he  comes  of  age,  to  go  to  Ireland  to  dispose  of  some  settled 
property  which,  if  I  were  worth  a  few  thousand  dollars  more,  I  should  wish  rather  in 
the  hands  of  my  greatest  enemy  than  his:  There  is  not  now  in  Ireland  an  individual 
that  bears  the  name  of  Emmet.  I  do  not  wish  that  there  ever  should  while  it  is  con- 
nected with  England,  and  yet  it  will,  perhaps,  be  remembered  in  its  history.  With  very 
sincere  and  warmest  esteem, 

Believe  me  ever  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

In  this  instance  as  well  as  in  Tone's,  Burrowes  seems  to  have  forgotten  that  the 
Banishment  Act  punished  with  transportation  any  person  discovered  in  correspondence 
with  the  Irish  exiles.  His  transgression,  however,  was  purely  the  result  of  generous 
sympathy  for  their  fallen  fortunes;  for  no  man  more  deplored  or  more  frequently  con- 
demned the  rash  principles  entertained  by  those  distinguished  men. 

Political  feeling  was  most  bitter  at  the  time  Mr.  Emmet  settled  in  New 
York,  and  the  city  was  then  a  stronghold  of  the  Federal  party.  Mr.  Emmet's 
friends  were  all  allied  to  the  Republican  party,  which  was  the  same  as  the 
Democratic  party  of  the  present  day,  and  being  himself  a  democrat  in  principle 
he  became  associated  and  remained  with  that  party  all  his  life.  In  consequence 
he  met  with  great  opposition  from  the  beginning,  and  a  number  of  the  Bar  at 
once  joined  in  a  cabal  to  crush  him.  A  noted  exception  was  in  the  case  of  Cad- 
wallader  Colden,  a  prominent  Federalist,  who  openly  denounced  the  com- 
bination within  a  short  time  after  it  was  formed.  With  his  wife  he  called  on 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emmet,  and  until  their  death  they  remained  intimate  friends. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  not  a  man  to  be  intimidated,  nor  was  he  easily  discouraged. 
He  quietly  overcame  all  opposition  by  his  exalted  character,  gradually  making 
lasting  friends  of  those  who  in  the  beginning  had  been  most  opposed  to  him, 
and  eventually,  notwithstanding  every  obstacle,  he  reached  a  degree  of  emi- 
nence seldom  gained  at  the  Bar.  He  finally  removed  the  last  remnant  of  this 
organized  opposition  to  him  by  an  open  letter,  written  in  1807,  and  published 
in  the  press,  to  Mr.  Rufus  King,  who  was  then  Federalist  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  fully  satisfied  that  Mr.  King,  while  United  States  Minister 
to  England,  had  used  that  position  to  prevent  his  emigrating  to  this  country, 


Mr.  King  Interferes 


411 


and  consequently  he  considered  Mr.  King  directly  responsible  for  his  long  im- 
prisonment. But  of  King's  exact  course  Mr.  Emmet  had  no  proof  beyond 
the  statement  made  by  some  Government  official  that  Mr.  King  had  protested 
against  the  Irish  leaders  being  allowed  to  go  to  America. 

For  some  unknown  reason,  the  proof  of  Mr.  King's  action  has  been  over- 
looked, although  it  is  plain  from  the  following  letters  found  by  the  writer  in 
the  "Memoirs  and  Correspondence  of  Viscount  Castlereagh",  Vol.  II,  p.  394. 

MR.  WICKHAM  TO  LORD  CASTLEREAGH 

Private.  Whitehall,  October  19,  1789. 

My  Lord — In  addition  to  the  letter  from  Mr.  Rufus  King,  the  American  Minister, 
to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  which  his  Grace  transmitted  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  in  his 
letter  of  yesterday,  I  have  the  honour  to  forward  to  your  Lordship,  by  his  Grace's 
direction,  a  second  letter,  from  the  same  gentleman,  on  the  same  subject. 

I  saw  Mr.  King  yesterday,  and  had  some  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject  of 
this  correspondence,  when  he  assured  me  that,  under  the  powers  given  him  by  the  Act 
lately  passed  in  America,  the  President  would  not  suffer  any  of  the  traitors  from  Ireland 
to  land  in  America;  and  that  if  they  escaped  his  vigilance  and  set  foot  on  the  shores,  he 
would  instantly  have  them  seized  and  sent  back  to  Europe.  This  determination  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  which  Mr.  King  told  me  I  might  consider  as  official,  seems 
to  furnish  a  conclusive  answer  to  any  complaints  that  may  be  made  of  these  people  when 
the  Government  shall  signify  to  them  the  impossibility  of  their  being  suffered  to  go  to 
America.    I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c, 

William  Wickham. 
mr.  rufus  king  to  the  duke  of  portland 

Great  Cumberland  Place,  October  17,  1798. 
My  Lord — I  am  concerned  to  trouble  your  Grace  again  on  the  subject  of  the  exile 
of  the  Irish  State  prisoners,  especially  after  the  friendly  assurances  that  your  Grace  has 
had  the  goodness  to  give  me,  and  which  have  induced  me  to  believe  that  they  would  not 
be  permitted  to  go  to  America.  But  the  late  accounts  from  Ireland,  which,  I  hope  inaccu- 
rately, state  that  preparations  are  making  to  send  them  to  the  United  States,  give  me 
much  anxiety  lest  I  have  omitted  any  further  step  that  might  have  been  expected  or 
proper,  in  order  to  prevent  it.  It  is  true,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  power 
to  deny,  and,  in  my  opinion,  will  refuse  them  a  residence  amongst  us,  provided  he  is  ap- 
prized of  their  names  and  delinquency ;  but  of  these  he  may  be  ignorant,  especially  as  I 
have  expressed  to  him  my  expectations  that  they  would  not  be  permitted  to  go  to  America. 
If  his  Majesty's  Government  is  still  free  to  decide  I  must  repeat  my  earnest  hope  that 
these  delinquents  may  not  be  permitted  to  proceed  to  the  United  States.  If  the  permission 
of  Government  has  already  been  given,  I  take  the  liberty  to  ask  of  your  Grace  a  list  of 
the  names  and  description  of  the  persons,  of  those  of  the  State  prisoners,  who  are  to  be 
sent  into  my  country,  in  order  that  I  may,  if  possible,  in  season  apprize  my  government 
of  the  measures.  It  is  quite  possible,  and  I  still  hope  that  these  publications  are  alto- 
gether erroneous.  In  this  case  I  must  beg  your  Grace's  pardon  for  having  thus  unneces- 
sarily troubled  you  on  a  subject  that,  through  your  obliging  interference,  had  already 
been  satisfactorily  decided. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c, 

Rufus  King. 

As  Mr.  King  and  his  friends  had  been  most  active  in  their  opposition  to  Mr. 
Emmet,  he  determined  to  defeat  King's  election.  With  this  object  in  view  he 
addressed  an  open  letter  to  Mr.  King  which  the  latter  did  not  see  fit  to  answer 


412 


Mr.  King  to  Mr.  Jackson 


and  Mr.  Emmet  thereupon  addressed  another  to  him.  Notwithstanding  the 
great  length  of  this  letter,  it  contains  so  much  which  is  of  historical  interest  in 
Mr.  Emmet's  life,  which  became  public  property,  that  its  insertion  needs  no 
apology  on  the  charge  of  reviving  old,  long-forgotten  issues.  Dr.  Madden 
writes  in  reference  to  this  letter: 

Emmet's  correspondence  with  Mr.  Rufus  King  in  1807,  in  which  the  characteristics  of 
his  mind  are  exhibited  in  a  greater  light  than  any  other  of  his  letters  which  have  fallen 
under  the  author's  observation,  will  be  well  deserving  of  attention. 

Mr.  Emmet's  open  letters  to  Mr.  King  are  here  preceded  by  one  from  the 
quondam  minister  to  the  Irish  patriot,  Henry  Jackson,  in  which  he  avows  his 
interference  in  the  matter  of  the  emigration  of  the  State  prisoners. 

letter  from  mr.  rufus  king  to  mr.  henry  jackson 

Brighton,  August  23,  1799. 

Sir  : 

I  ought  to  inform  you,  that  I  really  have  no  authority  to  give  or  refuse  permission  to 
you  or  to  any  other  foreigner  to  go  to  the  United  States;  the  admission  and  residence 
of  strangers  in  that  country  being  a  matter,  that,  by  a  late  law,*  exclusively  belongs  to  the 
President.  It  is  true  that  the  Government  of  this  country,  in  the  course  of  the  last  year, 
in  consequence  of  my  interference,  gave  me  assurance  that  a  particular  description  of 
persons  in  Ireland,  who  it  was  understood  were  going  to  the  United  States  should  not 
be  allowed  to  proceed  without  our  consent;  this  restraint  would  doubtless  be  withdrawn 
in  favour  of  individuals  against  whose  emigration  /  should  not  object;  and  I  conclude,  that 
it  is  upon  this  supposition,  that  you  have  taken  the  trouble  to  communicate  to  me  your 
desire  to  go  and  reside  in  the  United  States. — Without  presuming  to  form  an  opinion  on 
the  subject  of  the  late  disturbances  in  Ireland,  I  entertain  a  distinct  one  in  relation  to 
the  political  situation  of  my  own  country.  In  common  with  others,  we  have  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  the  changes  that  have  successively  taken  place  in  France,  and  unfortunately,  a 
portion  of  our  inhabitants  has  erroneously  supposed  that  our  civil  and  political  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  our  national  policy,  might  be  improved  by  a  close  imitation  of  France. — 
This  opinion,  the  propagation  of  which  was  made  the  duty  and  became  the  chief  employ- 
ment of  the  French  agents  residing  among  us,  created  a  more  considerable  division  among 
our  people,  and  required  a  greater  watchfulness  and  activity  from  the  Government,  than 
could  beforehand  have  been  apprehended. 

I  am  sorry  to  make  the  remark,  and  shall  stand  in  need  of  your  candour  in  doing  so, 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  emigrants  from  Ireland,  and  especially  in  the  middle 
states,  has,  upon  this  occasion,  arranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  malcontents.  I 
ought  to  except  from  this  remark  most  of  the  enlightened  and  well-educated  Irishmen 
who  reside  among  us,  and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  I  might  confine  it  to  the  indigent  and 
illiterate,  who,  entertaining  an  attachment  to  freedom,  are  unable  to  appreciate  those 
salutary  restraints  without  which  it  degenerates  into  anarchy.  It  would  not  be  injustice  to 
say  that  the  Irish  emigrants  are  more  national  than  those  of  other  countries,  yet  being 
a  numerous,  though  very  minor  portion  of  our  population,  they  are  capable,  from  causes 
it  is  needless  now  to  explain,  of  being  generally  brought  to  act  in  concert,  and,  under 
artful  leaders,  may  be,  as  they  have  been,  enlisted  in  mischievous  combinations  against 
our  Government.  This  view  leads  me  to  state  to  you  without  reserve,  the  hesitation  that 
I  have  felt  in  your  case;  on  the  one  hand,  we  cannot  object  to  the  acquisition  of  inhab- 
itants from  abroad,  possessing  capital  and  skill  in  a  branch  of  business  that,  with  due 
caution,  may,  without  risque  or  difficulty,  and  with  public  as  well  as  private  advantage, 


*The  Alien  Law. 


Letters  to  Rufus  King 


413 


be  established  among  us;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  opinions  of  such  inhabitants  are 
likely  to  throw  them  into  the  class  of  malcontents,  their  fortune,  skill,  and  consequent 
influence,  would  make  them  tenfold  more  dangerous,  and  they  might  become  a  disadvan- 
tage instead  of  a  benefit  to  our  country.  You  must  be  sensible  that  I  possess  no  suffi- 
cient means  of  forming  an  opinion  respecting  your  sentiments;  but  the  motives  which 
lead  me  to  interfere  with  your  Government  to  restrain  the  emigration  of  the  persons 
above  alluded  to,  oblige  me  to  observe  a  due  caution  on  the  present  occasion;  at  the  same 
time,  I  desire  not  to  act  with  illiberality,  and  should  be  unwilling  to  bring  upon  my 
country  the  slightest  imputation  of  inhospitality.  What  Mr.  Wilson*  has  written,  so 
far  as  it  goes,  is  satisfactory;  and  on  the  whole,  I  have  concluded,  after  this  unreserved 
communication,  which  I  hope  will  be  received  with  the  same  candour  as  it  is  made,  to 
inform  you,  authorizing  you  to  make  use  of  the  information,  that  I  withdraw  every  ob- 
jection that  may  be  supposed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  your  being  permitted  to  go  to  the 
United  States,  adding  only  that  you  may  carry  with  you  an  unbiassed  mind,  may  find 
the  state  of  the  country,  as  I  believe  you  will,  favourable  to  your  views  of  business,  and 
its  Government  deserving  your  attachment. 

I  must  beg  your  excuse  for  the  great  delay  which  has  occurred  in  sending  you  this 
answer,  which,  I  assure  you,  has  arisen  from  other  causes  than  the  want  of  due  respect 
to  your  letters. 

With  great  consideration, 

I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

Rufus  King. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  Rufus  King,  Esq. 

Sir: — From  certain  paragraphs  in  the  Evening  Post,  I  apprehend  that  it  may  become 
necessary  for  me  to  obtrude  myself  on  the  public.  As  in  that  event  I  should  wish  to  de- 
rive some  credit  from  the  character  of  my  adversary,  I  request  to  be  informed  whether 
you  purpose  submitting  to  the  world  any  explanation  of  your  interference  with  the  British 
Government,  respecting  the  Irish  State  prisoners  in  the  year  1798? 

I  put  the  question  in  this  way,  because  I  have  not  the  honour  of  any  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  you;  because  I  intend  that  everything  which  may  pass  between  you  and 
me  on  this  subject  shall  be  public,  and  because  I  have  been  informed  that  private  applica- 
tions for  an  explanation  of  that  transaction  have  been  heretofore  made  to  you  by  some 
of  my  fellow-sufferers  from  your  conduct,  and  that  you  did  not  think  fit  to  favour  them 
with  a  reply. 

I  am,  sir, 
Your  most  obedient 

Humble  servant, 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

New  York,  April  4,  1807. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  Rufus  King,  Esq. 

Sir:— From  your  silence  on  the  subject  of  my  letter  of  the  4th  instant,  I  presume 
that  I  am  not  to  be  honoured  with  a  reply.  Perhaps  this  may  be  owing  to  my  temerity  in 
addressing  him  whom  Mr.  Colemant  calls  "the  first  man  in  the  country".  Of  the  height 
to  which  your  friends  exalt,  or  wish  to  exalt  you,  I  confess  I  was  not  aware  when  I 
rashly  ventured  to  question  the  propriety  of  some  part  of  your  past  conduct.  I  thought 
that,  in  this  country,  you  had  many  equals;  and  I  protest  I  imagined  that  Mr.  Jefferson, 
for  instance,  was  your  superior.  You  will,  sir,  however,  I  hope,  excuse  my  ignorance 
in  this  respect,  and  attribute  it  to  the  circumstance  of  my  being  an  alien,  and  of  course 
not  yet  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  local  politics  of  this  country. 


*The  American  consul  in  Dublin. 
tEditor  of  the  Evening  Post. 


414  Why  Emmet  Is  an  Alien 


Though  you,  sir,  have  not  honoured  me  with  your  notice,  I  have  been  abundantly 
honoured  by  your  friends;  and  yet  extraordinary  as  it  may  appear,  I  mean  to  pay  little 
attention  to  their  assiduities,  but  to  envelope  myself  in  dignity  like  your  own.  As  far  as 
they  have  attempted  to  attack  my  character,  I  shall  leave  it  to  be  defended  by  others,  or 
rather  to  defend  itself.  Not  that  I  affect  to  be  insensible  of  the  value  of  public  opinion, 
but  in  truth,  sir,  in  the  present  pressure  of  professional  business,  I  have  not  time  to  do 
justice  both  to  you  and  to  myself;  and  I  think  it  of  infinitely  more  importance  to  the 
community,  in  the  existing  crisis,  to  make  known  what  you  are,  than  what  I  am.  You 
are  the  candidate  for  public  favour,  and  your  conduct  is  the  proper  subject  of  public 
enquiry.  Permit  me,  however,  sir,  before  I  enter  upon  that  interesting  topic,  to  make  a 
few  general  observations  touching  myself.  Mr.  Coleman  has  brought  forward  some  ex- 
tracts from  the  reports  of  the  secret  committee  in  Ireland :  I  think  it  more  than  probable 
that  he  was  not  himself  in  possession  of  these  documents — from  whom  then  did  he  re- 
ceive them?  There  is  no  person  in  this  country  more  likely  to  have  them,  than  the  gen- 
tleman who  was  at  the  time  the  resident  minister  at  London. — When  you  handed  them  to 
him,  perhaps  your  memory  might  have  served  you  to  state,  that  as  soon  as  those  reports  ap- 
peared in  the  public  prints,  Dr.  MacNeven,  Mr.  O'Connor  and  myself,  at  that  time  state 
prisoners,  by  an  advertisement  to  which  we  subscribed  our  names,  protested  against  the 
falsehood  and  inaccuracy  of  those  reports;  for  which  act  we  were  remitted  to  close  cus- 
tody in  our  rooms  for  upwards  of  three  months,  and  a  proposal  was  made  in  the  Irish 
House  of  Commons,  by  Mr.  McNaghten,  an  Orangeman,  to  take  us  out  and  hang  us 
without  trial !  You  might  also,  perhaps,  have  recollected,  for  it  has  been 
published  that,  while  we  were  in  this  situation,  other  state  calumnies  accidently 
reached  the  ears  of  one  of  our  fellow-sufferers*  in  another  prison,  who  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  editor  of  the  Courier  in  London,  for  the  purpose  of  contradicting  them,  and  en- 
closed a  copy  of  his  letter  to  Lord  Castlereagh.  Upon  this  Mr.  Secretary  Cooke  was 
sent  to  inform  him,  that  if  he  published  the  contradiction,  he  should  be  hanged;  to  that 
he  replied  he  was  ready  to  meet  the  event;  upon  which  Mr.  Cooke  told  him,  that  since 
he  was  indifferent  about  his  own  life,  he  must  know  that,  if  he  persevered,  the  whole 
system  of  court  martial,  massacre  and  horror,  should  be  renewed  throughout  the  country. 
By  that  menace  he  was  effectually  restrained. 

Had  you  thought  of  mentioning  those  things,  you  might  have  jocularly  added  that 
though  these  statements  might  serve  some  present  party  purposes,  it  was  rather  more 
unfair  to  judge  of  us  by  the  calumnies  of  the  Irish  Government,  than  it  would  be  to 
judge  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  friends  by  the  editorial  articles  in  the  Evening  Post. 

The  weapons  you  are  using  have  been  tried  in  Ireland  among  my  friends  and  my 
enemies,  where  everything  was  minutely  known,  and  they  failed  of  effect.  If  I  had 
ever  done  anything  mean  or  dishonourable,  if  I  had  abandoned  or  compromised  my 
character,  my  country,  or  my  cause,  I  should  not  be  esteemed  and  beloved  in  Ireland,  as 
I  am  proud  to  know  I  am ;  I  should  not  enjoy  the  affection  and  respect  of  my  re- 
publican countrymen  in  America,  as  you,  sir,  and  your  friends  confess  I  do. 

It  would  not  be  in  the  power  of  one  who  had  departed  from  the  line  of  his  duty  in 
theirs  and  his  common  country,  by  simply  expressing  to  them  his  sentiments  of  you,  to 
do  you  such  an  essential  injury  as  I  am  accused  of  having  committed. 

Another  charge  made  against  me,  is  that  I  am  an  alien,  interfering  in  the  politics  of 
this  country.  Be  it  so  for  a  moment,  and  let  me  ask  why  it  is  that  I  am  an  alien  in  this 
my  adopted  country  at  this  day?  Because,  in  consequence  of  your  interference,  I  was 
prevented  from  coming  to  it  in  1798,  and  from  being  naturalized  upwards  of  three  years 
ago.  Supposing  then  that  I  should  refrain  from  intermeddling  with  politics  in  every  other 
case,  where  you  are  concerned  I  feel  myself  authorized  to  exercise  the  rights  of  a  citizen 
as  far  as  by  law  I  may;  for  you  know  it  is  an  established  rule  of  equity  and  good 
sense,  that  no  man  shall  be  benefitted  by  his  own  wrong.    But  how  do  I  come  forward? 


•Samuel  JJcilson.  i  fellow  prisoner,  afterwards  in   Fort  George. 


Perhaps  Mr.  King  does  not  Desire  Republicans  415 


Not  as  a  citizen,  but  as  a  witness.  Allow  me  to  ask  you,  if  I  possessed  a  knowledge  of 
facts  which  could  prove  Mr.  Jefferson  guilty  of  a  robbery  or  a  cheat,  and  unfit  to  be 
trusted  with  power,  would  you  think  me  culpable  if,  notwithstanding  my  alienage,  I  made 
them  known  to  the  public,  to  prevent  their  being  deceived  and  misled?  And  shall  I  not 
be  permitted,  because  in  consequence  of  your  very  misconduct  I  am  not  a  citizen,  to 
testify  to  facts  which  will  prove  you  unfit  to  be  entrusted  in  this  country  with  any  kind 
of  delegated  power?  Whether  Peter  Porcupine  or  Mr.  Carpenter  ever  went  through  the 
forms  of  naturalization,  I  know  not;  but  perhaps  they  might  both  be  safely  considered 
as  aliens ;  and  yet  I  have  never  heard  any  of  your  friends  censure  their  interference  in 
the  politics  of  America.  I  do  not  mention  those  gentlemen  as  my  models,  nor  propose 
their  example  as  my  vindication,  but  I  wish  to  show  the  pliability  of  those  principles 
which  are  to  be  erected  into  a  barrier  against  me. 

As  a  witness,  then,  sir,  I  come  forward  to  testify,  not  to  my  countrymen,  but  to  the 
electors  of  this  city,  to  the  whole  of  the  United  States,  if  you  should  ever  aspire  to 
govern  them,  and  I  now  present  you  with  my  evidence. 

In  the  summer  of  1798,  after  the  attempt  of  the  people  of  Ireland  for  their  emanci- 
pation had  been  completely  defeated ;  after  every  armed  body  had  been  dispersed  or 
had  surrendered,  except  a  few  men  that  had  taken  refuge  in  the  mountains  of  Wicklow : 
while  military  tribunals,  house-burnings,  shootings,  torture,  and  every  kind  of  devastation 
were  desolating  and  overwhelming  the  defenceless  inhabitants,  some  of  the  state  prison- 
ers then  in  confinement,  entered  into  a  negotiation  with  the  Irish  ministers  for  effecting 
a  general  amnesty;  and  as  an  inducement  offered,  among  other  things  not  necessary  to 
the  examination  of  your  conduct,  to  emigrate  to  such  country  as  might  be  agreed  upon 
between  them  and  the  Government.  When  I  consented  to  this  offer,  for  one  (and  it 
was  the  case  with  the  great  majority),  I  solemnly  declare  that  I  was  perfectly  apprised 
that  there  was  no  legal  grounds  discovered  upon  which  to  proceed  against  me. 

I  further"  knew  that  the  crown  solicitor  had,  in  answer  to  the  enquiries  of  my 
friends,  informed  them  that  there  was  no  intention  of  preferring  a  bill  of  indictment 
against  me.  So  much  for  the  personal  considerations  by  which  I  might  have  been 
actuated ;  and  now,  Sir,  to  return. 

The  offer  was  accepted,  the  bloody  system  was  stopped  for  a  time,  and  was  not 
renewed  until  after  your  interference,  and  after  the  British  ministry  had  resolved  openly  to 
break  its  faith  with  us.  On  our  part,  we  performed  our  stipulations  with  the  most 
punctilious  fidelity,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  preserve  to  us  the  warmest  approbation 
of  our  friends,  and  to  excite  the  greatest  dissatisfaction  in  our  enemies.  Government 
soon  perceived,  that  on  the  score  of  interest,  it  had  calculated  badly,  and  had  gained 
nothing  by  the  contract.  It  was  afraid  of  letting  us  go  at  large  to  develope  and  detect 
the  misrepresentations  and  calumnies  that  were  studiously  set  afloat,  and  had  therefore, 
1  am  convinced,. determined  to  violate  its  engagements  by  keeping  us  prisoners  as  long  as 
possible.  H'ow  was  this  to  be  done?  In  the  commencement  of  our  negotiations,  Lord 
Castlereagh  declared,  as  a  reason  for  acceding  to  Government's  possessing  a  negative  on 
our  cnoice,  that  it  had  no  worse  place  in  view  for  our  emigration  than  the  United  States 
of  America. 

We  had  made  our  election  to  go  there,  and  called  upon  him  to  have  our  agree- 
ment carried  into  execution.  In  that  difficulty,  you,  sir,  afforded  very  effectual  assistance 
to  the  faithlessness  of  the  British  cabinet.  On  the  16th  of  September,  Mr.  Marsden,  then 
under  secretary,  came  to  inform  us  that  Mr.  King  had  remonstrated  against  our  being 
permitted  to  emigrate  to  America.  This  astonished  us  all,  and  Dr.  MacNeven  very 
plainly  said  that  he  considered  this  as  a  mere  trick  between  Mr.  King  and  the  British 
Government.  This  Mr.  Marsden  denied,  and  on  being  pressed  to  know  what  reason  Mr. 
King  could  have  for  preventing  usr  who  were  avowed  republicans,  from  emigrating  to 
America,  he  significantly  answered,  "perhaps  Mr.  King  does  not  desire  to  have  republi- 
cans in  America."  Your  interference  was  then,  sir,  made  the  pretext  of  detaining  us 
for  four  years  in  custody,  by  which  very  extensive  and  useful  plans  of  settlement  within 


416 


King's  Act  Unauthorized 


these  states  were  broken  up.  The  misfortunes  which  you  brought  upon  the  objects  of 
your  persecution  were  incalculable.  Almost  all  of  us  wasted  four  of  the  best  years  of 
our  lives  in  prison.  As  to  me,  I  should  have  brought  along  with  me  my  father  and  his 
family,  including  a  brother,  whose  name  perhaps  even  you  will  not  read  without  emotions 
of  sympathy  and  respect.  Others  nearly  connected  with  me  would  have  come  partners 
in  my  emigration.  But  all  of  them  have  been  torn  from  me.  I  have  been  prevented 
from  saving  a  brother,  from  receiving  the  dying  blessings  of  a  father,  mother  and  sister, 
and  from  soothing  their  last  agonies  by  my  cares;  and  this,  sir,  by  your  unwarrantable 
and  unfeeling  interference. 

Your  friends,  when  they  accuse  me  of  want  of  moderation  in  my  conduct  towards 
you,  are  wonderfully  mistaken.  They  do  not  reflect,  or  know,  that  I  have  never  spoken 
of  you  without  suppressing  (as  I  do  now)  personal  feelings  that  rise  up  within  me,  and 
swell  my  heart  with  indignation  and  resentment.  But  I  mean  to  confine  myself  to  an 
examination  of  your  conduct,  as  far  as  it  is  of  public  importance. 

The  step  you  took  was  unauthorized  by  your  own  Government.  Our  agreement  with 
that  of  Ireland  was  entered  into  on  the  29th  of  July — your  prohibition  was  notified  to  us 
on  the  16th  of  September;  deduct  seven  days  for  the  two  communications  between  Dub- 
lin and  London,  and  you  had  precisely  forty-two  days,  in  the  calms  of  summer,  for 
transmitting  your  intelligence  to  America  and  receiving  an  answer.  As  you  had  no  order 
then,  what  was  the  motive  of  your  unauthorised  act?  I  cannot  positively  say,  but  I  will 
tell  you  my  conviction.  The  British  ministry  had  resolved  to  detain  us  prisoners  con- 
trary to  their  plighted  honour;  and  you,  sir,  I  fear,  lent  your  ministerial  character  to  en- 
able them  to  commit  an  act  of  perfidy,  which  they  would  not  otherwise  have  dared  to 
perpetrate. 

Whether  our  conduct  in  Ireland  was  right  or  wrong,  you  have  no  justification  for 
yours.  The  constitution  and  laws  of  this  country  gave  you  no  power  to  require  of  the 
British  Government  that  it  should  violate  its  faith,  and  withdraw  from  us  its  consent  to 
the  place  we  had  fixed  upon  for  our  voluntary  emigration. — Neither  the  President  nor 
you  were  warranted  to  prevent  our  touching  these  shores;  though  the  former  might, 
under  the  alien  act,  have  afterwards  sent  us  away  if  he  had  reason  to  think  we  were 
plotting  anything  against  the  United  States.  I  have  heard  something  about  the  law  of 
nations;  but  you  are  too  well  acquainted  with  that  law  not  to  know  that  it  has  no  bear- 
ing on  this  subject.  Our  emigration  was  voluntary,  and  the  English  Government  had,  in 
point  of  justice,  no  more  to  do  with  it  than  to  signify  that  there  was  no  objection  to 
the  place  of  residence  we  had  chosen. 

Another  circumstance  which  compels  me  to  believe  a  collusive  league  between  you, 
in  your  capacity  of  resident  minister  from  America,  and  the  cabinet  of  St.  James's,  is 
the  very  extravagant  and  unwarrantable  nature  of  your  remonstrance,  which  had  the 
ministry  been  sincere  towards  us,  they  could  not  possibly  have  overlooked.  If  they  had 
intended  to  observe  their  compact,  you,  sir,  would  have  been  very  quickly  made  to  feel 
the  futility  of  your  ill-timed  application.  You  would  have  been  taught  that  it  was  a 
matter  of  mere  private  arrangement  between  Government  and  us,  with  which  you  had  no 
more  to  do  than  the  minister  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  Portugal,  or  any  other  neutral  power. 

What  inference  ought  fairly  to  be  made  from  the  facts  I  have  stated,  every  man  must 
decide  for  himself.  On  me,  they  have  forced  a  conviction,  which,  if  you  can  shake  it,  I 
shall  much  more  gladly  forego  than  I  state  it  here,  that  in  the  instance  alluded  to,  you 
degraded  the  dignity  and  independence  of  the  country  you  represented,  you  abandoned 
the  principles  of  its  government  and  its  policy,  and  you  became  the  tool  of  a  foreign 
state,  to  give  it  a  colourable  pretext  for  the  commission  of  a  crime.  If  so,  is  it  fit  that 
you  should  hereafter  be  entrusted  with  any  kind  of  delegated  authority?  What  motives 
you  may  have  had  for  that  conduct,  if  in  truth  it  was  yours,  I  cannot  undertake  to  say. 
Mr.  Marsden  seemed  to  doubt  whether  you  wished  for  republicans  in  America — and  I 
shrewdly  suspect  he  spoke  what  the  British  ministry  thought  of  your  politics. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that  you  were  yourself  deceived  by  those  very  calumnies  of 


Col.  Isaac  Hayne 


417 


which  I  have  complained.  I  sincerely  wish  I  could  believe  that  such  were  the  fact — but 
observe  this  argument :  We  contradict  the  misstatements  of  the  committees  of  the 
lords  and  commons  of  Ireland,  by  an  advertisement  written  in  prison,  signed  by  our 
names,  and  published  on  the  27th  of  August — it  must  have  reached  London,  on  the  1st 
or  2d  of  Sept. — your  remonstrance  must  have  been  made  on  or  before  the  12th,  for  it  was 
communicated  to  us  on  the  16th.  The  effect  produced  by  our  advertisement  was 
electrical,  and  the  debate  which  it  caused  on  the  very  evening  of  its  appearance,  in  the 
Irish  House  of  Commons,  was  remarkable.  As  you  doubtless  read  the  newspapers  of  the 
day,  these  facts  could  not  have  been  unknown  to  you.  Why  then  should  you  be  deceived 
by  representations  which  we  had  recently  contradicted  under  circumstances  so  extraor- 
dinary? Mr.  King,  did  you  enter  so  deeply  into  the  revolution  of  your  country  as  to 
implicate  your  life  in  the  issue  of  its  fortunes?  From  the  strong  attachment  of  your 
political  friends,  I  presume  you  were  a  distinguished  leader  in  those  eventful  times;  if 
not,  you  had  certainly  read  their  history.  Did  you  remember  the  calumnies  which  had 
been  thrown  out  by  British  agents  against  the  most  upright  and  venerable  patriots  of 
America?  Did  you  call  to  mind  the  treatment  which  had  been  given  in  South  Carolina 
to  Governor  Gadsden,  to  General  Rutherford,  Col.  Isaac  Hayne,*  and  a  number  of  others 
who  had  surrendered  to  that  very  Lord  Cornwallis,  with  whom,  through  his  ministers, 
we  negotiated ;  and  that  those  distinguished  characters  were,  in  violation  of  their 
capitulation  and  the  rights  of  parole,  sent  to  St.  Augustine,  as  we  were  afterwards  to  Fort 
George?  How  then  is  it  possible  that  you  could  have  been  a  dupe  to  the  misrepresenta- 
tions of  the  British  Government? 

These  remarks  I  address,  with  all  becoming  respect,  to  "the  first  man  in  the  coun- 
try".— Yet  in  fact,  sir,  I  do  not  clearly  see  in  what  consists  your  superiority  over  myself. 
It  is  true  you  have  been  a  resident  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James's;  and  if  what  I 
have  read  in  the  public  prints  be  true,  and  if  you  be  apprised  of  my  near  relationship 
and  family  connexion  with  the  late  Sir  John  Temple,  you  must  acknowledge  that  your 
interference  as  resident  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James's,  against  my  being  per- 
mitted to  emigrate  to  America,  is  a  very  curious  instance  of  the  caprice  of  fortune.  But 


*By  some  oversight  the  surname  of  Col.  Isaac  Hayne  was  omitted  in  the  published  letter.  At  the  sur- 
render of  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1781,  the  American  officers  and  the  civilians  of  the  city  were  paroled 
with  the  understanding  that  they  were  not  to  bear  arms  until  they  had  been  exchanged,  and  if  those 
who  had  plantations  would  remain  quietly  at  home,  it  was  agreed  they  would  not  be  disturbed.  But 
under  one  pretext  and  another  a  large  number  of  the  most  prominent  persons  of  Charleston  and  its 
neighborhood  were  gathered  on  the  prison-ships  in  the  harbor  and  were  eventually  sent  to  St.  Augustine, 
Fla.,  where,  in  gross  violation  of  the  terms  of  capitulation,  they  were  subjected  to  great  privations  and 
close  confinement.  Capt.  Isaac  Hayne,  however,  was  not  of  this  number,  but  was  allowed  to  reside  on 
his  plantation,  with  the  clear  understanding  that  no  further  service  would  be  exacted  if  he  conformed 
to  the  terms  of  his  parole.  At  length  the  British  army  under  Cornwallis  passed  into  Virginia  and  was 
cared  for  at  Yorktown,  Tarleton  and  others,  commanding  smaller  bodies  of  troops,  being  either  cap- 
tured or  driven  into  Charleston,  and  the  British  troops  finally  held  no  other  portion  of  the  State.  At 
this  time  Captain  Hayne  and  other  military  men  on  their  parole  were  summoned  to  Charleston  and  given 
the  option  of  entering  the  British  army  or  of  being  placed  in  close  confinement.  Hayne  reported  in 
Charleston  and  begged  that  his  confinement  be  deferred  for  a  short  time,  as  his  wife  and  children  were 
desperately  ill  with  smallpox.  Department  Commandant  Pattison,  of  the  British  army,  who  had  special 
charge  of  the  business,  assured  Hayne  that  if  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Crown  he  could  then 
return  home  and  nothing  more  would  be  required  of  him.  A  few  days  after  his  return  home  he  was 
ordered  to  join  the  army  in  Charleston,  being  a  British  subject  in  consequence  of  his  having  taken  the 
oath  of  allegiance.  Hayne  disregarded  the  summons,  as  every  term  of  the  surrender  had  been  violated 
by  the  British  authorities.  He  felt  that  his  parole  could  be  no  longer  claimed,  and  that  the  oath  of 
allegiance  had  been  cancelled,  from  the  fact  that  the  American  army  then  held  that  territory.  As  his 
family  was  now  in  no  immediate  danger,  Colonel  Hayne  joined  the  American  army  in  his  neighborhood 
and  received  a  commission  as  colonel.  Shortly  after,  while  making  a  raid  near  Charleston,  he  captured 
Gen.  Andrew  Williamson,  "the  Arnold  of  the  South",  who  had  but  recently  deserted  to  the  enemy. 
Col.  Nesbit  Balfour,  the  commanding  officer  at  Charleston,  ordered  out  nearly  the  whole  of  his  force 
to  pursue  Hayne's  command,  which  was  retreating  with  its  prisoner,  and  fearing  that  Williamson  \\ould 
be  summarily  dealt  with  on  reaching  General  Greene's  headquarters,  the  American  force  was  overpowered 
and  Hayne  was  made  a  prisoner.  He  was  treated  with  great  indignity,  thrown  into  the  provost  prison 
of  Charleston,  speedily  tried,  as  the  farcical  proceeding  was  termed,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung  for  de- 
sertion, on  the  joint  order  of  Colonel  Balfour  and  Lord  Rawdon.  But  as  an  act  of  special  leniency  he 
was  given  a  respite  of  forty-eight  hours  to  take  leave  of  his  wife  and  children.  When  Mrs.  Hayne  was 
sent  for  it  was  found  that  she  had  already  died  from  smallpox. 

It  is  true  that  Cornwallis  was  selected  by  the  British  commander,  Gen.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  to  re- 
ceive General  Lincoln's  sword  at  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  but  he  was  not  at  this  time  in  Charleston, 
nor  was  he  in  any  way  responsible  for  this  military  murder.  It  attracted  such  a  great  deal  of  comment 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  that  Balfour  and  Rawdon  each  attempted  to  hold  the  other  responsible. 
Thirty-two  years  afterward  Lord  Rawdon,  then  the  Earl  of  Moira,  attempted  to  justify  his  conduct 
in  a  letter  to  Col.  Henry  Lee,  claiming  that  Col.  Nesbit  Balfour,  a  worthy  member  of  this  office-holding 
family  of  Ireland,  was  alone  responsible  for  the  death  of  this  noble  young  man. 


418 


"Wild  Irish" 


let  that  pass.  To  what  extent  I  ought  to  yield  to  you  for  talents  and  information,  is 
not  for  me  to  decide.  In  no  other  respect,  however,  do  I  feel  your  excessive  superiority. 
My  private  character  and  conduct  are,  I  hope,  as  fair  as  yours — and  even  in  those  mat- 
ters which  I  consider  as  trivial,  but  upon  which  aristocratic  pride  is  accustomed  to  stamp 
a  value,  I  should  not  be  inclined  to  shrink  from  competition.  My  birth  certainly  will 
not  humble  me  in  the  comparison ;  my  paternal  fortune  was  probably  much  greater  than 
yours ;  the  consideration  in  which  the  name  I  bear  was  held  in  my  native  country,  was  as 
great  as  yours  is  ever  likely  to  be,  before  I  had  an  opportunity  of  contributing  to  its 
celebrity.  As  to  the  amount  of  what  private  fortune  I  have  been  able  to  save  from  the 
wreck  of  calamity,  it  is  unknown  to  you  or  to  your  friends ;  but  two  things  I  will  tell 
you — I  never  was  indebted,  either  in  the  country  from  which  I  came,  nor  in  any  other 
in  which  I  have  lived,  to  any  man,  further  than  necessary  credit  for  the  current  ex- 
penses of  a  family ;  and  am  not  so  circumstanced  that  I  should  tremble  "for  my  sub- 
sistence" at  the  threatened  displeasure  of  your  friends.  So  much  for  the  past  and  the 
present — now  for  the  future.  Circumstances  which  cannot  be  controlled,  have  decided 
that  my  name  must  be  embodied  into  history.  From  the  manner  in  which  even  my 
political  adversaries,  and  some  of  my  cotemporary  historians,  unequivocally  hostile  to 
my  principles,  already  speak  of  me,  I  have  the  consolation  of  reflecting,  that  when  the 
falsehoods  of  the  day  are  withered  and  rotten,  I  shall  be  respected  and  esteemed.  You, 
sir,  will  probably  be  forgotten,  when  I  shall  be  remembered  with  honour,  or  if,  perad- 
venture,  your  name  should  descend  to  posterity,  perhaps  you  will  be  known  only  as  the 
recorded  instrument  of  part  of  my  persecutions,  sufferings,  and  misfortunes. 

I  am,  sir,  &c, 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

New  York,  April  9,  1807. 

The  writer  has  in  his  possession  a  letter  written  by  Col.  John  Trumbull, 
Washington's  friend  and  the  artist  who  painted  the  "Signing  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence",  now  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and  other  historical 
paintings.  Mr.  Trumbull  was  a  man  of  great  integrity,  and  was  generally 
considered  to  be  one  of  good  sense  and  judgment,  yet  this  letter  shows  that  he 
was  not  above  the  influence  of  prejudice.  It  was  written  from  New  York  on 
April  7th,  1807,  to  a  Mr.  Williams,  of  Boston,  on  business  matters,  but  con- 
cludes with  the  paragraph : 

We  are  enjoying  all  the  delights  of  electioneering — Frenchmen  and  Wild  Irish — 
Genet  and  T.  A.  Emmet,  in  close  alliance  with  the  Clintons  against  R.  King  and 
Americans. 

Vive  la  Liberte. 

Your  faithful  and  obliged  friend, 

John  Trumbull. 

In  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Mr.  King  he  refers,  under  his  literary  pseudonym 
of  ''Peter  Porcupine",  to  William  Cobbett,  a  political  contemporary  of  Mr. 
Emmet's,  who  in  Dublin  had  been  connected  with  the  Irish  press.  But  in 
America  he  was  a  violent  Federalist  and  partisan  of  Mr.  King's,  and,  an  evi- 
dence that  political  prejudice  sways  the  judgment  of  all  generations,  to  Mr. 
Trumbull,  although  equally  with  Mr.  Emmet  he  was  an  exiled  and  unnatural- 
ized Irishman,  his  Federal  sympathies  stamped  him  as  an  American. 

A  large  meeting  was  held  in  New  York  by  the  Republican  party  in  relation 
to  Mr.  King's  action  in  Ireland.   After  the  meeting  a  large  broadside  contain- 


Republican  Meeting 


419 


ing  the  resolutions  proposed  and  passed  was  issued  and  posted.  The  writer 
possesses  a  copy  of  this  broadside,  which  is  here  reproduced : 

The  Spirit  of  Toleration  and  of  '76. 

At  a  numerous  meeting  of  Republican  Electors,  held  pursuant  to  notice  at  the 
Albany  Coffee-House  on  Friday,  17th  April,  1807. 

George  Merchant,  Chairman, 
Elisha  Jenkins,  Secretary. 

The  meeting  proceeded  to  take  into  consideration  the  resolutions  passed  at  a  federal 
meeting  lately  held  in  this  city,  censuring  the  conduct  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 
and  approving  of  the  interference  of  Rufus  King,  Esq.,  American  Minister  at  London, 
in  preventing  the  migration  of  certain  Irish  State  prisoners  to  these  United  States,  and 
other  resolutions  passed  at  the  same  meeting. 

The  business  of  the  meeting  was  opened  and  explained  by  the  Honorable  John 
Taylor,  in  an  eloquent  and  spirited  appeal  to  the  judgment  and  feeling  of  all  present. 

After  reading  the  federal  resolutions,  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Mr.  King,  and  one  written 
by  Mr.  King  to  Henry  Jackson,  dated  August  28,  1799,  in  which  the  writer  expressly 
states  that  he  had  no  authority  to  give  or  refuse  permission  to  any  foreigner  to  go  to 
the  United  States,  the  following  Resolutions  were  read  and  duly  considered,  and  the 
question  being  put  upon  each,  they  were  all  unanimously  agreed  to : — 

Resolved,  That  from  a  letter  written  by  Rufus  King  to  Henry  Jackson  on  the  28th 
of  August,  1799,  and  whilst  Mr.  King  was  the  resident  minister  of  the  United  States, 
at  the  court  of  London,  it  is  evident  that  he  did  interfere  to  prevent  the  emigration  to 
these  United  States  of  respectable  men  of  large  fortunes  and  enterprising  character  ac- 
cused of  no  crime,  denied  the  benefit  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  who  had  fallen 
under  the  suspicion  of  a  "Prince  (to  use  the  words  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence) 
whose  character  is  marked  by  every  act,  which  may  define  a  Tyrant". 

It  is  evident  by  his  express  declaration  that  his  interference  was  without  authority; 
and  it  is  moreover  evident  that  his  only  objection  to  the  immigration  of  the  Irish  State 
prisoners  emanated  from  the  belief  that  they  would  unite  with  the  Republicans,  who  were 
then  opposing  with  the  weapons  of  argument  and  reason,  that  mad  career  of  federalism, 
which,  under  the  administration  of  John  Adams,  had  well-nigh  subdued  the  spirit  of 
freemen  by  systematic  oppression,  and  by  attempting  with  a  standing  army,  to  overawe 
and  silence  public  opinion. 

Resolved,  That  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  whose  character  stands  impeached  and  whose 
professional  talents  are  transcendentally  eminent  is  justifiable,  and  merits  the  warmest 
thanks  of  all  who  are  attached  to  liberty,  in  testifying  to  the  world  his  knowledge  of  the 
interference  of  Rufus  King  with  the  Government  of  Great  Britain,  contrary  to  the  laws 
and  constitution  of  his  country,  to  prevent  men  of  irreproachable  lives  and  possessing  of 
great  wealth,  emigrating  to  these  United  States,  and  thus  enabling  that  tyrannical  and 
oppressive  Government  to  incarcerate  those  who  had  committed  no  crime,  but  had  be- 
come obnoxious  for  refusing  to  co-operate  in  heaping  additional  distress  on  their  de- 
voted countrymen;  and  that  the  abuse  of  power,  by  those  entrusted  with  it  at  all  times, 
ought  to  be  promulgated,  more  especially  when  the  actor  in  such  scenes  offers  himself  a 
candidate  for  public  favor,  it  is  then  eminently  the  duty  of  those  who  can  give  evidence, 
boldly  to  step  forward,  undismayed  by  consequences ;  that  Mr.  Emmet,  instead  of  merit- 
ing the  censure  of  the  people  of  this  State,  deserves  their  thanks  and  applause. 

Resolved,  That  we  wholly  disbelieve  that  Edmund  C.  Genet,  the  former  minister  of 
the  French  republic,  had  declared : — "That  in  case  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
did  not  conduct  themselves  towards  the  Emperor  of  France  with  more  friendship  and 
civility  than  it  had  hitherto  done,  they  would  next  be  attacked  and  subjected  by  him." 
And  we  are  warranted  herein  not  only  by  the  public  denial  of  Mr.  Genet,  of  his  having 
made  such  declaration,  but  the  whole  tenor  of  his  conduct  which  has  fallen  under  notice 


420 


Arcularius  Suit 


since  his  residence  in  that  part  of  the  State.  That  this  meeting  has  incontestable  evidence 
of  his  attachment  to  this  country,  inasmuch  as  he  has  purchased  and  holds  considerable 
real  esate  within  this  State,  has  resided  here  more  than  fourteen  years,  has  been  natur- 
alized more  than  three  years  and  by  his  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  a  native  citizen 
of  distinguished  rank,  by  whom  he  has  several  children,  he  has  every  tie  to  bind  him  to 
the  interest  of  his  adopted  country.  That  to  deny  him  the  right  of  an  elector,  would  be 
a  prostrating  of  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  an  act  of  tyranny, 
which  we  abhor  and  detest. 

Resolved,  That  we  see  no  evidence  whereon  to  ground  a  suspicion  or  belief,  that 
an  effort  is  now  making  to  accomplish  party  purposes  by  the  united  force  of  a  dangerous 
foreign  influence;  but  to  the  contrary  thereof,  the  citizens  now  assembled  see  in  this 
charge  the  revival  of  those  stale  and  antiquated  attempts  of  the  federal  party  to  alarm 
and  agitate  the  public  mind  for  the  obvious  purpose  of  promoting  the  election  of  Morgan 
Lewis,  and  defeating  that  of  the  Republican  candidate,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins;  and  this 
meeting  warns  their  Republican  fellow-citizens  to  be  on  their  guard  and  not  become  the 
dupes  of  such  shallow  artifices. 

Resolved,  That  our  confidence  in  the  patriotism,  honor,  and  political  integrity  of  the 
venerable  George  Clinton,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  remains  undiminished 
and  unshaken  and  that  we  utterly  disbelieve  that  in  the  evening  of  a  life  spent  in  public 
service,  with  such  signal  advantage  to  the  people  of  this  State,  and  with  such  honor  to 
his  own  fame,  he  would  attempt  to  mark  out  for  his  successor  any  other  course  of  con- 
duct than  such  as  would  be  bottomed  on  Republicanism,  he  has  given  to  the  public  fur- 
ther proof  of  his  unabated  zeal  and  his  disinterested  devotion  to  principles  which  con- 
ducted us  through  a  seven  years'  war  to  peace  and  independence. 

Resolved,  That  we  view  with  lively  satisfaction  the  bright  prospect  of  the  Re- 
publican cause  again  triumphing  at  the  approaching  election,  notwithstanding  the  joint 
efforts  of  Federalists  with  apostate  Republicans  to  the  contrary ;  and  that  Morgan  Lewis, 
by  his  official  conduct  in  innumerable  instances,  has  forfeited  the  confidence  of  this  meet- 
ing, and  is  utterly  undeserving  their  support. 

George  Merchant,  Chairman. 

Elisha  Jenkins,  Secretary. 

Mr.  Emmet  silenced  his  enemies  and  Mr.  King  retired  to  private  life. 
He  soon  after  overcame  all  opposition,  so  that  his  future  course  became  one 
of  uninterrupted  success.  Those  who  had,  in  the  beginning,  opposed  him  most 
bitterly,  became  afterwards  his  warm  personal  friends.  Mr.  Emmet  and  Mr. 
King,  however,  never  met,  though  more  or  less  social  intercourse  existed  be- 
tween their  children,  and  on  Mr.  Emmet's  death  Mr.  King's  eldest  son  was  one 
of  the  first  to  offer  his  condolence. 

Subsequent  to  this  period  Mr.  Emmet  was  engaged  in  many  important 
cases,  a  number  of  which  will  be  given  throughout  the  volume.  Unfortu- 
nately there  were  then  but  few  persons  in  this  country  who  had  attained  any 
knowledge  of  shorthand  writing,  so  that  much  of  his  work  is  from  the  public 
press  or  taken  from  the  printed  court  records  or  public  reports. 

The  earliest  of  these,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  writer,  is— "A  Faithful 
Report  of  the  Trial  of  the  cause  of  Philip  G.  Arcularius  versus  William  Cole- 
man, Gent,  etc.,  having  an  action  for  Libel,  &c,  on  the  3d  of  January,  180?',  &c. 
Taken  by  Mr.  Sampson  in  shorthand  and  given  to  the  public  at  the  request 
of  some  of  his  friends,  &c."  Mr.  William  Sampson  was  a  lawyer  of  promi- 
nence, had  been  one  of  the  United  Irishmen  during  the  struggle  of  1798  and 
was  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet.   His  report  is  of  interest,  especially  as 


The  Spirit  of  Toleration  and  of  76. 

'imUlim   

AT  a  numerous  meeting  of  Republican  Electors,  held  pursuant 

to  notice,  at  the  Albany  Coffee-House,  on  Friday,  1 7th  April,  1 807. 
GEORGE  MERCHANT,  Chairman, 
ELISHA  JENKINS,  Secretary. 

The  Meeting  proceeded  to  take  into  consideration  the  reso- 
lutions passed  at  a  federal  meeting  lately  held  in  this  city,  censuring  the  conduct  of 
TrioMAS  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.  and  approving  the  interference  of  Rufus  King,  Esq. 
American  minister  at  London,  in  preventing  the  migration  of  certain  Irish  state  pri- 
soners to  these  United  States,  and  other  resolutions  passed  at  the  same  meeting. 

The  business  of  the  meeting  was  opened  and  explained  by  the 

Honorable  John  Tayler,  in  an  eloquent  and  spirited  appeal  to  the  judgment  and  feel- 
ings of  all  present.  After  reading  the  federal  resolutions,  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Mr. 
King,  and  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  King  to  Henry  Jackson,  dated  August  28,  1799,  in 
which  the  writer  expressly  states,  that  he  had  no  authority  to  give  or  refuse 

PERMISSION    TO    ANY    FOREIGNER   TO    CO    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES,    the  following 

RESOLUTIONS  were  read  and  duly  considered,  and  the  question  being  put  upon 
each,  they  were  all  unanimously  agreed  to  : 

RESOLVED.  That  from  a  Utter  written  by  Rufus  King  to  Hen-    the  positive  denial  by  Mr.  Genet  of  his  having  made  such  declaration. 


ry  Jackson,  on  the  28lh  or  August,  1799,  and  whilst  Mr.  King  was 
the  resident  minister  of  the  United  States  at  the  court  of  London,  it 
is  evident  that  he  did  interfere  to  prevent  the  emigration  to  these 
United  States,  of  respectable  men  of  large  fortunes  and  enterprising 
character,  accused  of  no  crime,  denied  the  benefit  oXthe  habeas  coi- 
tus act,  and  who  had  fallen  under  the  suspicion  of  "A  PRINCE," 
(to  use  the  words  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence)  '•  wbote  tba- 
"  racitr  it  marhtd  by  ntrj  act  wbitb  may  dtfint  a  Trai  »T." 

It  is  evident  by  his  express  declantioa,  that  hi*  interference  was 
•wiiboui  cvtbcrhy ;  and  it  is  moreover  evident,  that  his  only  objec- 
tion to  the  emigration  of  the  Irish  state  prisoners  emanated  from  a 
belief  that  they  would  unite  with  the  repabtkaos,  who  were  then  op- 
posing, with  the  weapons  of  argument  and  reason,  that  mad  career  of 
federalism,  which,  under  the  administration  of  John  Adams,  had  well 
nigh  subdued  the  spirit  of  freemen  by  systematic  oppression,  and  by 
attempts,  with  a  standing  arary,  to  overawe  and  silence  public  opinion. 

BisoiviB,  That  THOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET,  whose chirac- 
trr  stands  onlnvptached,  and  whose  professional  talents  are  transcen- 
dent^ eminent,  h  justifiable,  and  merits  the  warmest  thanks  of  all 
who  are  attached  to  liberty,  in  testifying  to  the  world  his  knowledge 
of  the  interference  of  Rufus  King  with  the  government  of  Great  Bri. 
tain,  contrary  to  the  laws  and  constitution  of  his  country,  to  prevent 
men  of  irreproachable  Uvea,  and  possessed  of  great  wealth,  migrating 
to  these  United  States,  and  thus  enabling  that  tyrannical  and  oppres- 
sive government  to  incarcerate  those  who  had  committed  no  crime, 
but  wbo  hsd  become  obnoxious  for  refusing  toco. operate  in  heaping 
additional  distresses  on  their  devoted  countrymen ;  and  that  the  abuse 
cf  power,  by  ihote  entrusted  with,  it,  at  all  times,  ought  to  be  promul- 
gated, more  especially  when  the  actor  in  such  scene  offers  himself  a 
candidate  for  public  favor,  it  it  then  eminently  the  duty  of  those 
who  can  give  evidence,  boldly  to  step  forward,  undismayed  by  conse- 
quences ;  that  Mr.  Emmet,  instead  of  meriting  the  censures  of  the 
people  of  this  state,  deserves  their  thanks  and  applause. 

Resolved,  That  we  wholly  disbelieve  that  EDMUND  C.  GE- 
NET, the  former  minister  off  he  French  republic,  has  declared  "  that 
"  incase  the  government  of  the  United  State-  did  not  conduct  thcro- 
11  selves  towards  the  Emperor  of  France  with  more  friendship  and 
11  civility  than  it  had  hitherto  done,  they  would  next  be  attacked  and 
"  subjugated  by  him."    And  we  are  warranted  herein,  not  only  by 


ELISHA  JENKINS,  Secretary, 


but  by  the  whole  tenor  of  his  conduct  which  has  fallen  under  our  no- 
tice since  his  residence  in  this  part  of  the  state.  That  this  meeting 
has  inconteatible  evidence  of  his  attachment  to  this  country,  inas- 
much, as  he  haa  purchased  and  holds  considerable  real  estate  within 
this  state ;  has  resided  here  snore  than  fourteen  yeara  ;  has  been  na- 
turalixed  more  than  three  years,  and,  by  his  marriage  with  the  daugh- 
ter  of  a  native  citixen  of  distinguished  rank,  by  whom  he  has  several 
children,  he  has  every  tie  to  biod  him  to  <h.  interests  of  his  adopted 
country.  Thst  to  deny  him  the  rights  of  an  elector,  would  be  a  pros- 
tratiota  of  the  constitution  and  lawa  of  the  United  States,  and  an  act 
of  tyranny,  which  we  abhor  and  detest, 

Resolve,*,  That  we  see  no  evidence  whereon  to  ground  a  sus- 
picion or  belief,  that  an  effort  is  now  making  to  accomplish  party  pur- 
poses by  the  united  force  of  a  dangerous  foreign  influence ;  but  to 
the  contrary  thereof,  die  citizens  now  assembled  see  in  this  charge 
the  revival  of  those  stale  and  antiquated  attempts  of  the  federal  party, 
to  alarm  and  agitate  the  public  mind  for  the  obvious  purpose  of  pro- 
moting the  election  of  Mobcax  Lewis,  and  defeating  that  of  the  re- 
publican csndidate  DANIEL  D.  TOMPKINS;  and  this  meeting 
warn  their  republican  fellow-citizens  to  be  on  their  guard,  and  not 
again  become  the  dupes  of  such  shallow  artifices. 

Resolved,  That  our  confidence  in  the  patriotism,  honor  andpoliti. 
«al  integrity  of  the  venerable  Geobce  Clinton,  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  remains  undiminished  and  unshaken;  and  that  we 
utterly  disbelieve,  that  in  the  evening  of  a  life  spent  in  the  public 
service,  with  such  signal  advantage  to  the  people  of  this  state,  and 
with  such  honor  to  his  own  fame,  he  would  attempt  to  mark  out  for 
his  successor,  any  other  course  of  conduct  than  such  as  should  bo 
bottomed  on  republican  principles;  and  that  in  exhibiting  this  soli- 
citude for  the  cause  of  Republicanism,  he  has  given  to  the  public  fur. 
ther  proof  of  his  unabated  zeal  and  his  disinterested  devotedness  to 
principles  which  conducted  us  through  a  seven  years  war  to  peace 
and  independence.  - 

Resolved,  That  we  vi:w  with  lively  satisfaction  the  bright  pros- 
pect of  the  republican  cause  again  triumphing  at  the  approaching 
election,  notwithstanding  the  joint  efforts  of  federalists  with  apostate 
republicans  to  the  contrary  ;  and  that  Morgan  Lewis,  by  his  official 
conduct,  in  innumerable  instances,  has  forfeited  the  confidence  of  this 
meeting,  and  is  utterly  undeserving  their  support. 

GEORGE  MERCHANT,  Chairman. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

A  Political  Broadside  used  in  1807  for  the  defeat  of  Rufus  King 


Some  Important  Cases 


421 


the  defendant,  Mr.  Coleman,  was  the  editor  of  the  "Evening  Post",  a  friend  of 
Mr.  Rufus  King  and  a  member  of  the  cabal  against  Mr.  Emmet.  The  report 
of  the  suit  is  printed  in  book  form,  but  being  too  voluminous  to  reprint  in 
full,  Mr.  Emmet's  summing  up  will  alone  be  given.  The  suit  for  libel  was 
brought  in  the  Supreme  Court,  before  the  Hon.  Judge  Livingston,  the  counsel 
for  the  plaintiff  being  Mr.  Richard  Riker,  District  Attorney-General,  and 
Emmet.  The  defendant's  counsel  were  Messrs.  Well,  David  B.  Ogden  and 
Cadwallader  Colden.   Mr.  Riker  stated  the  case  for  the  plaintiff  as  follows: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Jury, 

This  is  an  action  by  Mr.  Philip  G.  Arcularius,  to  recover  damages  for  a  libel  pub- 
lished against  him  by  the  defendant,  Mr.  Wm.  Coleman. 

It  will  appear  from  the  reading  of  the  libel  and  from  other  evidence  that  Mr. 
Arcularius  was  superintendent  of  the  almshouse,  in  which  office  he  has  always  conducted 
himself  with  great  propriety.  If  it  were  otherwise,  and  that  Mr.  Coleman  could  make 
on  the  truth  and  innocent  intention  of  what  he  has  published,  he  might  perhaps 
stand  justified.  But  if  the  charge  be  false  and  malicious,  it  would  be  hard  to  deter- 
mine what  would  be  a  just  and  sufficient  compensation  for  so  excessive  an  injury. 

For  the  remainder  of  this  summing  up  see  Appendix,  Note  XVI. 
According  to  Mr.  Hall  Mr.  Emmet  appeared  in  February,  1808,  in  the  case 
of  Smith  v.  Elder. 

He  seems  to  have  been  retained  because  of  foreign  and  international  law — the  action 
being  with  respect  to  contraband  of  war  on  ship-board;  and  his  experience  seems  to 
have  won  this  contention  against  odds.  But  his  greatest  coup  as  a  counsellor  of  only 
a  few  years' standing  came  in  the  star  case  of  a  suit  by  Morgan  Lewis,  governor  of  the 
State,  against  Editor  Few  of  the  American  Citizen  newspaper  for  libel.  Emmet's  brief 
is  published  at  full  length  (5  Johnson,),  and  it  bristles  with  logic,  distinguishment  of 
principles,  and  with  apt  citations.  The  libel  is  set  forth  at  length,  and  is  a  curiosity  in 
its  mildness  of  political  comment  on  a  public  official  as  compared  with  the  editorial 
strictures  that  newspaper  readers  of  to-day  are  familiar  with.  He  was  ingenious,  but 
was  beaten  by  the  Court. 

In  Dubois  v.  Phillips,,  same  volume,  p.  235,  there  cropped  up  common  law  practice 
in  respect  to  procedures  on  which  rules  were  silent.  Here  Emmet's  knowledge  of  King's 
Bench  practice  proved  valuable,  and  in  succeeding  through  his  learning  the  argument 
must  have  enhanced  his  reputation.    [This  case  was  argued  November,  1809.] 


The  Merest,  the  caprice,  the  errors  of  a  manufacturing  to<wn  or  fishing  village  in  Britain 
'will  frequently  have  more  influence  than  the  united  voices  of  the  Irish  people, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


The  national  vanity  which  emblazons  doubtful  pretensions  in  the  splendid  coloring  of 
fancy,  is  not  malignant  in  origin,  and  is  harmless  in  its  effect,  but  the  deliberate 
calumny  luhich  blackens  the  character  of  the  injured  in  order  to  justify  the  'wrong 
of  the  oppressed,  deserves  a  harsher  epitaph  than  falsehood  and  a  severer  chastisement 
than  contempt. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXVI 

Letter  from  Mr.  Emmet  to  Blennerhassett — Fulton's  relations — Reference  to  an  im- 
portant case — Emmet  becomes  Attorney  General — Interesting  incidents  while  in  office — 
Letter  to  Judge  Ormsby  in  relation  to  an  indebtedness  of  Aaron  Burr — Business  letter 
as  Attorney  General — Letter  from  Fulton,  style  remarkable — Fulton's  friendship  and  in- 
timacy with  the  Emmet  family — History  of  a  portrait  of  Fulton  painted  by  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Emmet — Fulton  painted  a  miniature  of  himself  from  this  portrait,  which  is  now 
the  only  authentic  likeness  of  him — Account  of  a  noted  suit  in  which  Fulton  is  defended 
by  Mr.  Emmet — His  remarkable  and  kindly  advice  to  Fulton  expressed  in  his  public 
address — Cadwallader  Colden's  memoir  of  Fulton — Subjected  with  Mr.  Emmet  to  great 
exposure  on  the  return  to  New  York,  which  was  the  indirect  cause  of  Fulton's  death — 
Letter  of  Mr.  Emmet  in  relation  to  a  false  charge  made  against  the  honesty  of  Fulton 
— Letter  to  Judge  Yates  bearing  on  Fulton's  difficulties — A  remarkable  letter  from  Mr. 
Emmet  to  his  daughter  before  her  marriage. 

EEPING  up  any  friendly  relation  was  impossible  between 
Mr.  Emmet  and  his  friend  Blennerhassett,  as  they  were 
so  widely  separated  that  only  at  long  intervals  did  either 
succeed  in  communicating  with  the  other,  and  in  the 
absence  of  all  mail  facilities  many  of  their  letters  were 
lost. 

The  following  from  Mr.  Emmet  was  found  in  the 
Blennerhassett  Papers : 

New  York,  Septr.  15th,  1809. 
My  dear  Blennerhassett, 

It  was  not  without  considerable  emotion  and  pleasure  that  I  received  yours  a  few 
days  since  by  Mr.  Harding,  and  heard  from  him  the  first  news  I  had  been  able,  authen- 
tically, to  collect  of  your  present  situation.  Of  what  is  past,  it  is  not  fit  I  should  say 
anything  in  a  communication  of  this  kind ;  of  the  future,  you  will  believe  me  perfectly 
sincere,  when  I  assure  you  that  your  prosperity  and  happiness  will  always  interest  me 
very  strongly.  In  return  for  the  pleasing  intelligence  I  have  had  of  you,  accept  similar 
accounts  of  me  and  my  family.  My  success  has  been  greater  than  I  could  have  calcu- 
lated upon.  My  health  has  been  extremely  good,  and  Mrs.  Emmet  and  the  children  en- 
joy the  prosperity  which  has  succeeded  to  our  trials;  such,  I  trust  will  also  be  the  event 
of  your  present  situation.  Mr.  Harding  mentioned  to  me  that  he  had  brought  along  with 
him  your  oldest  son  Dominick,  and  placed  him  at  an  Academy  at  Georgetown,  Penn- 
sylvania [Maryland,  and  now  D.  C.]. 

422 


Yates  versus  Lansing 


423 


As  Mrs.  Blennerhassett  has  brought  her  mind  to  part  with  him,  a  thought  struck  me, 
which  I  now  lay  before  you,  I  have  three  sons  [John,  Thomas  and  Temple]  at  school 
at  Flatbush,  Long  Island,  five  miles  from  this  city,  under  the  care  of  a  Mr.  Thompson, 
who  is  very  competent,  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and  of  very  unexception- 
able character;  his  wife  is  a  Mary  Anne  Connell,  cousin  to  Maurice  Connell,  of  Iveragh; 
came  over  here  a  widow,  of  the  name  of  Yielding,  with  strong  letters  from  Kerry  friends 
to  Mrs.  Emmett,  and  was  married  in  my  house  to  Mr.  Thompson.  I  have  mentioned 
your  son  to  them  both,  and  can  answer  he  would  be  treated  with  more  than  common 
affection  and  care;  and  being  at  the  same  school  with  my  own,  I  should  have  oppor- 
tunities of  showing  him,  perhaps,  some  attention,  which,  situated  where  he  is,  would 
be  out  of  my  power.  I  am  not  fond  of  supplanting  a  person  like  his  present  master, 
who,  I  presume,  would  discharge  his  duty,  but  I  submit  the  proposition  to  your  con- 
sideration. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Blennerhassett.  Do  you  and  Mrs.  B.  receive  the  best  wishes  of 
me  and  my  family  for  everything  that  concerns  you,  and  believe  me, 

Sincerely  yours, 

Thos.  Addis  Emmett.* 

Mr.  Fulton  about  this  time  became  involved  in  many  law  suits,  for  fre- 
quently questions  of  law  were  presented  concerning  conflicting  concessions 
which  had  been  granted  him  by  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Emmet, 
therefore,  as  his  lawyer,  was  busily  engaged  in  defending  Mr.  Fulton's  rights.f 

Mr.  Hall  records  the  following  noted  case  which  came  up  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  state,  February,  1810 : 

Another  star  case  gave  him  renewed  advertisement — Yates  v.  Lansing,  6  Johnson, 
335 — Emmet  for  the  plaintiff,  who  was  an  Albany  lawyer  of  high  standing,  and  a  master 
in  Chancery.  He  by  misapprehension  of  due  authority  had  subscribed  to  a  chancery 
bill  the  name  of  another  solicitor  who  disavowed  the  act.  Chancellor  Livingston  com- 
mitted Yates  for  malpractice,  but  Judge  Ambrose  Spencer  discharged  him  on  habeas 
corpus.  This  the  chancellor  declared  invalid  and  had  Yates  rearrested  and  recommitted. 
The  poor  sheriff  found  himself  between  two  masters,  and  this  conflict  of  the  Courts 
attracted  attention  both  among  lawyers  and  laymen. 

At  this  stage  of  the  conflict  Yates  retained  Emmet,  who  took  his  client  before 
Chief-Justice  Kent  on  another  habeas;  but  the  latter,  as  if  by  prescience  that  shortly 
he  would  be  rowing  a  chancellor's  boat,  stood  by  Lansing,  and  Emmet  failed  in  his 
action,  yet  stuck  to  his  procedure,  like  a  disciple  of  the  famous  Brougham  doctrine  in 
the  Queen  Caroline  case  about  the  fealty  of  lawyer  to  client,  and  so  carried  his  conten- 
tion into  the  Court  for  Correction  of  Errors,  where  he  succeeded.  Then  Emmet,  for 
Yates,  sued  the  Chancellor  to  recover  the  penalty  affixed  to  the  statute  forbidding  a 
re-imprisonment  of  any  one  once  discharged  on  any  habeas  corpus  for  the  old  offence. 
But  Emmet  failed,  the  Court  deciding — and  the  decision  has  become  for  the  doctrine 
a  leading  case — that  superior  tribunals  of  general  jurisdiction  were  not  liable  to  per- 
sonally answer  for  acts  done  in  a  judicial  capacity,  nor  for  errors  of  judgment.  The 
case  is,  as  finally  decided  by  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors,  to  be  found  in 
9  Johnson,  395,  and  as  a  matter  of  legal  curiosity  is  worth  reading  in  connection  with 
their  first  decision  just  mentioned,  reported  in  6  Johnson,  because  virtually,  in  deciding 
for  the  Chancellor,  the  Court  overruled  its  first  determination  against  his  power. 

Yates  and  Lansing  was  removed  to  Court  for  Impeachment  and  Correction  of  Error, 
in  the  February  and  March  term,  1810,  and  finally  decided  April,  1811. 

*For  some  unexplained  reason  Mr.  Emmet  reverted  in  this  letter  to  the  old  mode  of  spelling 
the  name  with  double  "t",  as  his  father  spelled  it  in  early  life.  That  it  was  not  an  accident  has 
been  shown  by  a  document  in  the  possession  of  the  writer  which  was  signed  in  the  same  manner  and 
about  the  same  period. 

tSee  Appendix,  Note  No.  XVII  for  an  original  opinion  written  by  Mr.  Emmet,  which  is  of 
historical  value. 


424 


Ormsby  and  Burr 


During  the  war  of  1812  Mr.  Emmet  accepted  the  command  of  an  Irish 
regiment,  which  at  a  time  of  threatened  attack  did  service  in  some  of  the  for- 
tifications erected  for  the  defense  of  New  York. 

Mr.  A.  Oakey  Hall  states : 

On  August  12,  1812,  he  [Emmetl  was  gazetted  by  governor  and  council  as  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State.  In  six  years  after  coming  to  the  bar,  friendless  and  against  jealous 
opposition,  Mr.  Emmet  had  won  the  highest  professional  prize.  He  proved  to  be  an 
able  officer  and  reliable  counsel  to  the  State.  In  managing  a  murder  case  wherein 
great  knowledge  of  toxicology  became  necessary,  inasmuch  as  the  means  used  for  the 
crime  were  by  poison,  his  medical  knowledge  proved  of  especial  service.  But  the 
salary  of  the  Attorney-General  was  small,  and  the  duties  confining.  He  was  obliged 
to  be  much  of  the  time  at  the  State  capital,  while  dwelling  in  New  York  City.  His 
practice  had  grown  to  net  him  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year — a  snug  income  then,  for  it 
was  not  the  era  of  large  corporations  and  trusts  full  of  business  and  munificent  with 
fees.  After,  therefore,  not  quite  two  years  of  official  life,  he  resigned,  and  fully  re- 
turned to  private  practice.  How  extended  this  was  throughout  the  next  decade  abund- 
antly appears  from  the  later  Johnson  Reports  and  earlier  ones  on  Wendell. 

The  following  was  printed  in  the  "Louisville  Times",  December,  1906 : 
Dr.  Henry  Orendorf,  of  Louisville,  has  in  his  possession  a  valuable  historic  letter 
which  has  never  been  printed  before,  and  is  now  for  the  first  time  reproduced  in  "The 
Times".  It  brings  back  recollections  of  some  of  the  pioneers  of  Kentucky,  the  visit  of 
Aaron  Burr  to  this  State  in  1806,  and  his  subsequent  trial  for  conspiracy.  The  letter  is 
from  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  some  time  Attorney  General  of  New  York  State,  to  Ste- 
phen Ormsby,  of  Louisville,  and  is  dated  New  York,  June  29,  1813.  It  discloses  the 
fact  that  Aaron  Burr  borrowed  $8,000  from  Peter  Benson  Ormsby,  a  brother  of  Judge 
Stephen  Ormsby,  of  Jefferson  county,  Ky.,  which  he  was  never  able  to  pay. 

*  *  * 

Stephen  Ormsby  fled  from  Ireland  in  1798,  and  came  immediately  to  Kentucky.  He 
settled  a  few  miles  from  Louisville,  near  what  is  now  Ormsbv  Station.  He  was  a 
Representative  in  Congress  from  this  district.  He  was  a  Judge  in  the  first  courts  or- 
ganized in  this  county,  was  successful  in  business  and  organized  the  branch  of  the 
United  States  Bank  in  this  city  and  was  its  first  president.  Ormsby  avenue,  this  city, 
is  named  after  the  family,  as  well  as  Ormsby  Station,  in  the  county. 

Dr.  Orendorf's  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Ormsby  family,  and  the  letter  came  into 
the  doctor's  possession  through  that  source.  Judge  Ormsby,  whilst  in  Congress  from 
this  district,  caused  his  secretary,  Dr.  De  Butts,  to  write  to  Mr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet, 
then  an  attorney-at-law  in  New  York  City,  about  the  collection  of  the  claim  referred 
to  above,  amounting  to  $8,000,  which  had  been  loaned  some  time  before  to  Col.  Aaron 
Burr  by  Mr.  Peter  Benson  Ormsby.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Emmet  is  a  clear,  concise  and 
frank  piece  of  English,  and  will  be  read  with  interest.    It  follows: 

*  *  * 

"New  York,  June  29,  1813. 

"Stephen  Ormsby,  Esq., 
"Sir  : 

"I  was  yesterday  favored  with  a  letter  from  my  friend,  Dr.  De  Butts,  under  your 
cover,  desiring  me  to  inform  you  whether  Mr.  Burr  is  possessed  of  property  to  pay 
$8,000,  for  which  your  brother  has  his  bills  regularly  protested. 

"My  acquaintance  with  Col.  Burr  and  his  private  affairs  is  certainly  very  slight,  but 
1  think  I  possess  sufficient  knowledge  to  assure  you  that  he  ha*  no  such  property. 

"I  understand  there  were  some  existing  judgments  against  him  before  his  return 
to  this  city,  and  he  found  means  to  negotiate  with  the  holders  of  them  to  give  him  a 
certain  stipulated  time  (I  believe  five  years)  in  which  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  pay  them. 


Attorney  General 


425 


They  are  still  outstanding,  and  as  far  as  my  own  observations  will  enable  me  to  judge 
his  situation  does  not  enable  him  to  provide  funds  for  meeting  those  or  other  important 
engagements.  Should  you  think  it  advisable  to  send  on  the  bills  for  prosecution,  I 
shall  do  everything  in  my  power  for  your  brother's  interest,  but  candor  obliges  me  to 
state  that  for  the  present,  at  least,  I  should  conceive  the  cost  and  expenses  of  the  suit 
as  so  much  money  thrown  away. 

"I  am,  sir,  with  much  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

"Thomas  Addis  Emmet." 
On  the  back  of  the  letter  after  it  was  folded  was  written  by  Mr.  Emmet: 
"Stephen  Ormsby,  Esq.,  M.  H.  R.,  in  Congress,  Washington  City,  Cola.  Dist." 

*  *  * 

On  account  of  the  eminence  of  the  writer,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  Irish  patriot, 
Robert  Emmet,  the  letter  is  of  course  of  great  historic  value.  Judge  Ormsby  was  also 
an  able  man.    Highly  educated  in  Ireland,  on  coming  to  Kentucky,  he  at  once  took  high 

rank  as  a  lawyer,  statesman  and  patriot. 

*  *  * 

That  part  of  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  in  which  he  advises  Judge  Ormsby  that  the  costs 
and  expenses  of  a  suit  against  Col.  Burr  would  be  that  much  money  thrown  away,  is 
so  different  from  the  practice  nowadays  that  it  is  worth  calling  attention  to.  Had  Mr. 
Emmet  taken  the  case  he  might  have  run  up  a  good  bill  and  collected  his  fees  from 
Mr.  Ormsby,  who  was  wealthy,  and  well  able  to  pay  a  fee,  but  Mr.  Emmet  was  not 
built  that  way,  and  was  not  that  kind  of  a  lawyer  * 

The  following  is  a  business  letter  from  Mr.  Emmet  while  attorney-general : 

New  York,  Febr.  13,  1813. 

Dear  Sir: — 

Finding  a  private  conveyance,  I  take  the  opportunity  of  returning  you  some  Mort- 
gages &  a  bond  that  were  handed  over  to  me  by  mistake,  &  the  Mortgages  which 
I  was  to  release  to  the  State,  with  the  Release  itself,  &  one  that  Mr.  Hildreth  executed 
&  you  lent  me — Perceiving  a  mistake  in  the  latter  as  to  one  of  the  Lots,  I  included 
it  in  mine,  as  doing  so,  can  in  no  event  be  an  injury  to  the  State.  The  other  papers  I 
retain  till  further  orders  from  the  Council  of  Appointment.  The  advertisements  for 
the  Mortgages  have  been  prepared  a  good  while  since ;  but  I  have  withheld  them,  as 
I  thought  it  right  to  give  my  successor  the  liberty  of  choosing  the  time  when  it  would 
be  convenient  to  him  to  sell — especially  as  no  auction  could  take  place  before  Summer. 
If  among  the  singular  events  resulting  from  the  federal  disputes,  I  should  retain  my 
office  or  be  likely  to  hold  it  for  a  sufficient  time  to  make  my  advertising  proper,  I  will 
do  it  without  delay,  &  would  thank  you  to  inform  me  whether  it  is  usual  to  adver- 
tise the  property  lying  out  of  Albany  County  in  any  Albany  paper — or  only  in  the  proper 
County  Paper.  If  I  am  to  continue  to  act,  there  are  several  cases,  in  which  Mr.  Hil- 
dreth obtained  Judgments,  or  put  them  in  the  situation  of  doing  so  when  he  liked ; 
but  I  can  find  no  traces  whether  he  settled  them  &  received  the  money — as  to  these 
I  shall  trouble  you  with  particular  enquiries,  whether  the  State  is  satisfied  or  not;  & 
of  course  whether  Executions  are.  to  issue,  &  to  what  amount — Mr.  Hildreth's  in- 
disposition caused  his  Register  to  be  latterly  incorrect — and  it  has  cost  me  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  and  examination  of  his  papers,  to  acquire  a  proper  knowledge  of  those  causes, 
which  is  the  reason  why  I  have  not  asked  those  questions  before, — I  enclose  you  a  list 
of  costs  in  some  causes  where  the  Parties  have  written  to  me  that  they  have  settled  or 
intend  doing  so — &  you  will  very  much  oblige  me  by  collecting  them  as  occasion 
occurs — By  the  mistake  of  a  clerk  (who  learnt  the  first  rudiments  of  his  profession  else- 
where) two  or  three  writs  were  in  some  instances  issued  against  the  same  person,  ac- 

•The  above  letter  is  the  property  of  Mrs.  H.  O.  Whitaker  of  Hampton  Court,  Lexington,  Ky., 

the  granddaughter  of  Judge  Ormsby,  to  whom  the  letter  from  Mr.  Emmet  was  addressed.  Mrs. 
Whitaker  kindly  furnished  the  opportunity  for  having  the  copy  of  the  letter  verified,  and  presented 
the  author  with  a  letter  written  to  Judge  Ormsby  by  Mr.  Emmet  in  1815. 


426 


Madame  Bonneville 


cording  to  the  number  of  bonds — altho'  one  would  have  answered — This  I  have  rectified, 
&  intend  charging  no  one  person  with  the  costs  of  more  than  one  case — &  this  I 
would  thank  you  to  explain  to  any  of  them  that  may  have  been  placed  in  that  situation. 
As  to  the  Messrs.  Cranston  &  Thos.  Kingsley,  Stephen  Haviland,  Appleton  Safford  & 
John  Chichester,  I  have  only  the  assurance  of  Mr.  Chas.  Haviland  of  Albany  that  they 
would  settle,  which  I  suppose  from  his  silence  since,  they  have  not  yet  done — from 
Messrs.  Humphrey  &  Canter  [Carter?]  &  a  Mr.  Truman  Rice,  I  have  only  their 
own  letters — but  as  the  latter  wrote  before  I  took  any  steps,  I  charge  him  with  no 
costs — However  as  to  all  those  above  mentioned — they  must  procure  me  your  certificate 
of  their  having  settled  with  the  state  before  I  can  discontinue  &  at  the  same  time 
you  would  oblige  me  by  making  them  pay  the  costs,  before  you  certify. — The  others 
mentioned  in  the  enclosed  list,  you  have  already  written  to  me  about — &  mentioned 
that  they  would  pay  the  costs,  when  furnished  to  you — Excuse  this  long  letter,  and  this 
heap  of  trouble,  and  believe  me,  Dear  Sir,  Very  sincerely 

Your  respectful  and  Obliged 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet. 

Envelope  addressed 

Archibald  McIntyre, 
Comptroller 
Endorsement 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Atty.  Genl. 
13  Feb.,  1813.         Answered  May  21,  1813. 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Emmet  to  Captain  Partridge  on  behalf 
of  Madame  Bonneville : 

New  York,  Oct.  20th. 

Sir: 

Madame  Bonneville  has  this  day  put  in  my  hands  a  letter  from  her  son  who  is  a 
cadet  at  West  Point,  in  which  he  mentions  a  disagreeable  affair  in  which  he  was  involved 
with  one  of  his  fellow  cadets  by  the  false  and  infamous  reports,  which  personal  hatred 
and  party  malevolence  excited  respecting  her  and  Mr.  Paine,  and  the  wickedness  of 
which  is  now  developing  itself  in  the  troubles  it  is  producing  to  the  children.  Madame 
Bonneville  not  being  familiar  with  writing  English,  has  requested  me  on  her  behalf  to 
express  her  gratitude  and  thanks  to  you,  Sir,  for  your  interposition  and  conduct  in  that 
affair.  She  rejoices  that  her  son  is  placed  under  the  care  of  one  who  has  already  shown 
such  disposition  to  do  him  justice  and  protect  him.  I  myself  feel  an  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  young  Bonneville  from  my  knowledge  of  his  father  and  family,  and  from 
the  belief  that  he  will  always  conduct  himself  so  as  to  merit  esteem;  and  I  confess  I 
cannot  but  look  forward  with  some  anxiety  for  him,  to  the  period  of  life  when  he  must 
enter  into  the  world.  For  if  now  he  is  obliged  to  resent  and  repel  the  calumnies  which 
have  been  spread  respecting  him,  what  is  to  be  his  fate  in  the  profession  he  has  chosen, 
subject  to  the  same  folly  and  insolence,  and  called  upon  by  the  etiquette  of  that  pro- 
fession to  repel  it  at  the  hazard  of  his  life. 

I  am,  Sir,  with  much  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet. 

Capt.  Partridge, 

Commander  at  the  Military  School,  West  Point,  N.  Y. 

The  following  business  letter,  from  the  Crimmins  collection,  is  of  no  in- 
terest to  the  reader  beyond  the  fact  that  it  is  one  in  which  Mr.  Fulton  him- 
self writes  in  relation  to  the  steam-boat  monopoly,  and  it  gives  no  evidence 
of  the  close  and  friendly  relation  which  existed  between  him  and  Mr.  Emmet, 
to  whom  it  is  addressed : 


Fulton  Litigation 


427 


Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.  : 

SiR: — I  send  you  Mr.  Slosson's  opinion  on  the  contract  between  Livingston  and 
Fulton. — His  will  was  made  before  our  contract  and  the  invention  of  the  steamboats ; 
they  are  not  mentioned  in  it;  then  as  personal  estate  did  not  his  widow  come  in  for  her 
thirds  which  she  might  dispose  as  She  pleased  if  so  they  must  be  her  assignes, — The 
fourth  article  of  the  contract  Says  Livingston  and  Fulton  only  shall  build  steamboats, 
the  purchasers  of  shares  or  shareholders  Shall  have  no  Voice,  this  clearly  means  the 
purchasers  of  shares — For  article  Sixth  says  in  case  of  the  death  of  Livingston  or 
Fulton  each  heir  or  assign  who  holds  20  shares  &c  this  must  mean  the  heir  or  assign  of 
Livingston  or  Fulton;  then  if  Mrs.  Livingston  had  a  right  to  her  third,  which  she  might 
dispose  of  because  it  was  property  acquired  after  the  will  was  made,  they  of  course  I 
presume  are  her  heirs  and  assigns  amount  of  shares  which  gives  them  20  each, 

please  to  consider  this  point — 

Again 

In  our  experiments  and  Partnership  the  chancellor  and  I  never  contemplated  any- 
thing but  Steam  Boats  for  passengers  or  merchandise.  Steam  Ships  of  war  were  not 
thought  of.  This  is  really  a  new  thought  and  Invention  not  I  think  coming  within  the 
contract  nor  ever  meant  by  it. 

The  first  Article  of  which  Says  a  passage  boat  moved  by  the  power  of  a  steam  en- 
gine shall  be  constructed.  The  second  Article  says  a  patent  shall  be  taken  for  a  new 
combination  of  a  Boat  to  move  by  steam  and  that  half  shall  be  transfered  to  R.  R.  Liv- 
ingston and  all  Emoluments  arising  from  Said  patent  In  America  shall  be  divided,  this 
is  confined  to  the  said  patent  Boat  or  boats  built  from  the  patent,  or  Boats  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  patent  for  such  purposes  as  boats  are  generally  used  to  carry  passengers 
or  merchandise,  This  was  the  real  intention  of  the  contract.  The  Chancellor  never  con- 
templated nor  did  I  that  he  had  a  claim  to  all  inventions  of  every  kind  which  I  might 
make  of  Steam  engines  moving  bodies  on  water,  For  if  so  he  might  have  claimed  a 
steam  mud  machine  of  my  invention,  or  a  steam  floating  mill  in  a  Boat,  in  fact  such  a 
partnership  would  give  his  heirs  half  of  all  my  brains  or  the  product  thereof  as  far  as 
floating  bodies  and  Steam  engines  were  combined.  The  contract  no  where  gives  him  a 
right.  "In  all  I  may  do  with  Steam  to  move  bodies  on  water  in  america" — the  second  article 
terminates  thus,  or  for  any  patent  premium  or  privilege  in  any  other  country  it  does  not 
say  what  kind  of  patent  but  evidently  means  such  patent  as  then  contemplated,  which 
was  for  boats  to  carry  passengers  or  merchandise  and  not  Steam  Ships  of  War  please 
give  me  your  opinion  on  this  head  have  my  partners  by  the  contract  any  claim  on  this 
new  and  extended  application  of  Steam. 

Yours  Respectfully, 

R.  Fulton.* 

June  24th,  1814. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  Fulton's  lawyer  in  all  the  various  litigations  which  sprang 
up  in  connection  with  monopolies  granted  him  in  different  States  for  the  ex- 
clusive use  of  steamboats.  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  family  that  Mr.  Emmet 
after  defending  a  suit  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  was  returning  to  New  York  with 
Mr.  Fulton,  and  not  being  able  to  get  over  on  the  ferry-boat,  they  and  others 
attempted  to  cross  on  the  ice  from  "Hobuck"  ferry  point  at  Mr.  John  Steven's 

*Robert  Fulton  and  Mr.  Errmet  resided  in  Paris  at  the  same  time,  where  they  became  acquainted, 
and  a  warm  friendship  sprang  up  between  them.  (The  diary  of  Mr.  Emmet  shows  that  Fulton  at 
one  time  expected  to  join  the  expedition  to  Ireland  for  the  purpose  of  using  his  recently  invented 
torpedo  against  the  English.)  Mr.  Fulton  returned  to  New  York  about  the  time  Mr.  Emmet  arrived 
with  his  family,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  crossed  in  the  same  ship.  From  this  time  until 
his  death  Fulton  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with  the  Emmet  family.  He  had  studied  painting 
under  Benjamin  West,  and  detecting  evidences  of  talent  in  Mr.  Emmet's  second  daughter,  Elizabeth, 
he  devoted  much  of  his  spare  time  for  several  years  to  perfecting  Miss  Emmet's  skill  in  portrait  painting. 
He  sat,  as  a  critic  and  model,  for  Miss  Emmet  to  paint  his  likeness.  From  this  portrait,  well  remem- 
bered by  the  writer,  an  engraving  was  made  by  W.  S.  Leney  in  1817  for  Cadwallader  D.  Colden's 
"Life  of  Robert  Fulton".    (See  Appendix,  Note  XVIII.) 


428 


Cause  of  Fulton's  Death 


place.  The  ice  not  being  strong  and  partially  covered  with  water,  Mr.  Emmet, 
the  heavier  of  the  two,  broke  through.  In  his  efforts  to  get  Mr.  Emmet  out 
Mr.  Fulton  exposed  himself  by  getting  overheated,  with  the  result  that  he 
caught  a  severe  sore  throat.  Without  waiting  to  recover  from  it  he  again 
exposed  himself  on  the  following  day  in  very  inclement  weather,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  his  imprudence  he  died,  at  No.  1  State  Street,  a  few  days  after- 
ward, in  February,  1815.   The  house  where  he  died  is  still  standing. 

The  following  is  from  Cadwallader  Colden's  eulogy  on  Fulton,  page  345 : 

John  Livingston  and  Fulton  had  spent  an  immense  sum  of  money  in  the  establish- 
ment of  their  magnificent  boats  where  they  had  not  realized  a  cent  from  their  enter- 
prize,  but  on  the  contrary  this  law*  was  recommended  to  the  legislature  [New  Jersey] 
as  one  that  might  be  passed  consistently  with  good  faith,  honour  and  justice! 

Upon  the  reports  being  made  to  the  house,  it  was  prevailed  upon  to  be  less  precipi- 
tate than  the  committee  had  been.  It  gave  time,  which  the  committee  would  not  do, 
for  Mr.  Fulton  to  be  sent  for,  from  New  York.  The  Senate  and  Assembly  in  joint  ses- 
sion examined  witnesses  and  heard  him  and  the  petitioner  by  counsel.  The  result  was 
that  the  legislature  refused  to  repeal  the  prior  law,  or  to  pass  any  act  on  the  subject. 

It  was  upon  this  occasion  that  his  friend,  Mr.  Emmet,  who  appeared  as  his  counsel 
at  the  bar  of  the  house,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  speech  made  that  address  to  Fulton, 
which  has  been  so  much  spoken  of,  and  which  was  at  once  such  an  evidence  of  warmth 
of  heart,  rectitude  of  principle,  and  of  superior  abilities.  We  do  not  pretend  to  give 
it  in  the  very  words  he  made  use  of,  nor  can  it  now  have  the  effect,  which  his  oratory 
and  circumstances  produced  when  it  was  delivered ;  but  so  far  as  it  is  in  our  power,  we 
will  endeavour  to  preserve  it,  as  a  just  tribute  to  our  departed  friend,  and  as  a  memorial 
of  the  abilities  of  his  advocate. 

Mr.  Emmet,  having  said  that  he  had  concluded  the  observations  which  he  proposed 
to  make,  as  well  against  the  petition  as  the  report  of  the  committee;  and  that  he  sub- 
mitted their  force  with  respectful  confidence  to  the  deliberation  of  the  legislature,  turned 
toward  Fulton  and  addressed  him  as  follows : — 

"I  know  and  feel,  and  I  rejoice  in  the  conviction,  that  for  the  present  at  least, 
your  interests,  my  friend,  are  perfectly  secure;  but  do  not,  therefore,  flatter  yourself 
that  you  will  be  involved  in  no  future  difficulties,  on  the  same  account.  Those  whom 
I  have  just  addressed  will  certainly  decide  with  enlightened  liberality  and  a  scrupulous 
regard  to  public  faith ;  but  their  power  and  authority  will  pass  away.  Your  present  an- 
tagonist, I  also  hope,  will  become  convinced  by  this  discussion  of  the  impropriety  of 
his  application  and  refrain  from  repeating  it ;  but  interest  and  avarice  will  still  raise  up 
against  you  many  enemies.  You  rely  too  implicitly  on  the  strength  of  your  rights,  and 
the  sanctity  of  the  obligations  on  which  they  are  founded. 

"You  expect  too  much  from  your  well-earned  reputation  and  the  acknowledged  utility 
to  mankind  of  your  life  and  labours.  You  permit  your  mind  to  be  engrossed  with  vast 
and  noble  plans  for  the  public  good.  You  are  inconsiderately  sinking  your  present  in- 
come in  the  extension  of  public  accommodation  by  steam  boats.  You  are  gratuitously 
giving  your  time  and  talents  to  the  construction  of  that  great  national  object,  your  stu- 
pendous invention  for  maritime  defense,  which  in  itself  is  calculated  to  effect  a  revolu- 
tion in  naval  warfare.  You  are  profusely  lavishing  what  the  intense  and  unremitted 
study  of  years  has  acquired  for  you,  in  investigations  and  experiments  tending  to  the 
same  purpose.  Your  knowledge  and  your  fortune  are  freely  bestowed  upon  everything 
that  can  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  science,  or  of  the  elegant  and  useful  arts. 
I  admire  and  applaud  you  for  your  readiness  to  devote  to  the  service  of  the 
public  the   opulence  you   derive   from   its   grateful   remuneration.     Let   me  remind 


*A  bill  introduced  into  the  legislature  to  deprive  him  of  certain  concessions  which  had  been  granted 

him. 


Calumnies  Refuted 


429 


you,  however,  that  you  have  other  and  closer  ties.  I  know  the  pain  I  am  about  to  give, 
and  I  see  the  tears  I  make  you  shed,  but  by  that  love  I  speak,  by  that  love,  which,  like 
the  light  of  Heaven  is  refracted  in  rays  of  different  strength  upon  your  wife  and  chil- 
dren; which  when  collected  and  combined,  forms  the  sunshine  of  your  soul;  by  that 
love  do  I  adjure,  provide  in  time  for  those  dearest  objects  of  your  care.  Think  not 
I  would  instil  into  your  generous  mind  a  mean  or  sordid  notion;  but  now  that  wealth 
is  passing  through  your  hands  let  me  entreat  you,  hoard  it  while  you  have  it.  Artful 
speculators  will  assuredly  arise  with  patriotism  on  their  tongues  and  selfishness  in  their 
hearts,  who  may  mislead  some  future  legislature  by  false  and  crafty  declarations  against 
the  prodigality  of  their  predecessors — who  calumniating  or  concealing  your  merits  will 
talk  loudly  of  your  monopoly,  who  will  represent  it  as  a  grievous  burden  on  the  com- 
munity, and  not  a  compensation  for  signal  benefits— who  will  exaggerate  your  fortune 
and  purpose,  in  the  language  of  Marat  to  the  French  convention : — 'Let  the  scythe  of 
equality  move  over  the  republic'. 

"In  a  moment  of  delusion  (unless  some  department  of  our  government  shall  con- 
stitutionally interpose  an  adamantine  barrier  against  national  perdify  and  injustice),  such 
men  may  give  your  property  to  the  winds  and  your  person  to  your  creditors.  Then, 
indeed,  those  who  know  your  worth  and  services,  will  speak  of  your  downfall  as  that 
portentous  omen,  which  marked  a  people's  degradation  and  the  successful  crime  of  an 
intruder. 

"  'A  falcon,  towering  in  his  pride  of  place, 
Was  by  a  mousing  owl  hawked  at  and  killed.' 

"Yes,  my  friend ! — my  heart  bleeds  while  I  utter  it ;  but  I  have  fearful  forebodings 
that  you  may  hereafter  find  in  public  faith  a  broken  staff  for  your  support,  and  secure 
from  public  gratitude  a  broken  heart  for  your  reward". 

Colden  in  his  memoir,  on  page  251,  again  refers  to  the  action  of  the  New 
Jersey  legislature  in  relation  to  the  bill  before  that  body  and  the  serious  con- 
sequences to  Mr.  Fulton : 

In  January,  1815,  Mr.  John  R.  Livingston,  who  owned  the  steamboat  which  plied 
between  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  but  which  was  stopped  by  the  operation  of  the 
Jersey  laws,  petitioned  the  legislature  of  that  State  for  their  repeal.  After  hearing  wit- 
nesses and  counsel  for  several  days,  the  laws  were  rescinded. 

It  was  upon  this  occasion  that  Mr.  Fulton  was  examined  as  a  witness,  as 
stated  above. 

The  following  letter  is  from  Mr.  Emmet,  refuting  a  charge  against  the 
honesty  of  Mr.  Fulton : 

New  York,  March  23rd,  1815. 

Henry  Baldwin,  Esqr. 
Sir, 

My  friend,  Dr.  Macneven,  has  just  shown  me  a  letter  from  you  to  him,  in  which 
you  state  "that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Rooseveldt*  have  written  that  Mr.  Fulton  in  his  ex- 
amination at  Trenton  was  detected  in  proving  falsely  about  a  letter  said  to  have  been 
written  to  Lord  Stanhope  by  him,  while  in  England— that  he  proved  the  letter  which  he 
produced  at  Trenton  was  a  copy  of  the  original  written  in  London;  and  that  the  paper 
produced  was  written  on  American  paper". 

As  I  was  present,  and  hold  the  character  of  Mr.  Fulton  very  dear,  I  take  the  liberty 
of  addressing  this  to  you  in  order  to  contradict  the  infamous  and  malignant  calumny — 
The  quarter  it  has  come  from  I  can  easily  conjecture  from  its  atrocity— not  Mr.  Roose- 
veldt— but  the  man  he  puts  forward  &  employs  to  do  all  his  dirty  work  respecting 


'Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt. 


430 


Letter  to  Yates 


the  steamboat  dispute  &  whose  character  is  so  utterly  blasted,  wherever  he  is  known, 
that  I  have  no  apprehension  of  his  gaining  any  credit  there  for  such  an  assertion. 

The  fact  was  simply  this — Mr.  Fulton  produced  a  copy  of  a  letter  sewed  up  with 
drawings  &  referring  to  them,  to  Lord  Stanhope,  dated  from  near  Torbay  some  time 
in  1793 — one  of  the  drawings  represented  the  model  of  a  boat  (intended  for  a  steam- 
boat) with  water  wheels  at  the  sides — and  the  letter  explained  it — Mr.  Fulton  stated  this 
to  be  a  copy  of  a  letter  he  had  written  to  Lord  Stanhope  in  1793  and  I  then  particularly 
questioned  him  as  to  the  drawing — which  had  the  name  of  an  attesting  witness  and  the 
date  written  on  it — and  he  swore  that  the  name  and  date  were  written  at  the  time  of 
the  date — Being  myself  ignorant  of  anything  more  I  asked  no  more  questions,  but  read 
the  letter  and  referred  to  the  drawing — We  then  proceeded  to  some  other  matter  and 
Mr.  Fulton  whispered  me  that  there  was  one  thing  about  that  letter  which  he  thought 
ought  to  be  stated — that  the  drawing  was  the  original  which  he  had  made  at  Torbay ; 
but  that  the  copy  of  the  letter,  having  been  worn  and  injured,  he  had  copied  it  over 
again  and  sewed  it  into  the  drawing,  which  formed  the  cover — I  immediately  called 
him  up  to  explain  this  matter,  which  he  did,  as  I  have  done — at  any  time — neither  he 
nor  I  suspected  that  any  observation  had  occurred  on  the  subject  to  any  one — but  Govr. 
Ogden  said  he  was  extremely  happy  Mr.  Fulton  had  made  that  explanation,  as  he  had 
himself  discovered  that  the  paper  on  which  the  letter  was  written  was  American — 
and  so  it  passed  off — Neither  Mr.  Fulton  nor  I  took  the  trouble  of  seeing  whether  the 
paper  was  or  was  not  American  nor  did  Mr.  Ogden  seem  to  suppose  that  there  was  any 
longer  room  for  suspicion — Mr.  Hopkinson  indeed  in  his  observations  dwelt  for  some 
time  on  the  great  importance  it  was  to  Mr.  Fulton  to  prove  that  letter  on  some  future 
occasion  by  having  recourse  to  Lord  Stanhope  himself — but  his  observations  on  any 
thing  appeared  so  acrimonious,  that  I  really  attached  no  importance  to  them  on  this 
point  and  omitted  noticing  them  in  my  reply — partly  because  I  was  certain  that  no  dis- 
interested person  present  entertained  the  least  suspicion  of  Mr.  Fulton.  I  should,  how- 
ever, have  recollected  that  there  were  at  least  two  persons  there  (one  of  them  Mr.  Roose- 
veldt's  agent)  who  would  scruple  at  no  misrepresentation  or  falsehood  to  blast  Mr. 
Fulton's  character. 

1  am,  sir,  with  much  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

The  following  is  to  Judge  Yates  bearing  also  on  Fulton's  difficulties : 

New  York,  August  16th,  1817. 

Judge  Yates, 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  postponed  informing  you  that  judgment  has  been  entered  for  you  against 
the  Executors  of  Fulton,  in  the  hope  that  I  could  accompany  the  letter  with  some  pro- 
posals of  arrangement  as  to  the  mode  and  time  of  payment. 

It  has,  however,  so  happened  either  this  misfortune  or  the  multiplicity  of  Mr.  Cut- 
ting's business  or  of  mine,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  converse  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject. I  cannot  therefore  longer  delay  giving  you  the  information  you  are  entitled  to, 
and  asking  you  for  your  further  instructions. 

If  you  chose  to  empower  Mr.  Morris  or  me,  I  think  we  should  have  no  difficulty 
in  making  you  safe  as  to  ultimate  payment,  and  the  gradual  extinction  of  the  debt  by 
getting  an  assignment  of  a  competent  number  of  shares  of  the  North  River  Company, 
as  a  security,  with  the  right  to  appropriate  the  dividends  to  extinguishing  the  interest 
and  lessen  the  principal  of  the  debt.  I  suggest  this  because  I  know  other  creditors  to 
a  large  amount  have  done  it,  and  because  I  am  convinced  that  sales  forced  at  present 
would  be  attended  with  immense  sacrifice,  and  if  in  any  considerable  number  would 
bring  about  the  ruin  of  the  estate.    When  I  talk  of  sales,  you  will  perceive  that  under 


Mr.  Campbell  White 


431 


an  Execution  it  could  not  be  of  stock,  which  is  a  choice  in  action,  but  of  the  boats,  &c, 
and  the  adjustment  of  a  Purchaser's  right  under  such  a  sale  of  partnership  property 
would  probably  lead  to  a  very  anxious  chancery  suit. 

I,  however,  submit  all  these  things  to  your  consideration  and  shall  await  your  an- 
swer. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  letter  without  expressing  Mrs.  Emmet's  and  my  very  great 
obligations  to  Mrs.  Yates  and  yourself  for  your  very  friendly  attention  and  kind  hos- 
pitality to  my  daughter  during  her  stay  at  Schenectady.  She  speaks  of  her  reception 
in  terms  of  the  utmost  gratitude. 

Believe  me,  Dear  Sir,  very  sincerely  and  respectfully  your  obedient  and  Humble 
Servant, 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

Honble.  Judge  Yates, 
&c,  &c,  &c, 
Albany. 

The  amount  for  which  Mr.  Cutting  has  given  a  cognovit  is  $4,354.6,  being  the  sum 
due  with  interest  until  August  8th.  We  have  enclosed  the  statement  upon  which  the 
calculation  was  made  for  Judge  Yates'  inspection. 

Emmet  &  White. 

Mr.  Campbell  P.  White  at  this  time  and  until  Mr.  Emmet's  death  was 
associated  with  him  in  the  practice  of  the  profession,  taking  charge  more  par- 
ticularly of  the  office  practice. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  letters  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  to  different 
members  of  his  family,  all  those  which  have  been  found  written  about  this 
period  were  of  a  strictly  business  character.  The  following  letter  is  one  of 
interest,  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  to  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  who  was  then 
about  to  be  married  to  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Le  Roy,  and  it  was  written  from  Albany 
while  Mr.  Emmet  was  attending  the  sitting  of  the  State  courts : 

Albany,  February  12th,  1818. 

My  Dear  Elizabeth, 

Your  letter  was  an  unexpected  favor,  for  which  I  am  the  more  indebted  to  you,  as  I 
had  released  you  from  all  necessity  of  writing  from  any  other  impulse  than  affection,  I 
supposed  your  head  would  be  occupied  with  the  bustle  of  company  to  which,  even  if  you 
were  an  unwilling  partaker  of  its  amusements,  you  must  at  present  lend  yourself.  I 
take  for  granted  your  heart  was  occupied  with  something  more  infinitely  preferable  but 
which  for  the  present  at  least,  if  it  did  not  exclude  me,  would  make  my  conge  acceptable. 
Gratifying  as  it  always  is  to  receive  assurances  of  your  love,  they  are  particularly  valu- 
able, when  my  mind  is  constantly  dwelling  on  your  fate  and  prospects,  and  they  in  some 
measure  repay  the  hopes  and  wishes  that  are  the  companions  of  my  pillow,  that  close 
my  eyes  with  prayer  and  open  them  again  to  happy  expectations. 

I  read  with  all  of  a  father's  feeling  the  vague  acknowledgement,  to  which,  however, 
I  attach  an  individual  meaning,  that  there  is  not  a  member  of  the  family,  you  would 
wish  different  from  what  they  are.  If  I  understand  you  correctly,  my  dearest  girl,  you 
are  fortunate  indeed.  The  respectability  and  amiableness  of  the  family  are  as  well 
known  as  their  wealth,  and  about  that  most  important  and  momentous  concern  to  a 
young  woman,  the  character  and  disposition  of  her  husband's  connections  I  felt  always 
easy.  My  own  abstraction  from  mixed  or  fashionable  society,  difference  of  age  and 
pursuits,  and  my  quick  departure  from  New  York  left  me  little  or  no  opportunity  of 
forming  a  sufficient  judgement  on  the  all  important  point,  infinitely  more  momentous  than 
the  character  and  dispositions  of  his  connections. 


432 


Fortune  an  Idol 


Most  willingly,  however,  I  rely  on  your  Mother's  opinion  and  yours.  I  believe  this 
is  the  first  letter  I  ever  wrote  you,  and  it  is  possible  the  last  I  shall  ever  write  you  by 
your  present  name.  Which  would  you  prefer,  having  it  filled  with  the  trifling  topics 
of  ordinary  correspondence  or  with  the  more  serious  effusions  of  my  mind  on  your  in- 
tended change  of  condition?  I  know  you  too  well  not  to  anticipate  your  answer,  par- 
ticularly as  reading  a  letter  will  not  produce  the  same  embarrassment  and  awkwardness 
that  perhaps  a  conversational  lecture  would  do. 

When  I  used  to  consider  your  disposition,  talents,  and  acquirements,  and  I  will 
now,  without  flattery  say  your  merits,  and  looked  around  upon  the  young  men  within 
the  circle  of  my  acquaintance,  I  confess  I  have  often  reflected  with  solicitude  on  your 
future  destiny  and  feared  that  the  heart  which  found  no  congenial  breast  to  rest  upon, 
might  make  for  itself  an  idol  of  happiness  in  future  that  would  open  the  way  to 
grandeur  and  fashion.  But  fortune  is  only  an  Idol,  and  not  the  true  god  of  happiness. 
The  regions  of  grandeur  and  fashion  are  not  the  biding  places  of  the  blessed,  and  the 
heart  that  devotes  itself  to  this  false  worship  never  feels  satisfied,  and  is  too  often 
grievously  disappointed.  Opulence  that  secures  the  conveniences  and  comforts,  and  a 
proper  share  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  may  be  a  desirable  sweetener  of  the  wedded  state, 
and  it  naturally  recommends  and  fixes  attention  upon  the  other  merits  of  its  possessor. 
But  I  fervently  hope  that,  now  you  have  become  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  Le  Roy, 
whatever  he  may  possess  or  expect  of  wealth,  is  in  your  eyes  by  far  his  slightest  recom- 
mendation. It  is  that  hope  and  belief  which  make  me  rejoice  to  think  your  fate  is  fixed, 
and  with  these  views  you  will  feel  no  disappointment  or  dissatisfaction  at  commencing 
the  world,  as  you  both  ought  to  do,  without  pretensions,  and  on  a  prudent  scale,  that  may 
probably  be  enlarged  by  time  and  industry.  His  father,  1  believe,  thinks  too  correctly, 
not  to  put  him  upon  acquiring  pursuits  and  habits  of  business,  even  if  he  had  the  means 
of  increasing  his  possessions  ten  fold.  He  knows  that  occupation  is  necessary  to  the 
permanent  enjoyment  of  life,  and  that  the  man  who  is  not  forced  to  it  by  necessity, 
should  resort  to  it  from  policy.  Without  it,  the  best  thing  he  can  become,  is  being 
worthless,  but  few  stop  there.  The  mind,  hunting  after  its  natural  aliment,  employment, 
supplies  the  want  of  it  by  intemperance,  dissipation,  and  vice. 

I  hope,  therefore,  for  your  sake,  as  well  as  his  own,  that  he  will  be  a  hard  working 
man  for  years,  at  least  until  time  and  experience  shall  have  given  stability  to  his  char- 
acter. But  even  if  it  were  otherwise,  and  that  he  immediately  made  you  mistress  of  all 
the  means  of  living  in  splendor,  I  hope  you  would  not  slight  the  graybeard's  advice,  to 
indulge  it  but  sparingly.  The  woman  who  can  afford  extravagance  and  expense,  but  de- 
clines them  and  prefers  more  moderate  appearances,  is  almost  always  estimable  and  es- 
teemed. But  she  who  flaunts  in  the  sunshine  of  her  wealth,  excites  the  approbation  of 
no  one's  head  or  heart  and  if  the  vicissitudes  of  this  life  afflict  her  with  a  reverse,  she 
seldom  experiences  the  consolation  of  sympathy.  The  highest  praise  that,  possibly 
venal  writers  could  give  to  the  Princess  Charlotte,  of  England,  was  that  having  at  her 
command  the  splendor  of  a  Royal  Court,  she  preferred  the  moderate  sphere  of  private 
life.  As  to  her,  perhaps,  it  is  a  fabrication,  but  the  framers  of  the  panegyric  knew  what 
was  calculated  to  conciliate  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  world.  You  seem  peculiarly 
pleased  with  and  fortunate  in  Mr.  Le  Roy's  connections,  and  their  amiable  dispositions 
will  make  your  duty  more  easy  and  pleasant.  Cultivate  them,  not  for  interest,  but  for 
affection.  Much  as  a  man  may  love  his  wife,  her  person,  her  talents,  her  disposition 
or  accomplishments  he  will  love  her  a  thousand  times  more  if  she  loves  and  is  beloved 
by  his  family.  And  if  she  should  excite  coolness,  or  dissension  between  them,  her  ut- 
most merits  would  scarcely  compensate  for  the  loss  she  has  caused  to  him.  His  sisters, 
I  dare  say,  are  perfectly  amiable,  and  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  becoming  strongly 
attached  to  them.  But  even  if  it  were  otherwise,  you  must  shut  your  eyes  against  those 
things,  which,  if  seen,  might  have  a  tendency  to  alienate  you  from  them  and  the  same 
to  all  his  relations,  but  above  all,  love  and  make  yourself  most  dearly  beloved  by  his 
father  and  mother,  omit  nothing  that  duty,  tenderness  and  affection  can  do  to  make 


To  Elizabeth  Emmet 


433 


yourself  acceptable  to  them.  Study  them  well  and  if  they  have  peculiarities  respect  and 
gratify  them. 

To  this  day  I  remember  I  never  loved  your  Mother  so  much,  or  looked  at  her  with 
so  much  delight,  as  when  I  saw  from  my  father's  and  mother's  actions  that  they  cherished 
her  as  their  own  daughter,  and  I  dare  say  Robert  [his  eldest  son]  has  frequently  ex- 
perienced the  same  feeling.  My  Dearest  Child  you  will  think  I  have  preached  to  you  a 
most  unconscionable  sermon,  but  I  could  easily  have  written  you  a  shorter  and  a  more 
pleasant,  or  at  least  a  more  sprightly  letter. 

Perhaps,  however,  even  the  prosing  of  this  may  have  some  charms,  for  it  will  show 
you  how  much  your  interest  and  happiness  occupy  the  thoughts  and  possess  the  heart 
of 

Your  most  affectionate  father, 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet, 

18,  Courtland  Street, 
New  York. 


Evidence  stronger  than  parliaments  and  charters,  evidence  ivritten  in  the  tears  and 
blood  of  the  natives,  exhibits  Ireland,  from  the  invasion  of  Henry,  in  all  the  horrors 
of  provincial  servitude  as  the  pure  acquisition  of  conquest  begun,  and  to  be  completed 
and  retained  by  the  sword. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


From  that  period  [the  capitulation  of  Limerick]  an  end  seemed  to  be  put  to  the  desolation 
of  the  siuord.  The  slower  but  not  less  certain  and  more  consuming  desolation  of 
the  latv  remained. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXVII 

Mr.  Emmet  writes  to  his  daughter  after  her  marriage — Letter  to  Mr.  Sampson  on 
legal  matters — Notice  of  Mr.  Duponceau — Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  John  Patten — His  re- 
markable mechanical  skill — Social  life  of  the  Emmet  family — Various  places  of  residence 
— Home  life — First  break  in  the  family  circle — "An  Evening  at  Home" — Mr.  Emmet 
anxious  that  his  family  should  fulfill  all  their  social  obligations,  but  himself  participated 
but  seldom. 

HORTLY  after  his  daughter's  marriage  to  Mr.  Le  Roy, 
Mr.  Emmet  again  wrote  her : 

Albany,  January  27th,  1820. 

My  Dear  Elizabeth  : 

A  few  days  ago  I  received  your  letter,  which  considering  the 
gaieties  of  the  bridal  winter  was  an  unexpected  pleasure,  and  there- 
fore your  previous  silence  had  called  forth  no  side  rebukes,  but 
it  being  unexpected  only  rendered  it  the  more  agreeable.  I  per- 
ceive Jeannette  [afterwards  Mrs.  McEvers]  is  fairly  entering  the 
lists  of  fashion,  and  your  mother's  anxieties  only  transferred,  the  last  effort  of  them  I 
suppose  has  exhausted  her,  as  I  have  not  heard  from  her  since.  By  every  account  I  per- 
ceive that  your  die  and  Le  Roys  is  nearly  cast  for  Gennessee,  and  to  tell  you  the  truth 
it  seems  to  me  much  more  advisable  and  judicious  than  the  contemplated  settlement  on 
the  North  River,  and  if  the  advantages  are  otherwise  equal,  more  eligible  than  that  on 
the  St.  Lawrence. 

New  York  I  consider  out  of  the  question,  however  personally  agreeable  it  might 
be  to  us  both  for  the  present,  but  Le  Roy's  residence  there  implies  a  continuance  of 
commercial  pursuits  and  alas  I  have  seen  so  many  noble  fortunes,  within  these  few 
years,  swallowed  up  in  the  quicksands  of  trade  and  speculation,  that  his  continuance  in 
that  line  would  a  subject  of  very  constant  anxiety  to  me.  The  utmost  his  father's  bounty 
or  affection  could  give  him  might  easily  disappear  in  the  misfortunes  of  a  single  year, 
and  by  accident,  like  the  fire  at  Savannah,  or  the  shipwreck  on  Long  Island,  over  which 
he  could  not  have  the  slightest  control.  In  the  country  good  habits,  attention,  perse- 
verance and  proper  economy  will  without  difficulty  realize  a  splendid  provision  for  him- 
self, and  his  family  out  of  what  he  can  now  command.  The  dictates  of  prudence  then 
are  obvious;  but  there  are  feelings  that  plead  against  them,  and  which  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  are  strongly  implanted  in  your  breast,  about  which  your  husband  may  be  deli- 
cate in  expressing  himself  for  fear  his  urgency  should  seem  like  indifference  to  sources 
of  your  happiness  and  on  which  no  one  can  speak  to  you  more  properly  than  your 
father,  who  participates  in  them ;  but  whose  experience  in  life  teaches  him  that  they 
ought  to  be  combated  and  subdued.  Your  removal  to  the  country  will  separate  you 
from  your  family  and  friends  and  remove  you  from  the  society  which  your  acquirements 
qualify  you  to  ornament  and  enjoy.    It  is  a  sacrifice,  but  it  is  only  a  sacrifice  of  short 

434 


Pleasures  of  Country  Life 


435 


and  perhaps  very  transitory  gratifications,  to  secure  others,  which  the  course  of  events 
renders  much  more  likely  to  be  permanent  and  which  acquire  strength  and  intensity,  as 
our  new  connections  excite  our  interest  in  Posterity.  The  ordinances  of  Nature  do  not 
permit  that  the  affections  of  our  childhood  should  be  powerful  motives  for  our  conduct 
in  more  advanced  life.  It  gives  birth  to  new  affections  which  supplant  the  old  ones  and 
raises  up  new  objects  of  love,  the  hope  of  whose  welfare  and  prosperity  is  the  para- 
mount principle  of  action.  You  have  not  yet  felt  this  to  its  full  extent,  but  you  will 
act  wisely  if  you  act  in  the  hope  and  expectation  that  all  those  new  affections  will  acquire 
their  influence  over  you  and  what  you  may  now  regard  as  privations,  will  then  be 
sources  of  permanent  gratification.  The  removal  from  such  society  as  you  have  been 
accustomed  to,  will  at  first  require  an  exertion  of  your  good  sense  and  fortitude,  but 
the  void  will  be  speedily  filled  up  by  the  duties  of  perhaps  increasing  occupations  of 
domestic  life,  and  by  the  attention  to  these  accomplishments  which  you  acquired  with  a 
view  to  society,  but  which  are  much  more  precious  in  retirement. 

They  will  indeed  be  secondary,  but,  perhaps  there  may  be  leisure  from  family  ar- 
rangements, how  delightful  will  it  be  to  fly  to  reading,  music  and  painting,  and  to  feel 
that  you  are  above  the  necessity  of  society.  Don't  disregard  them  because  you  will 
have  no  motive  for  exhibiting  them ;  you  will,  in  the  pleasure  they  will  afford  yourself 
and  the  gratification  and  amusement  to  your  husband  in  his  hours  of  relaxation. 

A  country  life  is  never  tiresome  but  when  the  cultivation  of  the  mind  is  neglected. 
When  that  is  attended  to  in  the  intervals  of  employment,  such  a  life  is  the  source  of 
the  purest  and  most  lasting  pleasures.  If  the  scurvy  notion  of  double  postage  had  not 
occurred  to  me,  I  should  have  given  you  another  sheet  in  what  ought  to  be  your  domes- 
tic conduct,  style  of  living,  &c,  with  a  very  impressive  exhortation  against  useless  show 
and  extravagant  living  in  a  new  country.  But  I  much  doubt  whether  you  would  think 
it  worth  eighteen  and  a  half  cents.  So  give  my  love  to  Le  Roy,  accept  my  prayers  for 
both  of  you.    Remember  me  to  all  and  believe  me  ever  your  most  affectionate  father, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Le  Roy, 

At  Mr.  Emmet's,  Pine  Street,  New  York. 

Mr.  Emmet  to  Mr.  Sampson 
[From  the  Crimmins  Collection] 

Albany,  Jany.  25th,  1820. 

Dear  Sampson: 

I  have  just  procured  the  enclosed  copy  of  the  Chancellor's  opinion  in  our  Partition 
Cause.  B.  [Beverly]  Robinson  can  furnish  you  with  the  Decree — and  I  would  advise 
you  to  send  both  on  to  Mr.  Duponceau* — and  let  the  points  and  circumstances  be  well 
considered  on  which  it  might  be  thought  advisable  to  appeal  or  seek  for  a  rehearing — 
On  the  facts  as  they  stand  at  present  (whatever  suspicions  he  may  have)  I  do  not  be- 
lieve you  would  shake  the  Chancellor — the  lapse  of  time  weighs  much  with  him — I 
think  it  very  possible,  however,  that  he  might  so  far  modify  his  Decree  as  that  it  should 
not  operate  to  prevent  our  filing  a  bill  to  enforce  the  trust — farther  I  do  not  think  he 
would  go  in  our  behalf — But  then  how  would  you  stand?  If  they  in  answering  or  plead- 
ing could  allege  on  oath  that  the  consideration  money  was  bona  fide  paid,  and  that 
Dr.  Redman  [of  Philadelphia]  bought  the  property  in  ignorance  of  the  trust,  unless  we 
could  disprove  their  position,  we  should  be  brought  to  a  dead  stand. 

Can  we  venture  to  prove  their  consciences?  Dan'l  Coxe  [of  Philadelphia]  is  still 
alive — if  he  did  not  answer — we  would  take  the  bill  pro  confesso,  so  far  as  relates  to 

*Mr.  Duponceau  was  a  French  officer  who  served  during  the  Revolution,  and  afterwards  became 
naturalized  and  a  lawyer.  For  many  years  after  he  was  Chief  Secretary  of  State  before  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  was  adopted  and  while  the  government  of  the  Federation  was  located  in 
Philadelphia.  At  the  time  this  letter  was  written  he  was  acing  as  the  secretary  of  Chancellor  Robert  R. 
Livingston.  Dr.  Redman  was  a  noted  physician  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Sampson,  to  whom  Mr.  Emmet 
writes,  was  an  intimate  friend,  having  been  connected  with  the  Irish  Rebellion  of  1798. 


436 


Goodwin  Trial 


him,  but  how  far  is  that  under  Dr.  Redman's  will — Can  we  entertain  a  doubt  but  that 
he  would  go  thro'  with  the  transaction  and  swear  that  Redman  purchased  without  notice? 
Dr.  John  Redman  Coxe  [of  Philadelphia]  is  the  only  other  party  likely  to  know  any- 
thing— Is  he  old  enough  to  have  acquired  actual  knowledge  of  the  transaction — and 
how  far  might  he  be  resorted  to  with  safety?  Is  it  possible  for  us  to  collect  any  addi- 
tional circumstantial  testimony  in  our  favour?  As  the  Smiths  are  entirely  out  of  this 
part  of  the  controversy,  they  could  be  witnesses  in  such  a  suit — Is  there  anything  within 
their  knowledge  or  that  could  be  proved  by  the  papers  they  possess  to  shew  Dr.  Redman's 
knowledge  of  the  trust?  I  throw  these  matters  out  for  yours  and  Mr.  Duponceau's 
consideration — more  particularly  as  my  mind  and  time  are  just  now  so  much  occupied 
with  our  business  here  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  sit  down  seriously,  and 
institute  any  enquiry  on  the  subject — But  observe,  nothing  can  now  be  done  by  side- 
wind applications  to  the  Chancellor — he  has  delivered  his  Decree  and  pronounced  his 
reasons — and  indeed  did  both  before  I  received  your  answer  to  my  first  letter — What- 
ever we  mean  to  do  must  now  be  deliberately  concerted  and  formally  done.  If  we 
should  apply  for  a  rehearing  (from  which  I  should  not  hope  for  much,  unless  you 
and  Mr.  Duponceau  can  collect  and  place  all  the  circumstantial  evidence  of  knowledge 
of  the  trust  by  Dr.  Redman,  in  a  more  striking  point  of  view  than  it  has  ever  yet  been 
exhibited)  we  shall  be  time  enough  if  prepared  for  that  when  the  Chancellor  comes 
down  in  June  (I  think).  If  we  appeal  it  [will]  not  be  possible  to  have 
our  appeal  heard  this  year.  Therefore  we  shall  have  full  time  for  prepara- 
tion— if  we  decide  to  file  a  new  Bill,  we  must  apply  to  the  Chancellor  by  Petition,  so 
to  modify  his  decree  as  to  give  us  that  liberty — that  should  be  done  speedily — and  I 
rather  imagine  he  has  kept  his  Decree  in  fieri  and  under  his  control  and  that  he  has 
done  so  in  the  expectation  that  we  might  possibly  wish  to  make  some  such  application. — 
But  in  giving  you  this  advice  I  must  remember  that  I  am  Counsel  for  the  Smiths — and 
impress  upon  you  that  your  proceedings  need  not  and  ought  not  to  delay  the  asking 
of  the  Partition.  Which  ever  Branch  of  the  Coxes  may  be  entitled  to  the  5/16ths  in 
question,  the  Estate  must  be  divided  into  3  Parts  and  2/3rds  into  16th  parts.  While  the 
question  is  discussing  whether  those  5/16ths  of  2/3rds  should  be  held  by  those  having 
the  legal  Estate,  charged  with,  or  discharged  from  a  trust — there  can  be  no  inconvenience 
in  apportioning  out  the  property  according  to  those  shares,  in  usutn  jus  habentis.  Good 
bye,  I  am  writing  in  a  great  hurry,  and  probably  very  incorrectly — but  I  am, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Wiuiam  Sampson,  Esq., 

Counsellor  at  Law, 

Fulton  Street,  New  York. 

Endorsement— "25  Jany.,  1820— Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Albany— enclosing  Chancellor's 
opinion.   Answered  by  anticipation". 

At  the  trial  of  Robert  M.  Goodwin  for  killing  James  Stoughton  in  New 
York  during  the  winter  of  1818  Mr.  Emmet  delivered  the  argument  on  an 
indictment  of  manslaughter.  The  trial  took  place  at  the  Court  of  General 
Sessions  of  the  Place,  held  in  and  for  the  body  of  the  City  and  County  of 
New  York  in  February,  1820.  (See  Sampson's  Reports.)  The  writer  has  a 
full  report  of  this  trial  as  made  by  Mr.  Sampson  and  published  in  book  form. 
For  a  copy  of  Mr.  Emmet's  argument,  see  Appendix,  Note  XIX. 

Very  few  letters  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  to  his  friends  in  Ireland  have  been 
found,  and  only  an  occasional  rought  draft  seems  to  have  been  preserved. 
The  following,  however,  is  of  the  greatest  interest,  as  in  it  Mr.  Emmet  not 
only  gives  a  very  clear  statement  of  his  own  prospects,  but  also  a  graphic  pic- 


Letter  to  John  Patten 


437 


ture  of  each  member  of  his  family.  It  is  written  to  his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
John  Patten,  who  was  then  residing  in  Dublin. 

New  York,  July  29th,  1820. 

My  Dear  John, 

It  is  so  long  since  you  have  heard  from  me,  and  so  very  long  since  you  have  written 
to  me,  that  you  will  probably  be  somewhat  surprised  at  the  receipt  of  this  letter.  But 
I  am  extremely  unwilling  that  any  indolence  or  punctiliousness  should  stop  our  inter- 
course. Your  sister  cannot  but  be  very  desirous  to  hear  of  you  and  from  you,  although 
she  has  for  many  years  totally  given  up  all  letter  writing;  and  if  you  can  judge  me 
rightly,  you  will  be  convinced  that  no  one  can  take  a  warmer  interest  in  your  welfare 
than  I  do.  I  then  commence  a  new  score  with  you,  in  the  hope  that  if  you  will  not 
pay  off  your  old  epistolary  arrears,  you  will  at  least  not  contract  new  debts  of  that 
nature. 

Do,  then,  write  us  all  you  can  about  yourself,  and  as  much  as  you  please  about  the 
other  members  of  the  family.  As  to  my  own  affairs  in  Ireland,  I  confess  I  am  very 
anxious  to  see  the  state  of  them  clearly.  The  practice  of  my  profession  has  enabled 
me  to  live  genteelly  and  respectably,  and  to  educate  my  children,  so  far;  but  as  to  ac- 
cumulating property  for  them,  every  effort  of  that  kind  on  my  part  has  been,  I  fear, 
frustrated  for  ever  by  the  dreadful  depreciation  of  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  this 
city;  and  I  tremble  to  think  of  the  situation  in  which  they  would  be  placed  if  any  acci- 
dent were  to  happen  to  me,  of  which,  thank  God,  there  is  no  present  appearance. 

But  this  unfortunate  change  in  the  value  of  what  I  hoped  would  have  contributed 
something  not  inconsiderable  to  their  support  hereafter,  makes  me  more  desirous  to 
ascertain  exactly  what  is  the  situation  of  whatever  I  might  look  to  in  Ireland,  and  what 
even  might  come  against  it.  I  owe  a  large  sum  to  the  people  in  Wexford,  which  has 
given  me  great  uneasiness,  and  it  is  one  of  the  things  nearest  my  heart  to  have  it  paid 
off  with  the  least  possible  delay;  and  I  am  also  indebted  to  Kitty  [his  niece,  Temple's 
daughter]  some  interest  money,  of  which,  I  am  sure,  she  must  want  at  least  a  part.  If 
you  could  let  her  have  something  out  of  the  rents  it  would  gratify  me  exceedingly. 
Furnish  me  a  statement  both  of  the  rents  and  of  your  sister's  fortune,  if  any  of  it 
remains. 

You  will  be  desirous  of  knowing  something  of  our  family  and  fireside.  Your  sister 
has  had  many  years  of  delicate  health  and  nervous  spells  and  anxious  hours,  but  I  am 
happy  to  think  she  is  not  getting  worse  and  on  the  whole  is,  I  think,  improving. 

Robert  is  married,  lives  in  the  house  with  us,  and  has  two  lovely  boys.  He  is  settled 
in  the  law,  and  would  have  a  very  good  practice  if  the  profession  could  at  present  be 
said  to  afford  any.  Tom  is  also  a  lawyer,  and  lives  with  me,  though  his  office  is  dif- 
ferent. As  he  is  a  bachelor  and  with  few  expenses,  he  pays  his  way,  and  will,  I  think, 
do  better. 

Elizabeth  is  married  to  Mr.  Le  Roy,  and  in  every  sense  of  the  word  well.  She  has 
got  a  fine  fellow  in  mind  and  disposition,  one  of  the  handsomest  young  men  in  the  city, 
and  perhaps  the  most  respectably  connected  in  it,  with  every  prospect  of  wealth  and 
happiness,  but  she  is  going  to  settle  nearly  four  hundred  miles  from  us. 

Temple  is  on  the  ocean  in  the  U.  S.  Ship  Columbus  and  at  present  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean. From  his  roving  life  you  may  one  day  see  him,  and  unless  he  should  materially 
change,  I  am  sure  you  will  like  him. 

The  rest  of  the  family  is  still  on  my  hands.  John,  after  spending  a  year  in  Italy 
for  his  health,  is  returned  home,  and  with  a  constitution  I  hope  improved  and  confirmed. 
He  is  studying  physic,  and  has  made  no  inconsiderable  progress  in  chemistry.  He  is  very 
highly  thought  of  by  those  who  know  him,  and  from  the  nature  of  his  pursuits  and 
occupations,  and  his  manner  of  following  them,  very  frequently  reminds  his  mother  of 
you. 

The  others  are  fine,  valuable  and  good  children,  but  neither  settled  nor  as  far  as  I 
can  see  on  the  high  road  to  it.    The  girls  are  accomplished  and  well  informed,  and  as 


438 


Emmet  Residences 


they  would  adorn,  so  I  hope  they  will  be  happy  in  any  situation.  Your  sister  joins  in 
warmest  love  to  you.    Believe  me,  dear  John,  most  affectionately  yours, 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  said  to  possess  great  natural  mechanical  skill  together  with 
the  art  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  detail.  The  planning  of  a  house  with 
every  convenience,  and  supervising  its  construction,  was  a  most  congenial 
occupation  to  him.  His  eldest  son  Robert,  in  writing  (December  17th,  1821), 
to  his  sister  Mrs.  Le  Roy,  who  lived  in  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.,  refers  to  this 
talent  possessed  by  his  father.  Some  members  of  the  family  had  been  on  a 
visit  to  Mrs.  Le  Roy  and  Robert  writes : 

We  have  been  entertained  since  their  arrival  with  minute  accounts  of  everything 
relating  to  St.  Lawrence  Co :,  more  particularly  Potsdam,  and  still  more  particularly 
your  own  establishment.  Papa,  I'll  venture  to  say,  knows  the  arrangement  of  your 
house  and  the  geography  of  the  farm,  as  well  as  you  do.  He  has  a  peculiar  happy 
knack  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  construction  of  houses  from  description,  and 
you  may  suppose  he  never  rested  until  he  learned  the  length,  breadth  and  height  of 
every  room,  closet  and  entry  in  yours. 

The  summer  residence  of  the  Emmet  family  was  situated  on  the  old  Middle 
Road,  at  about  what  is  now  West  Fifty-fourth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue.  This 
was  a  country  road  running  up  to  Harlem  and  branching  from  the  Blooming- 
dale  Road  at  or  near  the  present  junction  of  Twenty-second  Street  and  Broad- 
way; higher  up,  above  Forty-second  Street,  the  Boston  Post  Road  passed  off 
from  it  in  the  direction  of  the  East  River.  The  road  in  front  of  the  house 
corresponded  to  a  portion  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  the  grounds  to  the  late  site  of 
St.  Luke's  Hospital  and  the  present  Harvard  clubhouse.  The  house  itself 
stood  on  the  north  side  of  Fifty-fourth  Street,  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
present  sidewalk  of  the  avenue.  Years  afterwards,  when  the  city  authorities 
were  opening  Fifty-fourth  Street,  the  house,  which  projected  somewhat  on 
the  line,  was  set  afire  by  careless  blasting  and  destroyed. 

For  a  long  period  the  family  resided  during  the  winter  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Pine  and  Nassau  Streets,  where  they  occupied  two  adjoining 
houses,  the  lower  story  of  the  inside  one  being  used  for  the  law  offices  of 
Mr.  Emmet  and  his  sons.  These  two  houses,  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,* 
on  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Wall  Streets,  and  its  churchyard  occupied  the 
entire  side  of  the  block  from  Wall  Street  to  Pine. 

The  family  subsequently  lived  in  John,  Fair,  Warren,  Cortlandt,  White, 
Hudson  and  at  No.  30  Beach  Street,  on  St.  John's  Square,  where  Mr.  T.  A. 
Emmet  subsequently  died.  But  the  place  on  the  Middle  Road  was  the  head- 
quarters where  the  family  frequently  remained  throughout  the  year  and  where 
the  sons  and  daughters  grew  up.  The  recollection  of  this  place  was  associated 
throughout  life  in  the  mind  of  every  member  of  the  household  with  the  dearest 
remembrance  of  a  period  which  constituted  the  happiest  portion  of  their  lives. 
Every  member  of  the  family  was  accomplished.    All  had  the  brightest  dis- 

*This  church  was  afterwards  moved  up  to  Eighth  Street,  opposite  Lafayette  Place,  and  was  for 
years  St.  Ann's  Catholic  Church  (now  in  East  Twelfth  Street),  becoming  subsequently  in  turn  an 
Episcopal  church,  a  synagogue,  and  a  German  theatre.  It  was  purchased  by  Stewart  for  his  carpet 
annex  and  finally  removed  for  Wanamaker's  new  building. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


MRS.  JANE  PATTEN  EMMET 
From  an  oil  portrait  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet,  [Mrs.  Win.  H.  Le  Roy]  while  a  pupil 

of  Robert  Fulton 


"An  Evening  at  Home" 


439 


positions,  with  an  endless  store  of  wit,  which  naturally  attracted  kindred  spirits 
about  them  to  add  to  the  common  stock  of  fun  and  frolic.  The  first  break  in 
this  most  united  family  was  made,  in  1819,  by  the  marriage  of  Elizabeth  to 
Mr.  Wm.  H.  Le  Roy,  who  settled  on  a  large  stock  farm  near  Potsdam,  St. 
Lawrence  County,  N.  Y.* 

The  final  separation  and  breaking  up  of  the  family  circle,  however,  did 
not  take  place  until  Dr.  John  P.  Emmet,  the  father  of  the  writer,  left  for 
Charleston,  S.  C,  to  begin  the  practice  of  medicine.  It  is  true  that  some  of 
the  old  spirit  was  still  kept  alive  until  after  the  marriage  of  Jane,  or  Jeannette 
as  she  was  called  in  early  life,  to  Bache  McEvers,  but  it  was  only  a  shadow 
of  the  past. 

The  pen-drawing  made  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Emmet  in  1818  of  "An  Evening  at 
Home",  and  which  is  here  reproduced,  is  a  faithful  but  grotesque  representa- 
tion of  the  family  assembled  in  the  parlor  of  the  old  house  on  the  Middle 
Road.  And  while  it  is  executed  in  his  usual  spirit  of  caricature,  the  likenesses 
have  been  sufficiently  preserved  to  render  it  easy  to  identify  each  individual. 

It  is  of  particular  interest  as  showing  Mr.  Emmet  passing  a  free  evening 
with  his  family.  It  shows  him  as  one  of  a  special  group  consisting  of  his 
wife,  with  her  basket  of  stockings  to  be  darned,  showing  that  it  was  probably 
Saturday  night,  and  the  younger  children,  while  by  his  interest  in  all  the  fun 
going  on  the  father  seems  the  youngest  of  the  party.  Webb,  in  his  sketch, 
states : 

Mr.  Emmet  was  six  feet  tall  and  stooped  somewhat;  his  face  wore  a  sedate,  calm 
look;  he  was  near-sighted  and  used  an  eye-glass  frequently.  Pleasant  and  playful  in 
his  family  circle,  abroad  he  was  courteous  and  polished,  dignified  and  self-respecting, 
without  anything  approaching  to  arrogance  or  self-sufficiency. 

We  have  reached  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  family  when  its  different 
members  begin  to  scatter  from  the  homestead,  the  sisters  to  marry  and  the 
brothers  to  start  in  life  for  themselves.  A  more  united  family  than  this  one 
could  not  be  conceived  and  as  only  one  break  has  yet  taken  place,  it  would 
be  most  fitting  to  give  an  insight  into  their  life  as  pictured  by  themselves  in 
their  letters  to  their  absent  sister,  Mrs.  Le  Roy. 

These  letters  will  be  presented  chronologically  and  they  are  given  as  the 
reflection  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life.  The  first  letter  is  from  Mr.  Robert  Emmet, 
the  eldest  son,  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Le  Roy : 

New  York,  Aug.  25th,  1821. 

My  Dear  Elizabeth, 

I  had  intended  to  defer  writing  my  first  letter  to  you  for  another  week,  but  the 
pathetic  appeal  which  you  made  to  the  family  in  "Sundry  Episles"  and  which  came  pour- 
ing in  on  us  today  has  induced  me  to  believe  that  you  will  probably  derive  more  cordial 
balm  from  my  letter  now  than  at  a  later  day.  You  must  not  think  of  my  making  such 
a  fuss  about  this  that  it  is  the  only  one  I  mean  to  write  to  you ;  on  the  contrary,  although 
I  know  I  cannot  be  as  frequent  a  correspondent,  as  indeed  any  other  member  of  the 

*The  correspondence  between  Mrs.  T,e  Roy  and  her  family  in  New  Yoik  was  preserved  by  her 
until  a  short  time  before  her  death,  when,  unfortunately,  she  destroyed  a  large  portion  of  it.  The  loss 
of  these  letters  proved  a  serious  one,  as  we  are  almost  entirely  indebted  to  the  contents  of  those 
which  were  preserved  and  passed  into  the  writer's  possession  some  years  ago,  for  our  knowledge  of 
the  domestic  life  of  the  family  during  a  long  period. 


440 


Domestic  Difficulties 


family,  I  intend  to  favor  you  every  now  and  then,  especially  when  I  have  any  grievance 
to  egg  me  on,  and  I  have  taken  it  into  my  head  that  much  comfort  results  from  giving 
vent  to  one's  pangs  on  paper.  Perhaps  it  may  be  some  relief  to  the  lowness  of  spirits, 
of  which  you  complain,  to  learn  that  things  are  sometimes  desperately  uncomfortable  with 
us,  and  that  an  experiment  is  now  making  in  the  house,  the  object  of  which  seems  to 
be,  to  ascertain  at  what  point  in  the  Thermometer  of  comforts  and  discomforts  family 
matters  will  rest  when  nothing  is  attended  to  by  anybody.  This  will  no  doubt  result  in 
a  prodigious  discovery,  like  some  of  the  labor  saving  machines  which  have  been  nibbling 
at  poor  papa's  brains  for  years  past,  but  in  the  mean  time  we  may  rise  unrefreshed  from 
many  a  half  broiled  chicken  and  cup  of  sham  coffee.  Long  habit,  they  say,  reconciles 
us  to  the  worst  evils,  and  I  can  see  thro'  the  vista  of  time  a  sufficiently  long  continuance 
of  the  present  blissful  state  of  domestic  arrangements  to  wean  us  most  effectually  from 
all  preconceived  notions  of  the  "fitness  of  things"  as  applied  to  breakfast,  dinner,  and 
supper,  and  convince  us  of  the  sublime  truth  contained  in  the  distich  "man  wants  but 
little  here  below"  with  the  addition  "nor  cares  he  of  what  kind". 

As  for  mama,  she  has  been  so  long  out  of  the  habit  of  attending  to  anything  in  the 
house  that  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  she  should  take  to  it  "like  a  baby  to  the  breast" 
at  this  time  of  need,  and  I  must  say  that  both  Jane  and  Mary  Ann  betray  the  most  gen- 
teel repugnance  to  those  duties  that  have  now  seriously  devolved  upon  them.  Indeed, 
for  several  days  past  that  unlucky  wight  Barney  has  been  our  Maitre  d'Hotel,  and  like 
Shacabac,  Bluebeard's  Major-domo,  has  been  proportionately  frisky  on  the  strength 
of  his  uncontroverted  superintendence  over  closet  and  pantry.  Fortunately  John  and 
Temple,  to  use  their  own  expression,  have  "wooled  him"  occasionally  or  I  have  no  doubt 
the  boy  would  have  lost  his  senses  from  a  consciousness  of  his  unlimited  power,  for 
truly,  "the  issue  of  hunger  and  thirst"  have  been  in  his  hands.  On  our  return  from 
Long  Branch,  where  we  had  been,  as  Falstaff  says,  "taking  our  ease  in  our  inn",  we 
found  them  all  in  the  delectable  state  of  insensibility  as  to  the  good  things  of  this  life. 
The  scriptures  say — "let  tomorrow  provide  for  itself",  but  they  improve  wonderfully 
upon  this  fear-composing  maxim,  letting  even  the  blessed  day,  whose  sun  was  then 
shining  upon  them,  do  itself  the  same  selfish  service.  Every  tumbler  and  wine  glass  in 
the  house  was  "blear-eyed",  every  knife  and  fork  clothed  in  a  suit  of  rusty  (not  russet) 
brown  and  every  silver  spoon  counterfeited  vile  pewter  for  very  shame,  and  when  our 
necessities  compelled  us  to  invoke  any  of  the  domestics,  they  opened  their  mouths, 
scratched  their  heads  and  almost  cried  "anan",  like  John  Lump  in  the  play. 

You  may  fancy,  my  dear  Elizabeth,  how  bitterly  we  are  forced  to  contrast  those 
halcyon  days  when  you  looked  after  these  matters,  with  the  present  tragic-comic  state  of 
things.  I  must  say  it,  who  should  not,  Rosina  is  now  the  only  chieftain  fit  to  rule  the 
destinies  of  the  kitchen  and  house  closets,  and  it  seems  to  be  the  general  wish  of  the 
household  that  she  should  be  installed  the  President  of  Pantries  and  Chief  Captain  of 
Closets.  Having  as  you  know  a  happy  turn  that  way,  she  has  most  willingly  submitted 
to  have  those  honors  buckled  on  her  back.  You  may  anticipate  something  like  a  reform 
when  I  tell  you  that  the  first  vigorous  measure  of  her  administration  was  causing  all  the 
knives  and  forks  to  be  plunged  up  to  their  handles  in  mother  earth,  to  divest  them  more 
rapidly  and  effectually  of  their  emblematic  incrustations.  I  am  afraid,  however,  that 
Rosina's  salutary  exertions  must  from  her  employment,  be  "like  angels'  visits,  few  and 
far  between",  and  altho'  we  may  occasionally,  by  way  of  a  jubilee,  have  a  cup  of  tea 
made  with  boiling  water  and  a  broiled  chicken  for  breakfast  unornamented  with  parts 
of  its  plumage  dripping  like  feathers  out  of  an  oil  bottle,  we  may  as  well  make  up  our 
minds  to  live  pretty  much  at  sixes  and  sevens.  An  ass  once  quarrelled  with  his  thistle 
for  being  covered  with  dust  which  he  had  kicked  up  himself  and  it  choked  him,  the 
moral,  slender  as  it  is,  may  apply  to  our  case.  You  will  say  I  ought  to  be  in  a  good 
humor  after  venting  my  complaints  so  freely,  and  I  believe  it  has  had  that  effect.  I  feel 
much  relieved  and  if  you  can  read  my  account  of  the  "miseries  of  Rockfield"  [the  name 
of  the  place]  with  as  much  fun  as  I  take  in  describing  them,  the  end  of  my  letter  is  ac- 


Margaret's  Pound  Cake 


441 


complished.  At  the  same  time,  they  present  a  subject  for  serious  lamentations  as  well 
as  joking,  and  if  you  will  rub  the  girls  up  for  their  negligence,  this  doleful  Jeremiad 
will  not  in  another  point  of  view,  have  been  written  in  vain.  I  believe  Rosina  wrote  to 
you  yesterday  and  she  urged  me  most  pathetically  to  do  the  same  and  most  pathetically 
I  may  say  have  I  done  it.  It  would  delight  me  very  much  to  be  able  to  visit  you  before 
the  end  of  the  summer  and  I  am  not  entirely  without  hopes,  but  they  are  slight. 

Remember  me  to  William  and  Margaret  and  kiss  Jane  for  me  among  the  rest.  You 
must  also  present  my  best  respects  (to  say  no  more)  to  Mrs.  Clarkson,  who  I  am  told 
is  as  lovely  as  ever  and  believe  me,  my  dear  Elizabeth,  most  sincerely  and 

affectionately  yours, 

R.  Emmet. 

Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Le  Roy, 

Potsdam,  N.  Y. 


The  next  letter  is  from  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.,  and  is  also  written  to  Mrs. 
Le  Roy  at  Potsdam.  A  very  amusing  account  is  given  here  of  how  their 
brother  John  was  instrumental  in  procuring  an  invitation  for  an  entertainment 
to  which  the  family  had  not  been  invited. 

New  York,  Sept.  15th,  1821. 

My  Dear  Elizabeth  : 

Until  I  learned  it  from  your  last  letter  to  mama  I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that 
you  had  reason  to  complain  at  not  receiving  letters.  On  the  contrary  I  thought  from 
the  number  that  usually  went  in  from  the  country  that,  as  a  farmer's  wife,  you  would 
hardly  have  time  to  read  them.  I  saw  the  girls  writing  so  many  that  I  feared  it  would 
not  hold  out  and  therefore  intended  to  keep  myself  for  the  purpose  of  "snowing  brown", 
and  you  see  it  is  good  foolscap.  Another  reason  for  my  not  writing  sooner  was  that  I 
thought  there  was  nothing  about  which  I  could  write  a  letter  that  would  make  it  accept- 
able as  one  from  any  of  the  girls;  family  concerns  are  almost  the  only  theme  and  of 
these  I  know  but  little.  I  go  to  town  early  (when  I  can  get  breakfast)  and  come  out 
late,  as  I  have  my  grey  horse  still  which  has  turned  out  much  better  than  ever  I  anti- 
cipated. Tell  Margaret  I  have  heard  from  a  young  man  who  has  been  up  there  (not 
Selden)  that  she  has  already  made  herself  famous  for  her  riding.  He  told  me  that 
she  rode  twenty  miles  in  one  day  and  did  not  mind  it  in  the  least,  if  so  her  riding  facul- 
ties must  have  been  born  with  her,  as  I  am  sure  it  was  not  from  practice  down  here  that 
she  acquired  such  skill.  The  same  person  also  told  me  of  a  young  doctor  who  was 
smitten  by  her.  She  must  send  a  description  of  him  to  us  that  we  may  know  how  to 
treat  him  when  occasion  requires.  I  have  already  heard  he  is  remarkably  fond  of  Black- 
berries, from  which  I  judge  him  to  be  of  meek  disposition. 

Mr.  Selden*  spent  so  short  a  time  with  you  that  he  was  unable  to  give  us  much  sat- 
isfactory information  about  your  family  concerns.  I  can  well  conceive  how  great  the 
change  is,  and  you  must  think  yourself  lucky  in  having  Mrs.  Clarkson  in  the  same  house, 
not  only  for  her  company,  but  to  put  you  in  the  way  of  doing  many  things  about  which 
you  would  otherwise  have  been  at  a  loss.  Mr.  Selden  said  he  ate  some  of  Margaret's 
pound  cake.  I  hope  Margaret  takes  care  to  have  some  with  her  when  she  goes  riding 
with  the  Doctor,  to  give  him  when  he  stops  under  a  Blackberry  bush  and  to  let  him 
know  it  was  her  making.  Pound  cake  and  blackberries  must  be  so  agreeable  together, 
that  if  she  plies  the  Doctor  with  enough  he  cannot  but  yield  to  her. 

I  have  spent  such  an  idle  summer  in  the  evenings  and  been  so  busy  in  the  daytime, 
during  Mr.  Selden's  absence,  that  I  had  almost  made  up  my  mind  not  to  be  examined 


•Mr.  Dudley  Selden  was  a  prominent  lawyer  and  noted  afterwards  as  an  authority  in  connec- 
tion with  real  estate  titles  in  the  neighborhood  of  Harlem.  He  was  associated  in  business  for  some 
years  with  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Emmet,  Jr.,  and  held  an  intimate  relation  with  the  family  until  his  death. 


442 


A  Frolic  on  the  Middle  Road 


next  Term  and  of  course  not  to  go  to  Utica  in  October,  and  in  that  case  I  would  not 
see  you  this  winter;  but  from  your  last  letter  you  seem  to  expect  it  so  much  and  my 
desire  to  see  you  all  (including  the  Doctor)  is  so  great  that  I  believe  I  will  run  the  risk 
of  an  examination  and  be  with  you  about  the  end  of  October. 

Within  the  last  week  we  have  had  so  much  fun  on  the  Middle  Road  that  I  don't 
know  when  it  will  end.  The  effects  of  it  have  already  spread  five  miles  around  us,  and 
has  made  Mrs.  D.  [David]  Colden  (resolving  not  to  be  outdone)  ask  us  all  for  a  down- 
right frolic  to  her  house  this  evening.  We  mustered  up  fourteen  and  we  are  engaged 
Monday  night  to  go  to  Mrs.  Schmidt's.*  A  wedding  at  Beinhawer's  (Pine  auger's)  has 
been  the  cause  of  it  all.  Miss  Louise  to  Mr.  Twizler  or  Mitzler,  I  don't  know  which. 
The  whole  affair  was  kept  so  secret  that  we  did  not  hear  of  it  'till  the  night  on  which 
it  was  to  take  place.  We  were  so  vexed  at  not  being  asked  that  we  determined  to  get  in 
if  possible  and  accordingly  John  and  Mr.  Selden  disguised  themselves  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  admission.  John  took  the  character  of  a  poor  Italian  who  had  just  come  to 
the  country  and  Mr.  Selden  was  an  old,  fat,  red  faced  Methodist  preacher.  He  had  on 
a  pair  of  Papa's  breeches  and  waist  coat  (stuffed  with  pillows),  a  pair  of  the  cook's 
black  woolen  stockings  full  of  holes,  a  large  night  cap  under  his  hat  and  a  pair  of 
spectacles  on,  these  with  Arthur's  old  black  coat  gave  him  just  the  cut  of  a  Methodist. 
Mr.  Powellt  and  Mr.  Wilsont  (who  spent  that  night  with  us)  could  not  make  out  who 
either  of  them  were.  They  both  left  our  house  to  attack  the  Bridal  party,  and  the  girls 
all  hid  themselves  at  the  other  side  of  the  stone  fence.  John  went  right  in  and  asked 
in  broken  English  for  a  drink  of  water,  which  was  given  to  him  by  the  old  lady  in 
great  fright.  They  then  came  out,  and,  as  we  had  agreed  beforehand,  met  us  in  the  road 
near  Pine  Auger's  house,  and  we  picked  a  quarrel  which  soon  brought  out  the  whole 
party  on  the  road ;  by  this  means  we  had  a  good  opportunity  of  renewing  our  old  ac- 
quaintance with  Peggy  and  the  rest  of  them.  Peggy  invited  us  in,  which  we  accepted 
and  we  were  formally  introduced  to  the  Groom  (a  Swiss  shoemaker). 

John  and  Selden  put  on  their  own  clothes  and  joined  us.  We  made  ourselves  so 
agreeable  that  the  next  morning  Peggy  called  over  to  Mr.  McEvers  and  said  she  wished 
to  see  Charles§  in  private.  This  was  to  know  if  he  would  not  come  that  evening  and 
bring  the  Emmets  with  him,  that  she  would  go  and  invite  us  herself  if  she  was  not 
afraid  of  the  dogs.  Charles  promised  to  go  and  bring  us  with  him.  She  then  asked 
for  some  white  paper  to  invite  some  friends  up.  She  told  him  the  party  was  to  be 
small  and  he  must  expect  "no  greats".  We  accordingly  went,  Robert  took  the  flutes  and 
Tambourine  as  they  were  disappointed  in  getting  a  fiddler..  In  the  midst  of  a  waits 
between  myself  and  the  bride,  to  my  utmost  astonishment,  in  walks  Rosina,  with  Mrs. 
Swarthout,  Mary  Ann,  Eliza  McEvers  and  Anna  Tom.  When  the  ceremony  of  intro- 
duction was  ended  we  danced  a  Kentucky  Reel,  in  which  Jane  and  Eliza  joined;  after 
that  at  Peggy's  particular  request  she  and  Charles  and  a  Milliner  from  town  danced  the 
figure  8.  This  Milliner's  girl  was  so  fat  that  no  hogshead  would  hold  her,  and  Rosina, 
in  order  to  make  herself  agreeable,  began  to  praise  her  dancing  out  loud.  As  soon  as 
she  heard  this  it  put  such  life  in  her  that  I  am  sure  she  must  have  lost  at  least  twenty 
pounds  of  flesh  with  all  the  capers  she  cut.    I  was  dancing  opposite  her  and  of  course 


*The  wife  of  the  German  Consul  General,  and  a  half  sister  of  Bache  McEvers. 

tThe  Rev.  Mr.  Powell  was  an  Irishman  and  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  who  for  many  years  was 
at  the  head  of  a  boys'  boarding-school  which  was  located  on  the  site  of  the  present  St.  John's  Catholic 
College   Fordham,  now  within  the  city  limits. 

JMr.  Hugh  Wilson  was  one  of  the  United  Irishmen  and  had  been  confined  in  Fort  George  with 
Mr.  Emmet.  After  his  release  he  settled  and  married  in  St.  Catherine's,  one  of  the  Danish  West 
India  Islands.  He  died  after  his  wife,  and,  not  having  been  successful  in  life,  left  the  care  of  his 
two  sons  to  Mr.  Emmet,  his  only  friend.  In  1827  these  children  arrived  in  New  York,  but  Mr.  Emmet 
having  died  in  the  meantime,  his  son,  T.  A.  Emmet,  took  charge  of  Edward  J.  Wilson,  while  Hugh 
Wilson,  the  younger  boy,  went  to  live  with  Mr.  Bache  McEvers.  Edward  Wilson  became  a  successful 
lawyer  and  died  unmarried  about  1859.    Hugh  Wilson  became  a  farmer,  married  and  had  a  family. 

§Charles  was  the  brother  of  Bache  McEvers.  The  McEvers'  country  place  was  nearly  opposite 
but  more  to  the  south.  It  afterwards  became  part  of  the  Hamersley  estate  and  the  site  of  the  Colford 
Jones  house  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue.  Mrs.  Swarthout  and  Miss  Eliza  McEvers  were  sisters. 
Miss  Mary  Ann  Emmet  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Edward  B.  Graves,  and  Miss  Anna  Tom  the  wife  of 
T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr. 


Country  Plays 


443 


left  nothing  undone  in  the  way  of  steps  Flatbrest  ever  taught  me.  We  even  made  the 
old  women  get  up  and  waltz,  who  did  it  very  well.  I,  being  the  only  one  who  could 
waltz,  was  nearly  killed  as  I  had  to  go  the  rounds  with  them  all.  They  leaned  back,  could 
do  no  steps  and  never  got  tired.  I  asked  Peggy  more  than  a  dozen  times  while  I  was 
waltzing  with  her,  if  she  was  not  tired,  to  which  she  always  answered  no.  I  was  at  last 
obliged  to  tell  her  /  was,  and  make  her  sit  down. 

After  our  girls  went  home  we  began  playing  the  country  plays  which  are  filled  with 
kissing,  languishing,  pouting,  making  love  bridges,  and  journeys  to  London,  &c;  and 
thus  spent  the  evening  until  two  o'clock,  about  which  time  we  thought  the  Groom  had 
not  much  desire  to  detain  us  longer,  especially  Selden,  who  made  a  dead  set  at  his  wife, 
and  did  nothing  but  kiss  her.  They  gave  us  fine  wedding  cake,  gingerbread  and  crullers, 
with  a  decanter  of  wine  and  plenty  of  pump  water,  which  we  drank  dry. 

I  have  briefly  given  you  the  outlines  of  our  entertainment,  but  have  no  doubt  you 
will  have  a  much  better  and  more  particular  description  from  the  girls,  but  the  fact  is 
no  description  can  be  given  equal  to  it.  It  has  set  us  all  wild  and  languishing  and  pout- 
ing, as  is  now  all  the  fashion  and  as  I  said  before,  Mrs.  Colden  is  determined  not  to  be 
outdone  by  the  Pine  Augers. 

Give  my  love  to  Le  Roy.  Margaret  has  so  much  from  the  Doctor  that  I  suppose 
she  will  take  none  from  me.  If  nothing  happens  I  shall  certainly  be  with  you  in  Oc- 
tober, when  I  hope  to  have  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  with  little  Jane.  I  should  be  sorry 
if  all  her  good  looks  were  acquired  without  the  help  of  a  little  of  my  dancing. 

Yours  affectionately, 

T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr. 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Le  Roy, 

Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Sunday,  New  York,  Sept.  15th,  1821. 

My  dear  Elizabeth  : 

Tho'  I  have  written  so  many  letters  to  you  which  still  remain  unanswered  I  cannot 
give  up  the  fight  without  one  struggle  more  to  rouse  your  feelings  of  shame  at  least  if 
not  of  affection,  and  have  therefore  notwithstanding  my  great  disappointment  in  not  re- 
ceiving a  letter  from  you  last  night,  seated  myself  to  write  to  you.  You  would  hardly 
guess  where  and  how  I  have  spent  the  evening  since  I  last  wrote  to  you, — dancing  at 
Miss  Bienshaws'  wedding.  You  know  the  enmity  that  has  existed  between  us  for  so 
long,  and  how  warmly  the  boys  always  took  their  part,  and  it  is  quite  a  triumph  to  them 
that  we  should  have  honoured  Peggy  with  our  company.  The  reason  of  our  so  doing, 
is,  that  we  heard  the  youngest  one,  Bache's  friend,  was  to  be  married  and  the  boys  and 
Mr.  Selden,  who  was  here,  determined  to  have  a  farewell  dance  with  her.  But  fearing 
they  would  not  be  admitted  in  their  proper  garb  John  and  Mr.  Selden  with  our  help, 
disguised  themselves,  in  some  things  Temple  [Lieut.  U.  S.  Navy]  brought  home,  so  well 
that  it  was  impossible  to  recognize  them.  We  concealed  ourselves  in  the  bushes  by  their 
fence  and  heard  John  carry  on  a  very  amusing  dialogue  with  old  Mrs.  Bienshaws,  he 
speaking  between  Italian  and  English  and  she  answering  in  Dutch.  We  had  great  diffi- 
culty to  keep  from  being  heard  for  the  scene  was  so  ludicrous  that  it  was  impossible  not 
to  laugh.  But  John  on  coming  near  Peggy  could  not  resist  his  inclination  to  let  her  know 
him,  and  whispered  "the  iron  bound  bucket",  her  famous  song,  in  her  ear,  and  she  knew 
his  voice  but  did  not  betray  them  to  the  old  people,  but  gave  them  an  invitation  to  come 
in  and  dance  at  the  wedding.  The  rest  of  the  boys  and  Charles  [McEvers]  passing  just 
then  by  chance,  they  were  invited  and  entered  with  Robert  at  their  head,  all  playing  as 
finely  as  possible  on  tambourines,  violin,  flute,  &c.  They  staid  very  late  teaching  the  girls 
waltzing,  cotillions,  and  made  themselves  so  agreeable  that  they  were  each  given  a  piece 
of  cake  for  us  to  dream  upon  and  were  informed  that  the  bride  saw  company  next  even- 
ing and  were  begged  to  come.  Peggy  said  it  was  to  be  "no  greats" — and  bring  their  music. 
They  were  too  glad  of  their  invitation  to  refuse,  and  we  took  our  station  as  we  had  the 
night  before,  but  growing  less  cautious,  and  afraid  of  losing  anything  that  was  to  be 


444 


Mrs.  Colden  not  to  be  Outdone 


seen,  we  left  our  ambush  and  ventured  inside  the  fence.  Then  we  were  soon  spyed  by 
Mr.  Selden  who  instantly  shut  the  shutters,  probably  because  he  had  his  arms  around 
the  bride's  waist  at  the  time,  and  we  were  returning  home  disconsolate  when  we  were 
met  by  old  Bienshaws,  "to  whom  I  obnoxiously  made  my  approaches",  as  the  song  says, 
to  apologize  for  intruding  on  his  premises,  but  he  was  so  civil  and  begged  and  entreated 
that  on  such  an  occasion  we  should  condescend  to  go  and  see  the  dancing,  that  we  had 
even  to  submit,  and  spurred  on  by  Mrs.  Swartwout,  who  is  staying  with  Mrs.  McEvers, 
and  who  is  as  full  of  fun  as  she  can  be,  we  took  courage  and  went  in,  so  many  of  us  that 
we  almost  filled  the  house  to  overflowing.  It  would  have  been  worth  travelling  from 
Potsdam  to  see  Robert's  face  when  Rosina  was  handed  in  by  old  Bienshaws,  with  all 
ceremony  in  his  plush  velvet  breeches.  We  sent  her  first  to  see  how  she  would  be  re- 
ceived and  indeed  the  boys  looks,  between  consternation  and  fun,  were  not  far  inferior 
to  Robert's  when  we  entered.  McEvers  and  Emmets  by  the  dozen,  and  such  an  evening 
I  never  spent,  I  was  in  a  spasm  to  keep  from  laughing  out  the  whole  time.  You  know 
Rosina's  benignant  look  at  all  times,  but  she  was  too  amusing  that  night.  She  admired 
everything  so  audibly  that  she  kept  them  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy.  You  may  know  the  em- 
broidered pictures  we  have  heard  so  much  of.  Rosina  would  not  be  persuaded  it  was 
anything  but  an  oil  painting  and  Robert  had  to  drop  the  flute  two  or  three  times  from 
fits  of  laughing.  I  have  not  room  to  tell  all  that  went  on,  but  I  hope  some  of  the  others 
will,  for  the  manners  were  a  perfect  comedy,  and  the  expressions  have  furnished  the 
Middle  Road  with  "stamp"  for  ever.  I  should  not  have  been  so  diffuse  in  my  descrip- 
tion, but  that  any  frolic  in  which  we  were  engaged  I  am  sure  will  interest  you,  and  this 
was  one  worth  recording  and  I  know  will  suit  Mr.  Le  Roy's  taste.  Bache  returned  last 
night  from  Lebanon  in  time  to  accompany  us  to  a  party  at  Mrs.  David  Colden's  in  the 
country,  who,  hearing  how  gay  we  were,  was  determined  not  to  be  put  down  by  us.  Her 
party,  however,  was  not  nearly  so  pleasant  as  our  own  neighbourly  hops.  We  thought 
a  great  deal  of  our  sleigh  ride  with  Rosina  in  the  winter  to  the  same  place,  for  the  night 
was  very  cold  and  the  house  also.  But  I  suppose  you  do  not  mind  a  cold  night  now, 
for  we  hear  you  had  frost.  How  does  Margaret  stand  that,  for  I  know  she  is  a  decided 
enemy  to  cold,  but  I  dare  say  she  keeps  herself  warm  by  backgammon  or  some  other  quiet 
game  with  some  of  her  friends.  We  are  invited  to  a  little  dance  at  Mrs.  Schmidt's  on 
the  Bloomingdale  to-morrow.  She  and  Helen  Bache  [afterwards  Mrs.  Patterson]  have 
paid  us  several  visits  and  seem  very  sociably  disposed.  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  from 
the  little  I  saw  of  Bache  last  night  that  he  is  engaged,  or  at  least  very  much  in  love  with 
some  one,  tho'  he  does  not  allow  that  it  is  Miss  Kane.  You  never  saw  anyone  grow  so 
suddenly  thin  as  he  has  done,  which  we  presume  is  love.  I  have  now  told  you  all  the 
news  I  have  to  tell,  and  as  I  have  yet  to  write  to  Margaret  I  will  not  make  it  longer 
than  I  can  help.  Margaret  has  given  me  a  lovely  description  of  little  Jane,  kiss  her  for 
me  and  keep  her  as  fat  as  you  can.  I  one  day  anticipate  some  pleasure,  and  more  trouble, 
in  teaching  her  the  catechism. 

I  hope  my  letters  do  not  all  face  the  fiery  ordeal  of  Mr.  Le  Roy's  criticising  eye,  for 
as  he  will  not  favor  me  with  a  letter  it  is  not  fair  he  should  have  the  benefit  of  mine. 
Give  my  love  to  him,  and  that  of  all  the  family  and  for  yourself.  Katherine*  sends  her 
love  to  you  and  a  kiss  for  her  little  god-daughter. 

I  am,  dearest  Elizabeth,  your  most 

Sincerely  attached  sister, 

Jeannette  E.  Emmet. 

The  following  letter  to  Mrs.  Le  Roy  is  from  her  brother  Robert,  and  is 
very  characteristic  of  his  humorous  style  in  writing: 

New  York,  Sept.  16th,  1821. 

My  dear  Elizabeth: 

I  have  received  your  first  letter,  and  rejoice  that  my  attempt  at  the  ludicrous,  though 


•Katherine,  the  daughter  of  Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  then  on  a  visit  to  her  relatives  in  this 
country. 


Potsdam  and  Parnassus 


445 


upon  so  tender  a  subject  as  housekeeping,  should  have  the  desired  effect.  I  certainly 
did  intend  it  as  a  kind  of  antidote  to  low  spirits,  resulting  from  a  too  vivid  conception 
of  the  pleasures  which  we  enjoy  without  your  participation  and  if  the  picture  I  sketched 
of  our  domestic  arrangements,  or  rather  derangements,  was  overcharged,  the  exaggera- 
tion was  perhaps  necessary  to  counteract  a  certain  mist,  which,  when  we  look  back  upon 
things,  that  we  feel  attached  to,  and  have  left,  interposes  to  shut  every  disagreeable  ob- 
ject out  of  view,  while  it  serves  as  a  medium  that  magnifies  and  brightens  those  that 
have  given  us  pleasure.  It  is  but  justice  to  the  girls  to  say  that  they  have  improved  and 
although  we  shall  never  be  famous  for  systematic  housekeeping,  I  have  no  doubt  we 
shall,  with  a  few  occasional  skirmishes  at  breakfast,  get  along  "tolerable  clever",  as  they 
say  in  the  country  parts — no  particular  allusion  to  Potsdam.  The  description  you  give 
of  the  profusion  of  good  things  which  bounteous  nature  yields  you,  reminds  me  of 
an  old  pastoral,  I  believe  Shenstone's,  which  begins  "my  banks  are  burdened  with  bees", 
you  may  say  with  equal  beauty  of  alliteration  "my  pantries  are  pampered  with  pies". 
You  should  have  added  as  an  inducement  to  Rosina  to  visit  you  that  you  would  give  her 

A  cup  of  flowers  and  a  Kirtle 
Embroidered  all  with  leaves  of  Myrtle. 

But  I  suppose  the  delights  which  Potsdam  affords  are  not  as  good  subjects  for  an  eclogue 
as  for  a  bill  of  fare.  Poetry  is  no  doubt  delightful,  but  is  particularly  good  upon  a  full 
stomach,  and  if  it  were  necessary  to  choose  between  Potsdam  and  Parnassus,  I  think 
the  account  you  give  of  cream,  butter,  eggs,  &c,  would  throw  the  seat  of  muses  into  the 
background. 

By  way  of  diversifying  life  with  a  little, vulgar  plurality,  we  all  "bore  down"  upon 
the  Bienhauser  establishment  the  other  night.  The  occasion  was  a  wedding  between 
a  great  tall  German  shoemaker  and  one  of  the  daughters.  We  paraded  before  the  door 
with  "pipe  and  tabor",  when  the  groom  came  out  and  invited  us  with  "shentle-mens,  vont 
you  take  a  valk  in,  you  please".  "Certainly  Sir,  Certainly  Sir",  said  John,  so  in  we 
marched  and  completely  identified  ourselves  with  the  company  present.  In  a  short  time, 
to  my  utter  consternation,  what  should  I  see  but  Rosina  sailing  in  under  old  B's  wing, 
and  with  her  Mrs.  Swartwout,  Jane,  Eliza,  and  Mary  McEvers.  They  went  away  in 
about  an  hour,  after  partaking  of  the  refreshments,  and  we  remained  there  till  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  But  as  I  have  no  doubt  some  of  the  rest  of  the  family  will 
give  you  a  particular  detail  of  the  event,  I  shall  say  no  more  about  it  except  that  I  had 
a  full  surfeit  of  the  boasted  attractions  of  the  daughters,  who — 

Show  to  most  advantage  in  a  moderate  perspective  as  clumsy  awkward  things. 

My  dear  Elizabeth,  I  hardly  know  what  to  say  to  you,  being  in  a  peculiarly  dull 
mood  this  evening.  We  all  go  on  in  the  same  way,  pretty  humdrum  with  occasional 
frolics.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  one  at  Mrs.  David  Colden's  last  evening  and  tomorrow 
we  are  to  have  a  blow  out  at  Mrs.  Schmidt's.  Temple  is  as  gay  as  if  he  never  saw 
Mary  Norton  and  spits  tobacco  most  lustily.  John  is  as  argumentative  as  ever  and 
thrives  upon  his  vegetable  diet,  tho'  like  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  desert,  he  longs 
sometimes  after  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt  while  demolishing  a  dish  of  egg  plant  or  horse 
beans.  Tom  is,  I  believe,  in  love,  or  pretending  so  to  be,  with  a  Miss  Isaphine  Lawrence. 
By  the  bye  there  is  a  great  deal  of  ingenuity  in  that  name;  her  father's  name  is  Isaac 
and  being  determined  to  call  her  after  him  they  coined  the  above  cognomen ;  Icicle 
would  have  been  more  apropos.  Tell  Margaret  I  hope  she  may  not  be  too  much  bothered 
between  Dr.  McChesney,  Mr.  Ives  and  Jake  Vanderhauvel.  I  hope  William's  appetite 
is  as  good  as  ever.  It  would  be  a  pity  if  he  did  not  do  justice  to  the  fruits  of  his  own 
care  and  labour,  and  I  have  no  doubt  working  at  the  stumps  must  send  him  in  pretty 
sharp  set.  How  I  should  like  to  have  the  cutting  of  a  sirloin  for  him  one  of  these 
autumn  days;  perhaps  I  may,  as  I  have  serious  thoughts  of  going  to  Utica  next  month, 
in  which  case  you  will  certainly  see  me  unless  a  wolf  eats  me  by  the  way. 

Rosina  has  written  to  you  by  this  mail  and  I  suppose  told  you  all  about  the  children. 


446 


Feat  of  Mr.  McEvers 


Tom  is  getting  quite  well ;  Bob  the  other  day  found  one  of  Temple's  tobacco  quids  lying 
on  the  stoop  and  pointing  to  it,  with  much  disgust,  said  "papa  Temple  do",  as  for  Dick, 
he  is  certainly  old  Esop,  or  Rabelais,  or  some  other  old  wit  come  back  to  pay  the  world 
a  visit,  born  over  again.  Dick  never  cries,  but  sits  alone  all  day  laughing  at  everything 
that  passes  before  him. 

I  anticipate  great  satisfaction  in  seeing  all  my  predictions  about  little  Jane  realized ; 
indeed  Margaret  gives  a  nourishing  account  of  her,  but  I  am  sure  a  true  one.  Remember 
me  to  William  and  Margaret  and  believe  me,  dear  Elizabeth,  most  sincerely  yours, 

Robert  Emmet. 

Mr.  Robert  Emmet  writes  again  on  October  21st,  1821  : 

Rosina  and  I  move  into  town  tomorrow  to  take  a  short  spell  at  house-keeping  before 
the  rest  of  the  family  break  up  their  quarters  in  the  country.  As  usual  at  this  season 
of  the  year  there  is  the  most  riotous  frolicking  there  every  evening.  Selden  says  we 
are  all  sold  to  the  Devil,  and  that  every  night  we  bring  him  in  a  profit  on  his  bargain. 
Tom  will  give  you  a  full  account  of  our  carrying  on. 

About  a  hundred  yards  or  so  higher  up  and  on  the  opposite  of  the  way 
lived  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  McEvers,  the  parents  of  Bache  and  Charles,  Jr., 
and  beyond  on  the  North  River  and  Bloomingdale  Road  resided  Mr.  Schmidt, 
the  Prussian  Consul-General,  who  married  Eliza,  Bache's  half-sister.  These 
and  other  families  in  the  neighborhood  formed  a  most  congenial  circle.  The 
family  letters  of  this  period,  as  we  have  seen,  are  filled  with  accounts  of  frolics 
of  all  kinds,  of  fancy  balls  and  musical  entertainments,  for  nearly  every  mem- 
ber of  the  family  had  a  good  voice  and  all  had  received  more  or  less  of  a 
musical  education. 

In  masquerading  or  playing  practical  jokes  no  one  was  more  prominent 
than  John,  having  always  a  ready  supporter  in  his  sister  Jeannette,  or  Jane,  and 
a  Miss  Anna  Tom,  a  frequent  visitor  and  a  stepdaughter  of  Dr.  Macneven. 
Miss  Tom  afterwards  married  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.  The  consequences  of  these 
frolics  did  not  seem  to  concern  them,  and  although  under  other  circumstances 
one  might  have  judged  them  more  seriously,  their  neighbors  evidently  accepted 
their  deviltry  as  a  matter  of  course.  If  there  existed  any  bad  feeling  the 
ground  for  complaint  seemed  to  rest  with  those  who  were  not  asked  to 
participate. 

The  writer  recalls  a  very  amusing  account  given  him  by  his  father  of  a 
scene  at  the  wedding  of  his  brother  Tom  to  Miss  Anna  Tom,  which  took  place 
March  4th,  1823.  Shortly  before  the  supper  hour  Dr.  Emmet  and  Mr.  Charles 
McEvers  had  occasion  to  go  into  the  dining-room — possibly  the  punch-bowl 
was  in  their  charge.  The  Doctor,  being  very  active  and  slight,  bantered  Mr. 
McEvers,  who  was  not  agile  or  a  lightweight,  to  follow  him  and  vault  across 
the  supper-table.  Dr.  Emmet  got  over  safely,  as  he  had  expected  to  do ;  but  Mr. 
McEvers  was  not  so  fortunate;  his  hands  slipped  in  some  way  and  he  fell, 
upsetting  the  two  large  tables  where  their  leaves  joined  together,  thus  bring- 
ing down  upon  him  a  host  of  ices,  etc.,  and  deluging  himself  with  the  con- 
tents of  a  large  punch-bowl,  which  put  out  the  candles,  leaving  the  room  in 
total  darkness.  The  Doctor  escaped  quickly,  and  was  one  of  the  first  of  the 
guests  who,  attracted  by  the  noise,  rushed  to  the  scene  of  havoc,  and  with  a 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 

JOHN  PATTEN  EMMET,  M.  D. 
Drawn  by  Miss  Jane  Macneven,  shortly  before  his  death 


Gossip 


447 


splendid  exhibition  of  astonishment,  expressed  his  sympathy,  which  added  no 
little  to  Mr.  McEvers's  state  of  speechless  indignation.  The  incident  and  Mr. 
McEvers's  forlorn  condition  caused  a  good  laugh,  which  was  compensation 
enough  for  the  less  elaborate  supper  which  was  served  later. 

The  following  letters  give  an  insight  into  the  fashionable  life  of  New  York 
in  which  the  younger  members  of  the  Emmet  family  were  active  participants : 

New  York,  April  26th,  1822. 

My  dear  Elizabeth  : 

You  may  perceive  in  the  expectation  of  having  a  good  deal  to  say  to  you  and  no  lack 
of  subject,  I  have  begun  my  letter  on  the  largest  sheet  of  paper  I  could  find,  and  intend 
to  take  it  very  coolly  and  rest  myself  after  my  fatigue  of  yesterday.  Of  course  Margaret, 
who  had  the  first  writing,  told  you  as  much  as  she  could  get  into  her  letter,  of  our  party 
and  my  news  will  be  second  hand ;  it  was  very  pleasant  and  not  the  least  stiff.  Rosina 
and  Robey  sung  together  by  way  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Philip*  and  he  seemed  very 
much  pleased  with  them  both.  Indeed  I  never  heard  Rosina  sing  so  well ;  Robert  has 
been  bringing  her  voice  in  training  and  has  succeeded  very  well.  It  has  lost  that  harsh- 
ness it  always  had  and  she  has  more  command  over  it. 

Peggy  Douglass  also  favoured  us  with  Rob's  wife,  which  caused  great  laughing 
among  the  gentlemen  when  she  came  to  her  "wee  bit  raon",  She  hesitated  a  long  time 
when  we  asked  her,  and  said  she  was  strangely  altered,  that  she  had  lost  her  confidence 
and  could  not  raise  her  voice  before  the  smallest  company,  while  Harriet  said  "Margaret 
was  seized  with  a  nervous  timidity  lately  which  really  alarmed  her"  and  Peggy  of  course 
overhearing  thought  it  incumbent  upon  her  to  look  more  nervous  than  ever.  Alexander 
Le  Roy  came  with  them  and  was  their  devoted,  but  denies  anything  between  himself 
and  Peggy  on  account  of  her  being  so  much  older  than  himself,  but  I  think  he  and 

Harriet  look  very  tenderly  at  each  other.    We  had  also  the  Misses    here,  who 

said  we  must  consider  it  as  a  farewell  visit,  for  they  were  going  to  France  in  a  few  days 
and  never  intend  returning.  They  look  uglier  than  ever,  and  seem  out  of  spirits  at  the 
idea  of  leaving  America.  All  the  Low  establishment  and  Miss  Van  Rensselaer  were 
here  and  looked  very  well.  Miss  Van  Rensselaer's  present  admirer  is  James  Jones,  a 
cousin  of  Isaac.  They  say  he  has  been  three  times  up  to  Albany  to  see  her,  but  I  don't 
know  what  success  he  will  meet  with  her.  Julia  Livingston  and  her  brother  Morgan  I 
must  also  mention.  Patterson  was  her  devoted  all  the  evening,  and  they  say  he  is  court- 
ing very  hard,  but  she  does  not  encourage  him.  Morgan,  I  suppose  you  have  heard  from 
Margaret,  is  thought  to  be  engaged  to  Emily  Prime,  but  as  they  go  to  the  country  in  a 
few  days  I  suppose  all  conjectures  will  cease  till  next  winter.  Eliza  McEvers  was 
flourishing  about  as  gay  as  you  can  think,  and  tried  hard  to  bring  the  beaux  about  her, 
but  I  think  Mary  will  be  more  of  a  belle  when  she  comes  out,  for  she  was  very  much 
thought  of  last  night.  Sally  Ogden  also  looked  very  pretty  indeed,  and  Henry  White 
was  as  attentive  as  possible.  There  were  of  course  many  others,  but  I  have  only  men- 
tioned those  of  whom  there  is  some  report,  but  I  think  I  have  said  quite  enough  about 
them,  as  I  must  leave  something  for  Rosina.  We  had  a  perfect  inundation  of  beaux 
and  they  all  seemed  pleased,  for  they  staid  very  late. 

I  do  not  wonder  that  you  cannot  make  much  sense  of  the  harmony,  for  I  was  a  long 
time  understanding  it  myself.  It  was  so  troublesome  a  job  that  I  did  not  undertake  it. 
You  must  call  upon  Margaret  to  explain  it,  for  I  confess  myself  unequal  to  the  task. 


•In  a  letter  of  an  earlier  date  the  circumstance  is  stated — "Mr.  Philip,  the  M.P.,  who  is  traveling 
in  this  country,  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Papa".  He  was  probably  about  returning  and  was 
entertained  while  the  family  was  yet  in  town.  On  his  return  he  wrote  a  book  giving  an  account  of 
his  journey  of  several  months  from  Boston  to  Washington  anu  a  trip  to  Niagara  Falls.  His  book 
was  not  written  in  so  lively  a  style  as  even  to  call  for  a  second  edition,  but  it  contained  the  observa- 
tion that  "New  York  had  a  great  deal  of  weather,  but  no  climate".  Certainly  a  very  jocular  remark 
for  a  staid  Englishman,  as  true  to  nature  to-day  as  it  was  a  century  ago. 


448  John  Patten  Emmet  in  Charleston 


Mrs.  Edgar*  is  better  and  none  of  her  family  apprehend  any  danger  from  her  sickness. 
Tho'  I  think  it  will  make  her  health  very  delicate  for  a  long  time.  I  have  not  heard  of 
Cornelia  Le  Roy  being  taken  ill  again  and  I  thing  it  is  a  mistake.  She  is  at  present 
up  at  the  Manor  and  able  to  walk  out,  but  she  is  still  very  weak.  The  doctor  says  tho' 
she  has  lingered  much  longer  than  he  expected,  she  can  never  recover,  for  her  whole 
body  is  in  a  very  bad  state.    They  are  going  to  France  in  the  fall. 

I  suppose  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  Mary  Seton  is  at  last  married.  She  was 
married  last  night,  but  I  have  not  heard  anything  of  her  arrangements,  and  I  can  tell 
you  nothing  more  about  her.  I  received  your  message,  but  it  did  not  give  me  satisfac- 
tion, for  I  would  rather  it  was  not  true.  We  heard  from  John  the  other  day.  He  was 
in  Charleston  and  quite  well,  but  does  not  talk  of  returning.  I  am  afraid  this  will  be 
late  for  the  steamboat  if  I  do  not  close,  so  I  can  write  no  more  today.  Answer  this  as 
soon  as  you  conveniently  can. 

Give  my  love  to  Mr.  Le  Roy  and  kiss  my  dear  little  godchild.  Papa,  Mama,  and  all 
send  their  love. 

believe  me  most  affectionately  yours, 

Jane  Emmet. 

It  is  true  that  the  Lewises  intend  going  to  France  in  June,  but  I  think  they  may 
change  their  minds  before  then. 

•Mrs.  Wm.  Edgar  was  the  sister  of  Wm.  H.  Le  Roy  and  lived  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Wall 
and  William  Streets. 


When  a  nation  is  to  be  governed  contrary  to  its  interest  and  inclination,  and  •when  the 
union  of  the  people  toould  render  such  a  government  impracticable,  the  sense  of 
common  interest,  and  the  taish  of  common  liberty  must  be  counteracted  by  creating 
or  strengthening  divided  interests  and  hostile  feelings. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Whether  England  was  ruled  by  a  king,  by  a  parliament  or  by  a  protector;  whether  her 
government  was  a  government  of  prerogative  or  of  privilege,  founded  in  right  or 
usurpation,  her  conduct  to  Ireland  was  the  same,  unvaried  in  the  despotic  principles 
from  ivhich  it  followed,  varied  only  by  the  different  notions  of  expediency  which  her 
rulers  entertained.. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXVIII 

Letters  relating  to  the  domestic  and  social  life  of  the  Emmet  family — Letter  from 
Mr.  Emmet  to  Mr.  Lawless  at  St.  Louis — Fate  of  the  Blennerhassett  family — Letter  to 
Judge  Smith  Thompson — Mr.  Hall's  acount  of  Mr.  Emmet's  practice  in  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court — Some  account  of  his  cotemporaries — Mr.  Emmet's  rebuke  to  Mr.  Pink- 
ney  of  Maryland — Account  of  a  ball  given  in  the  country  house  on  the  "Old  Middle 
Road". 

N  February  25th,  1821,  Miss  Mary  Anne  Emmet  wrote  to 
her  sister : — 

We  have  been  very  gay  since  Hannah  [Ogden]  arrived. 
Mrs.  Waddington  had  a  very  pleasant  party  to  which  only 
young  ladies  were  invited  in  the  daughter's  name;  there  was 
a  splendid  supper  &  everything  in  great  style.  Our  next 
frolic  was  at  the  masquerade  when  we  all  went  in  loose  black 
calico  dresses  and  large  berets  of  the  same.  After  we  got 
into  the  room  Tom  and  Anna,  William  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Selden  slipped  off  their  dominoes,  and  came  out  in  new  char- 
acters. Anna  and  Mrs.  Selden  as  French  flower  girls,  dressed  very  prettily;  they 
worked  at  the  dresses  almost  all  the  night  before  that  they  might  surprise  us. 

Tom  and  Selden,  as  an  old  Dutchman  and  woman.  Tom  as  the  wife  was  most  ex- 
cellent, he  looked  the  character  to  admiration,  and  had  so  much  spirit.  William 
[Emmet,  a  younger  brother]  kept  me  in  a  roar  the  whole  evening  as  a  raw  Yankee  boy; 
he  was  really  too  good.  I  want  him  to  go  to  Mrs.  Howland's  in  the  same  way,  but  they 
think  it  ought  to  be  something  handsome  at  a  private  house,  and  he  thinks  of  dressing 
as  an  old-fashioned  lady;  he  will  do  either  well,  for  he  has  so  much  fun  when  he  chooses. 
There  were  not  a  great  many  ladies  at  the  Masquerade,  at  least  they  will  not  acknowl- 
edge it,  having  been  rather  an  unlawful  proceeding,  but  I  have  since  heard  that  half  the 
ladies  in  town  were  there.  We  had  great  fun,  though  it  was  so  mixed  that  we  were 
obliged  to  keep  rather  quiet. 

We  had  a  most  delightful  romp  at  Anna's  the  night  before  last.  Miss  Temple 
[daughter  of  Judge  Temple  of  Vt.J  had  returned  from  Washington  and  about  one  o'clock 
agreed  to  come  and  spend  the  evening;  and  as  she  was  to  go  away  the  next  morning  we 
set  to  work  and  invited  fifteen  or  twenty  gentlemen  and  the  McEvers.  And  except  at 
Rosina's  [Mrs.  Robt.  Emmet]  last  night  I  never  spent  a  much  gayer  evening.  We  kept 
it  up  until  two  o'clock  and  Rosina  was  so  inspired  that  she  had  the  same  beaux  asked 
and  the  Calenders,  Masons,  McEvers,  Hosacks  and  young  Mrs.  Hosack;  the  girls  came 
in  the  greatest  spirits  and  went  on  like  the  very  Devil.    Some  gentleman  was  telling 

449 


450 


Emmet  Festivities 


William  this  morning  that  he  heard  another  beau  saying  that  he  wished  there  were 
Emmets  enough  to  give  such  parties  every  night  in  the  week* 

Mr.  Emmet  to  Mrs.  Le  Roy 

New  York,  Sept.  1st,  1821. 

My  Dearest  Elizabeth  : 

This  morning's  boat  brought  a  number  of  letters  from  Potsdam,  and  among  the 
rest  Margaret's  and  yours  to  me.  Thanking  Margaret  for  hers,  I  must  pass  her  by  for 
the  present,  as  she  has  already  got  a  letter  from  me,  and  address  this  to  you.  The  con- 
dition attending  on  our  separation  prevented  my  saying  anything  on  your  future  destiny 
and  expectations,  but  I  anticipated  the  regrets  you  expressed  at  leaving  the  paternal 
roof,  they  therefore  neither  surprise  nor  grieve  me.  The  female  heart  that  would  not 
strongly  feel  and  regret  those  past  attachments,  would  have  a  cold  and  dreary  prospect 
as  to  future  affections,  and  would  want  the  foundations  on  which  to  rear  a  solid  structure 
of  happinesss  in  her  new  situation.  But  altho'  it  is  to  be  desired  that  those  regrets 
should  exist,  they  are  not  to  be  encouraged,  and  I  am  afraid  you  have  carried  them  a 
little  too  far,  when  they  induce  Le  Roy  to  talk  of  returning  to  New  York. 

You  must  turn  your  face  to  the  future  with  a  strong  desire  of  finding  happiness, 
and  a  firm  conviction  that  it  is  in  your  power  to  find  it,  both  for  yourself  and  your 
husband,  under  the  roof  that  now  covers  you.  There  is  no  hardship  in  the  lot  that 
separates  you  from  us,  for  it  is  that  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  it  is  incident  to  our  state 
of  society  and  the  extension  of  the  human  family.  Have  your  own  father  and  motheT 
been  exempt  from  it?  You  were  too  young  to  recollect  the  firmness  >vi'.h  which  your 
mothei  bore  her  separation  from  relatives  as  neai  and  dear,  if  not  as  numerous,  as  those 
you  left  behind  and  under  circumstances  bo"*'  different. 

The  first  step  of  her  reparation  made  her  the  inmate  of  a  prison,  for  a  period  to  which 
conjecture  could  put  no  limits.  The  prospect  of  life,  which  alone  her  mind  could  con- 
template beyond  the  bars  of  that  prison  was  a  doubtful  struggle  with  poverty  in  the  midst 
of  strangers.  Remember  and  compare  the  circumstances  attendant  on  your  separation 
from  your  friends  and  return  devout  and  humble  thanks  to  God  for  the  bounty  and 
mercy  of  his  dispensations.  You  have  quit  your  father's  house  to  place  yourself  at  the 
head  of  your  own ;  to  take  possession  of  property,  which  your  own  prudence  and  good 
conduct  may  contribute  to  make  a  source  of  ease  and  affluence  to  yourself  and  Le  Roy, 
at  least  of  independence  to  your  family  be  it  ever  so  numerous.  You  may  and  ought  to 
think  of  us  indeed;  but  time  will  discipline  your  mind  to  do  so  without  regret.  It  is  not 
with  you  as  with  your  mother  and  me,  who  scarcely  ever  wish  to  think  of  Ireland,  and 
those  we  left  there,  because  those  recollections  infallibly  mix  themselves  with  very  pain- 
ful emotions.  You  will  naturally  feel  the  want  of  society  for  some  time,  but  habit  will 
remove  that  want,  or  rather  occupation  and  an  active  life.  Busy  yourself  with  your 
household,  relish  the  fatigue  of  that  business,  and  in  the  exercise  of  your  accomplish- 
ments and  recourse  to  your  books,  &c,  the  want  of  society  will  be  scarcely  felt.  Bui  re- 
merr;tei  above  all  things,  your  occupations  and  accomplishments  should  be  principally  di- 

*It  is  evident  that  the  members  of  recent  days  have  retained  somewhat  of  the  old  spirit.  In  a 
newspaper  account  of  the  wedding  festivities  following  the  marriage  of  Mr.  C.  Temple  Emmet  with  Miss 
Alida  Chanler  at  Rokeby,  the  country-place  of  the  bride's  family,  the  following  appeared  in  the  issue 
of  the  New  York  Sun  for  November  1st,  1896:  "The  wedding  of  Miss  Alida  Chanler  and  Mr.  C.  Temple 
Emmet  was  a  very  interesting  affair,  with  an  old-fashioned  flavor  about  it  that  was  most  charming  from 
its  genuineness  in  these  days  when  old  times,  old  places,  and  old  furniture  are  reproduced  in  most 
excellent  imitations,  which  have  everything  that  is  desirable  about  them  except  antiquity.  Rokeby  was 
formerly  the  country-seat  of  the  late  William  B.  Astor,  and  neither  the  building  nor  its  furnishings 
have  been  greatly  changed  since  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  great-grandchildren.  It  is  situated  on 
the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  Hudson,  and  the  grand  old  trees  which  have  waved  over  four  generations 
of  the  same  family,  gave  an  air  of  picturesque  maturity  to  the  scene  which  nothing  else  can  impart. 

"Another  element  of  cheerfulness  at  Tuesday's  wedding  was  the  presence  of  many  members  of  the 
Emmet  family,  who  have  been  known  through  all  the  generations  that  the  Rokeby  trees  have  outlived 
as  the  most  genial,  whole-hearted,  entertaining  people  in  the  world.  It  used  to  be  said  in  the  days 
when  they  were  leaders  in  the  world  of  fashion  that  the  presence  of  an  Emmet  or  a  McEvers  secured 
the  success  of  a  dinner  or  a  dance,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  family's  representatives  in  the  present 
day  fall  much  behind  their  forefathers." 


Life  not  Pleasant  if  Home  is  Not 


451 


rected  to  making  yourself  and  your  home  acceptable  to  your  husband,  for  that  is  the  secret 
of  both  your  happiness.  Life  will  not  be  pleasant  to  him  if  home  is  not,  and  if  it  be  not 
pleasant  to  him,  it  cannot  be  to  you.  I  intended  to  write  a  great  deal  more,  but  I  am 
interrupted  and  must  conclude,  with  my  love  to  Margaret,  Le  Roy,  and  little  Jane. 

Your  most  affectionate  father, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Mrs.  Le  Roy,  Potsdam,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Emmet  to  Mr.  Lawless. 

New  York,  Dec.  18th,  1821. 

My  Dear  Sir: 

Although  the  sitting  of  our  Courts  and  the  pressure  of  some  other  business  obliged 
me  to  delay  answering  your  letter  and  indeed  to  postpone  it  to  the  present  time,  yet  I 
assure  you  the  receipt  of  it  gave  me  very  great  pleasure.  I  sincerely  congratulate  Mrs. 
Stokes  on  her  victory,  but  independent  of  that  I  most  cordially  felicitate  you  on  your 
triumph.  She  has  reason  to  rejoice  that  Justice  has  prevailed  in  her  individual  case,  but 
you  may  not  only  be  glad,  but  proud  that  you  made  justice  prevail,  and  while  you  pro- 
tected the  friendless,  established  a  character  for  yourself,  which,  I  trust,  will  procure 
you,  not  only  reputation,  but  more  solid  and  lasting  rewards  in  professional  eminence  and 
emoluments.  Irishmen,  you  know,  are  proverbially  vainglorious  and  arrogant,  may  I 
then  take  the  privilege  of  national  boasting  and  say  "meliori  ex  luto,  nobis  finxit  praecordia 
Titan."  I  was  conscious  that  when  I  solicited  your  services  for  Mrs.  Stokes,  I  was  about 
placing  you  in  a  situation  where  you  would  not  be  surpassed  and  where,  while  you  grati- 
fied the  best  feelings  of  your  heart  you  would  display  the  best  faculties  of  your  head, 
and  I  was  therefore  desirous  you  should  undertake  it.  It  is  an  observation  which  I  have 
often  made  and  always  with  pride,  that  combinations  of  wealth  and  fraud  and  power  and 
influence,  that  make  head  against  everything  else,  cower  beneath  the  talents  of  a  lawyer 
pleading  the  cause  of  oppressed  weakness,  and  surely  that  is  enough  to  redeem  the  pro- 
fession from  the  multitude  of  commonplace  taunts  and  slanders  to  which  it  has  been  sub- 
ject. It  is  but  justice  to  the  world  also  to  add  that  the  lawyer  who  boldly  takes  his  stand 
and  pleads  that  cause  with  energy  and  zeal  has  nothing  to  dread  from  the  after  efforts  of 
the  wealth  and  power  he  has  chastised  and  rebuked — except  in  enslaved  countries,  where  he 
defends  rights  and  freedom  against  the  tyranny  of  governments — for  there  the  public  voice 
is  nothing,  and  he  can  derive  no  support  from  public  approbation. 

You  say  you  intend  to  publish  the,  case — you  certainly  will  gratify  me  very  much  by 
contriving  to  send  me  a  copy.  From  different  hints  in  your  letter  I  perceive  that  you  are 
far  from  pleased  with  the  location  you  have  made.  I  wish  your  circumstances  had  ena- 
bled you  to  bear  the  delay  and  run  the  risks  of  your  profession  in  one  of  the  older 
States,  where  the  manners  of  social  life  and  the  more  abundant  stock  of  information  would 
be  more  congenial  to  your  habits.  But,  perhaps  even  in  one  of  them  you  might  have 
experienced  not  much  less  disappointment,  as  the  resources  of  Paris  and  Dublin  are  not 
as  yet  abundantly  scattered  through  the  United  States,  but  I  hope  the  worst  is  passed 
with  you.  The  probation  you  have  undergone  should  have  familiarized  you  to  the  un- 
courtliness  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  newly  settled  country  and  if  you  are  arrived  at  the 
happy  point  of  making  more  than  you  spend,  the  charms  of  accumulation  which  recon- 
cile men  to  live  in  climates  of  pestilence,  must  surely  soothe  you  to  look  forbearingly 
on  the  disagreements  in  the  character  or  manners  of  those  you  meet,  which  every 
year  I  think  must  lessen.  If  the  accumulation  of  wealth  be  the  best  cure  for  your 
malady,  I  sincerely  hope  it  may  be  administered  to  you  in  large  doses.  Present  my 
best  respects  and  congratulations  to  your  client,  Mrs.  Stokes,  and  believe  me. 

My  dear  Sir, 

L.  Lawless,  Esq.,  Very  truly  your  friend 

Counsellor  at  Law,  and  humble  servant, 

St.  Louis,  Missouri.  Thos.  Addis  Emmet. 


452 


Cause  of  Goitre 


The  following  letter,  written  by  Mr.  Emmet  to  Mr.  Le  Roy,  is  of  interest, 
as  it  is  written  on  a  medical  subject,  the  effect  of  impure  water  as  a  cause  of 
goitre : 

New  York,  Jan.  1st,  1822. 

My  Dear  Le  Roy: 

I  begin  the  year  by  addressing  my  compliments  to  you  and  Elizabeth  and  adding  to 
them  the  heartfelt  and  paternal  prayer  to  God,  that  you  may  enjoy  together  many  happy 
returns  of  this  season  and  always  with  increasing  prosperity.  Probably  this  letter  will 
find  you  on  a  Party  of  pleasure, — for  I  presume,  inexperienced  as  Elizabeth  must  still  be, 
yet  her  winter  arrangements  are  all  completed,  and  you  are  at  liberty  to  avail  yourselves 
of  the  snow,  in  visiting  your  friends.  With  us  down  here,  we  have  had  some  cold 
weather,  and  occasionally  some  snow  that  has  scarcely  laid  upon  the  ground,  so  that  the 
visitors  of  to-day  have  the  streets  dry  and  clean  for  their  perambulation. 

I  was  a  good  deal  surprised  to  learn  by  one  of  Elizabeth's  letters  that  St.  Lawrence 
County,  as  well  as  Canada,  is  subject  to  a  disorder  that  is  usually  considered  as  belonging 
to  close  valleys  of  mountainous  countries,  I  mean  the  Goitres.  This  is  an  additional  proof 
of  what  the  most  candid  physicians  have  acknowledged,  that  we  know  little  or  nothing  of 
their  cause.  They  are  frequently,  and  it  would  seem  foolishly  attributed  to  the  use  of 
snow  water.  But  our  very  ignorance  of  what  produces  them  imposes  on  us  the  necessity 
of  using  many  precautions  that,  if  the  truth  were  known  would  perhaps  be  found  useless. 
As  their  existence  in  our  country  has  set  me  thinking  of  them  I  have  therefore  deter- 
mined to  suggest  one  or  two  things  to  your  consideration.  The  water  has  been  more 
frequently  than  anything  else,  accused  of  causing  the  disorder ;  it  may  be  so,  tho'  we  do 
not  know  how.  I  therefore  thought  of  advising  you  to  a  regulation,  which  I  remember 
was  adopted  with  excellent  effect  in  a  part  of  Ireland  where  I  lived  when  a  boy,  and 
where  the  water  was  not  considered  wholesome.  Simply  to  boil  all  that  was  intended  for 
drinking  and  letting  it  cool.  If  it  held  any  stony  matter  in  solution,  what  some  say  is  the 
cause  of  the  swelled  neck,  it  will  precipitate  that  on  cooling.  If  the  properties  of  the 
snow  can  have  any  effect  they  must  be  removed  by  boiling,  which  certainly  brings  all  waters 
as  near  as  possible  to  an  equality.  I  remember  that  in  the  place  I  alluded  to,  a  kettle  of 
boiling  water  was  brought  into  the  parlour  every  evening  and  put  under  the  sideboard  to 
cool  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  use  drinking  water  except  out  of  it ;  the  kettle  was  en- 
tirely appropriated  to  that  purpose.  I  mentioned  this  to  Mr.  Ogden,  and  he  told  me  Dr. 
North,  who  was  a  very  eminent  man  and  Physician  General  to  the  Army  in  Canada,  gave 
the  same  advice  to  Judge  Ogden's  family  in  Quebec.  The  water  may  not  be  as  pleasant 
as  from  your  crystal  springs,  but  it  will  certainly  be  wholesome. 

My  next  precaution  is  for  the  ladies  to  expose  their  necks  as  little  as  possible  to 
extreme  cold.  I  can  very  well  conceive  that  men  are  less  liable  to  the  disorder  than  women, 
because  their  necks  are  covered  with  their  shirts  and  neck  cloths;  and  I  think,  invariably 
in  the  winter,  a  lady  with  you  should  cover  the  upper  part  of  her  neck  very  warmly. 
These  Elizabeth  will  say  are  very  foolish  precautions,  but  they  can  do  no  harm,  and  if 
they  prevent  an  unsightly  swelling  in  her  or  little  Jane,  they  will  certainly  do  good. 

My  paper  tells  me  I  have  prosed  too  long,  and  have  omitted  acknowledging  your  last 
letter.  Again  God  bless  you  both  and  your  little  one  and  believe  me  my  dear  Le  Roy,  Mrs. 
Emmet  joining  me  in  best  wishes, — Yours  most  affectionately, 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet. 

Wm.  H.  Le  Roy,  Esqr., 

Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y. 

The  next  letter,  written  by  Mr.  Emmet,  is  to  his  youngest  daughter,  Mary 
Anne,  who  afterwards  married  Edward  Boonen  Graves,  a  merchant  of  New 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


THOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET 
Painted  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Emmet  while  a  pupil  of  Fulton 


Learned  Ladies 


453 


York.  This  daughter  and  the  youngest  son,  William  Colville  Emmet,  were 
born  in  this  country. 

Albany,  February  17th,  1822. 

My  Dear  Mary  Anne  : 

Some  few  days  ago,  I  received  your  letter  and  as  it  was  the  first  I  ever  received  from 
you,  it  was  greeted  with  a  welcome.  The  former  instances  of  expectations  raised  and  dis- 
appointed had  led  me  to  suppose  that  this  would  pass  over,  as  my  former  absences  from 
home,  with  good  intentions  on  your  part,  but  marred  by  delay  in  respecting  them. 

However,  I  am  glad  you  have  so  agreeably  disappointed  me  and  particularly  as  your 
motive  for  being  prompt,  was  to  convey  to  me  the  agreeable  intelligence  of  Jane's  improv- 
ing health.  The  many  assurances  I  have  received  on  that  point,  have  removed  every  uneasi- 
ness and  I  expect  when  I  return  to  see  her  not  only  restored,  but  improved  in  health  and 
looks.  I  find  by  your  mother's  letter  that  Balls  are  not  going  out  of  fashion,  nor  young 
people  getting  tired  of  dancing.  I  supposed  you  contrived  to  be  of  the  Party  on  Wednes- 
day last  and  readily  filled  Jane's  place.  But  you  must  take  care,  or  we  must  for  you,  not 
to  let  your  love  of  pleasure  bring  you  too  into  a  fit  of  sickness. 

Judge  Ogden  I  saw  for  only  a  few  moments  and  had  only  a  passing  conversation  with 
him.  I  suppose  you  have  learned  a  great  deal  more  about  Elizabeth  than  I  did  and  her 
family  establishment.  She  has  not  yet  answered  my  letter  from  here,  so  that  I  am  in- 
debted to  casual  mention  of  her  from  New  York  for  most  of  what  I  know. 

It  is  probable  you  may  have  had  another  visit  from  one  of  her  St.  Lawrence  friends, 
as  I  learned  Mr.  Vanderkennel  passed  thro'  this  town  on  his  way  to  New  York.  Little 
Jane,  I  presume,  is  destined  to  be  the  Belle  of  the  North  from  what  I  hear  of  her  black 
eyes  and  intelligent  countenance.  If  as  a  girl  she  is  equal  to  Dick  as  a  boy,  I  shall  be 
satisfied.  Dear  little  fellow  his  birthday  will  come  around  in  a  few  days,  and  in  spite  of 
his  grandmother's  dislike  of  keeping  such  anniversaries,  will  I  suppose  be  celebrated  with 
great  festivity  and  pomp  in  New  York.  He  ought  to  be  able  to  walk  by  then.  Do  Tom 
and  Bob  ever  think  of  their  grandpapa,  or  wish  him  back?  They  are  surrounded  by  so 
many  seeking  favors,  that  I  suppose  his  caresses  are  forgotten.  I  take  for  granted  Mar- 
garet and  you  have  made  it  a  point  to  see  Miss  Ogden  and  that  she  has  been  invited  to  the 
house.  Does  she  come  up  to  your  expectations  of  a  St.  Lawrence  education?  I  suppose 
The  Pirate  has  entirely  supplanted  The  Spy  with  all  fashionable  leaders.  It  is  a  pity  that 
the  imagination  will  scarcely  supply  a  name  of  greater  villainy  for  the  next  Novel.  I 
hear,  however,  that  it  is  a  first  rate  performance  and  abounds  with  interest. 

Tho'  I  did  not  recommend  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  it  is  a  book  for  your  par- 
ticular study,  yet  I  hope  you  are  in  a  course  of  regular  reading,  of  more  utility  and  in- 
struction than  even  the  Waverley  Novels. 

Your  mother  says  you  have  a  diligent  turn  of  mind,  and  if  you  follow  its  bent  you 
will  find  the  advantages  through  life. 

For  notwithstanding  the  outcry  raised  against  learned  ladies,  and  not  unjustly  as 
learned  ladies  are  for  the  most  part  ostentatious  pedants,  yet  a  well  informed  and  well 
educated  woman  everywhere  receives  the  tribute  of  respect,  to  which  is  added  more  or 
less  of  admiration  and  love,  as  the  beauties  of  her  person,  or  softer  qualities  of  her  mind 
enhance  the  acquirements  of  her  understanding.  If  you  think  nature  has  made  you  tol- 
erable in  personal  appearance,  it  is  the  better  worth  your  while  to  labor  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  your  mind.  Adieu,  give  my  love  to  the  girls,  &c,  and  believe  me,  dear  Mary  Anne, 
your  truly  affectionate  father,  T.  A.  E. 

Miss  M.  A.  Emmet, 

Nassau  St.,  New  York. 

The  following  letter  by  Mr.  Emmet,  is,  chronologically,  the  latest  written  by 
him  to  any  member  of  the  family,  which  has  come  under  my  observation,  al- 
though others  exist  but  have  not  been  available. 


454 


More  Gaiety 


New  York,  March  1st,  1822. 

My  dear  Elizabeth  : 

Altho'  in  my  last  letter  to  Le  Roy  I  mentioned  that  I  should  not  remain  long  enough 
in  Albany  to  receive  a  second  letter  from  you,  I  did  not  intend  to  leave  it  without  answer- 
ing yours.  But  the  pressure  of  bringing  matters  to  a  conclusion  before  my  departure, 
compelled  me  to  postpone  my  letter  'till  my  return  home,  which  took  place  yesterday,  in 
good  health  and  not  much  fatigued  by  the  journey,  tho'  the  roads  were  not  in  the  best 
order.  If  I  am  to  judge  of  the  number  of  pens  I  have  seen  in  motion  on  your  account 
since  my  arrival,  I  presume  you  are  likely  to  be  kept  in  the  same  regular  and  constant 
employment  of  correspondence  that  has  kept  you  to  the  top  of  your  speed  for  some  time 
past.  It  is  not  to  increase  your  difficulty  that  I  write,  but  to  give  you  a  fresh  proof  of 
my  affection,  and  to  assure  you  that  provided  I  am  regularly  informed  of  the  health  and 
happiness  of  Le  Roy,  yourself  and  little  Jane,  I  shall  not  be  offended  at  your  neglecting 
me  in  the  regular  order  of  your  correspondence.  Punctuality  in  that  respect  is  often  very 
inconvenient  to  myself  and  I  can  well  conceive  how  it  must  be  with  you  matched  as  you 
are  with  fearful  odds.  Jane  does  appear  to  be  re-established,  but  her  illness  was  severe 
and  lasting;  particularly  the  weakness  of  her  limbs  continued  so  as  to  be  some  cause  of 
alarm.  She  seems  now,  however,  to  be  perfectly  restored  and  was  dancing  a  little  the 
night  before  last.  Her  illness  has  deprived  her  of  much  enjoyment  of  this  gay  winter, 
when  it  seems  extravagance  is  pushed  beyond  all  former  example  in  this  city.  The  girls 
undoubtedly  informed  \ou  of  the  superb  doings  of  the  Misses  Douglass.  They  are  going 
to-night  to  the  Misses  Kimbles,  where  it  is  said  Simon  has  got  instructions  to  prepare  a 
more  splendid  supper  than  has  been  given  anywhere  this  winter.  When  I  say  they,  I  mean 
Rosina  and  Margaret,  for  Jane  is  too  much  on  the  invalid  list  to  venture  to  such  a  Party, 
and  Mary  Anne  has  not  so  entirely  shaken  off  all  authority.  We  have  for  a  week  past, 
as  I  understand,  been  in  the  midst  of  Spring,  but  it  is  so  unseasonable  that  we  can  not 
but  dread  another  visit  from  winter.  This  your  Northerns  object  to  and  prefer  the  steady 
continuance  of  cold  while  it  lasts,  but  for  my  part  I  consider  it  a  picture  of  this  world's 
felicity, — in  momentary  enjoyments  dashed  by  severe  adversity,  and  as  I  can  not  mend  it, 
I  endeavour  to  enjoy  the  blessing  while  it  lasts,  basking  in  the  sun  and  genial  warmth 
and  housing  and  protecting  myself  against  the  storm  when  its  turn  comes. 

As  to  domestic  news,  you  have  so  many  correspondences  that  they  certainly  have  left 
nothing  untold.  I  was  happy  to  find  your  mother  so  well  on  my  return  and  having  com- 
forted herself  for  my  absence  by  mixing  more  than  usual  with  the  family.  Jeannette's 
illness,  by  bringing  the  two  more  together  and  showing  each  the  affection  and  interest  really 
entertained  for  her  by  the  other,  did  some  good  and  your  mother's  attention  to  her  made 
her  more  frequently  below  stairs  than  she  had  been  for  some  time  before.  The  rest  of 
the  family  I  found  as  I  might  have  expected.  I  will  say  nothing  of  the  little  boys,  for  I 
suspect  you  are  not  without  jealousy  of  their  engrossing  all  the  affection  of  which  you 
wish  to  preserve  a  portion  for  your  little  Jane.  But  don't  be  uneasy.  Your  Mother  and  I 
have  room  enough  in  our  hearts  for  many  more  such  objects  of  love,  and  if  it  be  with 
you,  as  it  seems  to  be  with  Rosina,  it  will  be  occupied.  God  bless  you  my  dear  Elizabeth. 
Give  my  love  to  Le  Roy  and  a  kiss,  as  a  pledge  of  affectionate  remembrance,  to  little  Jane. 

Your  truly  affectionate  father, 

T.  A.  Emmet. 

Mrs.  Le  Roy, 

Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Blennerhassett  had  struggled  on  for  years  in  the  attempt  to  revive  his 
fortune  on  a  plantation  in  the  Mississippi  Territory,  but,  "misfortune  having 
marked  him  for  her  own",  he  at  length  was  forced  to  realize  on  his  property 
there.  His  purpose  was  to  return  to  Ireland,  with  the  hope  of  gaining  some 
property  to  which  he  had  a  claim.    He  consequently  sailed  for  Ireland  in 


Mrs.  Jane  Patten  Emmet,  enlarged  from  a 
daguerreotype  in  a  ring,  taken  in  1840 


Mrs.  Blennerhassett 


455 


1S22,  leaving  his  family  in  New  York  with  but  a  small  provision  for  their 
future.  Mrs.  Blennerhassett  writes  to  her  husband  from  Flatbush,  Long 
Island,  July  29th,  1822,*  and,  after  detailing  her  difficulties,  she  says: 

My  dear  kind  friends,  the  Emmets,  have  been  my  greatest  support.  Could  I  tell  you 
all  the  affectionate  kindness  they  have  lavished  on  us,  you  would  scarcely  credit  even  me. 
Mrs.  Emmet  was  not  in  town  when  I  first  arrived  but  came  in  next  day  to  see  me.  We 
cried  together  a  long  time,  and  Mr.  Emmet  said  we  were  so  foolish  he  must  leave  us.  I 
went  out  with  them  to  the  country  where  I  spent  three  days.  I  did  not  wish  to  stay  so 
long,  but  Lewis  was  with  me,  and  so  delighted  with  the  beautiful  place  and  all  the  atten- 
tion he  received,  that  I  wished  to  indulge  him,  besides  I  found  Mrs.  Emmet's  advice 
and  consolation  acting  powerfully  in  restoring  me  to  some  tranquillity;  for  never  in  my 
life  have  I  been  so  completely  wretched  as  since  I  parted  with  you.  She  would  not  hear 
of  my  doing  anything  in  the  way  of  gaining  a  livelihood  while  any  prospect  remained  of 
your  preferment,  but  cheered  me  with  hopes  of  your  success. 

They  were  then  preparing  to  go  on  a  visit  to  Potsdam,  to  their  daughter,  but  Harman 
has  seen  them  since  and  told  them  of  my  present  plan,  which  they  highly  approve.  .  .  . 
To  tell  you  how  I  love  this  family  would  be  impossible.  It  grieves  me,  therefore,  to  say 
that  I  think  that  they  are  somewhat  embarrassed,  at  present,  in  their  circumstances.  They 
lost  their  fine  son,  Temple,  last  autumn,  who  died  of  the  yellow  fever  on  board  of  the 
Macedonian.^ 

The  letter  which  will  now  be  given  records  Mrs.  Emmet's  visit  to  her 
daughter  at  Potsdam,  an  event  which  doubtless  created  no  little  stir  in  the 
household,  as  she  seldom  was  known  to  leave  her  house.  The  reference 
made  in  this  letter  to  the  epidemic  of  yellow  fever,  which  was  then  devastat- 
ing the  city,  is  also  of  interest. 

Albany,  August  31st,  1822. 

My  dear  Elizabeth, 

I  have  seated  myself  to  write,  in  the  midst  of  every  kind  of  noise  and  confusion  at 
Shumer's  Mansion  House,  and  without  anything  to  tell  you  and  because  it  will  be  some 
time  before  I  can  write  to  you  again  if  I  miss  this  post-day,  and  I  suppose  you  have  some 
anxiety  to  know  how  we  got  on.  Our  sail  down  the  rapids  was  very  pleasant  tho'  the 
first  day  I  did  not  enjoy  it  much  for  I  was  really  out  of  sorts  at  parting  with  my  friend 
Mary,  and  Mr.  Selden  could  only  console  himself,  for  the  separation,  by  wearing  her 
night  cap  which  I  hope  she  perceived,  as  he  put  it  on  before  we  were  out  of  sight.  I  need 
not  tel!  you  of  how  many  a  long  look  I  took  at  Potsdam  as  we  were  leaving  it.  You 
know  how  sorry  I  was  to  go,  so  I  shall  not  enlarge  on  it.  We  reached  Montreal  Sunday 
night,  but  too  late  for  the  steamboat  for  St.  John's,  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  spend  two 
days  there.  Mama  was  glad  of  it,  as  she  was  very  much  fatigued  with  being  two  days 
on  the  water,  but  I  would  much  rather  for  myself  have  avoided  meeting  anyone. 

We  met  with  a  great  deal  of  kindness  and  attention  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 

•From  the  Blennerhassett  Papers. 

tThe  suffering  endured  by  the  members  of  the  unfortunate  Blennerhassett  family  cannot  be  here 
traced.  Poverty  and  privation  at  length  terminated  their  ill-starred  lives.  Harman,  the  second  son, 
remained  in  New  York  and  endeavored  to  gain  a  livelihood  as  an  instructor  of  Latin.  In  a  short  time, 
however,  his  mind  became  impaired,  and  for  years,  as  a  harmless  wanderer,  he  was  a  familiar  object 
in  the  streets  of  the  city.  He  was  cared  for  until  his  death,  in  1854,  through  the  liberality  of  Judge 
Robert  Emmet.  Shortly  before  his  death  he  seemed,  in  some  lucid  moment,  to  have  realized  his 
dependent  condition,  and  without  the  knowldge  of  his  friend  he  sought  admission  to  some  public  insti- 
tution, where  he  died.  His  remains  were  placed  in  Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet's  vault  in  the  Second  Street 
Marble  Cemetery,  where  they  still  rest. 

The  writer  acquired  the  following  from  an  autograph  catalogue: — 

"Mr.  H.  Blennerhassett,  the  bearer  of  this  note,  is  a  young  gentleman,  in  whose  welfare  I  take  a 
great  interest.  He  is  well  connected,  well  brought  up  and  I  hope  and  believe  well  conducted.  Circum- 
stances render  him  at  present  desirous  of  giving  instruction  in  the  Latin  language  and  I  believe  he  will 
be  found  competent  to  perform  what  he  may  be  willing  to  undertake. 

"New  York,  June  7th,  1822.  "Tiros.  Addis  Emmet." 


456 


Yellow  Fever  Epidemic 


Ogden.  They  took  us  to  several  nunneries  and  all  that  was  worth  seeing  in  the  city,  and 
pressed  us  so  much  to  go  and  spend  the  evening  with  them,  and  promised  that  we  should 
meet  no  one,  that  Mama  consented  to  go.  We  came  away,  however,  in  about  an  hour, 
for  I  grew  very  sick,  and  was  afraid  of  one  of  my  old  attacks.  I  was  well  enough  to 
come  on  the  next  evening  and  had  got  here  feeling  pretty  well,  but  my  hand  was  a  little 
unsteady  as  you  may  perceive  by  my  writing.  We  shall  not  be  able  to  go  on  until  Mon- 
day as  Mr.  Selden  has  business  in  Saratoga  which  will  detain  him  'till  then.  I  am  very 
anxious  to  get  home,  tho'  I  dread  it  when  I  think  of  it,  for  the  accounts  we  receive  of 
the  fever  are  most  distressing  and  tho'  our  office  is  moved  to  Broadway,  above  Walker 
Street,  we  are  still  uneasy  that  the  Boys  should  have  to  go  even  there.  The  city  is  en- 
tirely fenced  in  from  river  to  river,  below  St.  Paul's  Church  and  you  may  suppose  when 
that  is  the  case  it  is  time  to  fear.  The  steamboats  stop  at  Bloomingdale,*  so  that  we  will 
not  go  near  the  city.  I  dare  say  you  will  hear  all  I  can  tell  you  as  soon  in  the  papers, 
but  we  can  think  or  speak  of  nothing  else,  and  while  my  mind  is  running  on  it  my  pen 
naturally  takes  the  same  course,  so  you  must  excuse  me  if  I  write  old  news.  I  am  sorry 
that  I  began  my  letter  on  the  wrong  side  as  you  will  have  some  difficulty  in  making  it  out 
and  if  I  had  more  paper  I  should  have  written  you  another,  but  you  write  your  letters  so 
often  in  this  manner  yourself  that  I  am  in  hopes  it  will  seem  quite  natural  to  you  as  if  it 
were  written  properly.  As  I  have  nothing  new  to  write  to  you,  and  as  my  head  is  aching 
I  can  not  write  you  a  long  letter  to-day,  but  I  shall  endeavor  to  be  more  entertaining  the 
next  time.  Give  my  best  love  to  Mary  and  tell  her  I  shall  think  her  very  unkind  indeed 
if  she  does  not  fulfil  her  promise,  and  write  to  me  next  week.  I  hope  Mr.  Ogden  did  not 
detain  her  at  home,  and  that  you  have  her  with  you ;  I  do  not  know  what  you  would  do 
without  her.  I  have  felt  my  own  spirits  very  much  from  the  want  of  her  good  company 
to  cheer  them  up.  We  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Robert,  they  are  still  all  well  at 
home,  but  he  writes  in  very  low  spirits,  and  reading  his  letter  has  made  me  less  capable  of 
continuing  mine  than  I  was  before. 

Give  my  love  to  Mr.  Le  Roy,  and  remind  him  he  owes  me  a  letter.  Papa  &  Mama 
send  their  love  to  all  and  a  kiss  to  dear  little  Jane. 

Believe  me  yours  most  affectionately, 

Jeannette  Emmet. 

After  the  last  letter  a  longer  interval  than  usual  was  found  to  exist  in 
the  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Le  Roy,  and  from  some  cause  a  number  of 
letters  were  missing  for  a  period  extending  over  a  year.  Mr.  John  D.  Crim- 
mins  has  kindly  furnished  a  copy  of  this  letter  from  his  collection,  and  it  is 
the  only  one  found  of  this  date. 

New  York,  July  29th,  1823. 

Hon'ble  Smith  Thompson,  &c,  &c,  &c, 
Dear  Sir  : 

Let  me  in  the  first  place  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  the  great  pleasure  I  feel 
at  your  resuming  a  Judicial  Station.  That  you  would  accept  that,  to  which  you  have  been 
appointed,  was  the  original  expectation,  and  certainly  the  wish  of  all  the  Members  of  our 
Barr — &  nothing  but  the  conviction  of  your  having  determined  to  decline  it,  would  have 
induced  any  of  them  to  utter  sentiments  in  favor  of  others.  Your  change  of  resolution 
has,  however,  given  very  general  satisfaction,  &  I  sincerely  hope  will  be  productive  to 
yourself  of  long  continued  gratification  &  enjoyment.  Perhaps  with  those  expressions 
of  my  feelings  I  ought  to  close  this  letter  but  I  have  a  strong  desire  (if  it  would  not 
be  regarded  as  an  impertinent  intrusion)  to  touch  upon  another  subject.  You  will,  I  dare 
say,  at  once  conjecture  I  allude  to  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Navy;  &  my  well  known 
intimacy  &  friendship  with  Mr.  Colden  will  lead  you  to  think  of  him — if  so,  you  will  have 
divined  my  meaning. 


"Manhattanville. 


Letter  to  Smith  Thompson 


457 


Recollecting  that  he  was  designated  by  many  for  that  office  on  the  first  news  of  Judge 
Livingston's  death,  &  the  presumption  of  your  filling  the  vacancy,  I  this  morning  sought 
&  had  a  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject,  when  I  learned  to  my  surprise  and  regret, 
that  altho'  he  would  be  extremely  flattered  &  gratified  with  the  appointment,  yet  pride 
or  delicacy  had  prevented  his  taking  any  steps  for  obtaining  it.  I,  therefore,  determined, 
after  satisfying  myself  of  his  private  wishes,  to  hazard  this  letter,  but  without  any  in- 
tention of  improperly  intermeddling  with  matters  of  so  delicate  a  nature.  Of  his  compe- 
tency &  qualifications  I  ought  to  say  nothing  to  you,  for  you  know  them  as  well  &  can 
appreciate  them  better  than  myself.  But  this  I  undertake  to  assure  you  with  confidence 
that  his  appointment  would  be  very  popular,  &  give  general  satisfaction  here. 

If  you  think  that  this  letter,  or  any  part  of  its  contents,  could  be  made  in  any  way  to 
promote  his  interests,  you  would  only  coincide  with  my  wishes,  by  using  it  as  you  may 
think  best  calculated  for  that  purpose. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  sincere  respect  &  esteem, 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  obedient  Servant, 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 
Address :  Endorsement, 

Hon'ble  Smith  Thompson  *  &c,  &c,  &c.  July  20th,  1823. 

Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  Esq. 

Private 

(Note  in  pencil) 

Secy  of  U.  S.  Navy, 
Justice,  etc.,  etc. 

Among  the  family  letters  of  this  period  we  find  one  from  Miss  Emmet 
to  her  sister,  Mrs.  Le  Roy. 

Wednesday,  December  9th,  1823. 
Your  letters,  my  dear  Elizabeth,  always  welcome,  was  doubly  so  the  last  one  I  re- 
ceived, as  it  was  something  like  a  fortnight  on  the  road,  or  else  you  were  awfully  astray 
in  the  date  as  yours  and  the  postmark  differed  five  or  six  days — a  trifle  you  will  say.  I 
am  sorry,  however,  unintentionally  that  I  should  have  caused  so  much  trouble  to  our 
friend  as  you  say.  I  dare  say  he  wished  me  and  my  letters  to  the  deuce,  a  thousand 
times,  before  an  accident  of  the  kind  had  happened  and  I  am  glad  you  found  out  the 
contents  without  speaking  to  me,  as  I  have  not  the  slightest  recollection  of  them  except 
as  a  matter  of  course  they  must  have  been  flat  and  flatter  still  by  the  fuss.  I  believe  I 
told  you  in  my  last  that  we  were  all  going  to  the  christening  and  between  dissipation  and 
bad  weather  we  staid  the  remainder  of  the  week  in  town.  Mama  went  with  us  as  we 
would  not  all  desert  her,  although  for  years  she  has  not  been  so  well  as  for  this  some 
time  past.  We  yet  make  no  calculations  upon  that  part  of  the  winter  we  are  to  spend  in 
town,  if  any,  but  as  there  are  three  of  us  one  can  always  play  the  rustic  while  the  others 
are  vagabondizing,  as  the  exquisites  term  it.  I  wish  when  we  all  live  in  the  country  we 
could  only  plant  ourselves  together  and  be  independent  of  the  world,  as  we  were  last 
winter. 

Indeed  I  have  lived  so  long  out  of  the  beau  monde  that  I  would  dearly  love  to  be  up 
to  my  elbows  in  your  sausage  meat  sentimental;  and  would  forego  willingly  all  parties, 
however  pleasant,  if  I  could  only  get  beside  you,  with  dear  little  Jane  and  Herman  on  my 
knee,  for  ever  so  short  a  time.  But  distance  and  independence  are  marplots  to  my  airy 
castle,  and  I  must  only  hope  next  winter  you  will  turn  your  horses'  heads  this  way  and 
make  up  for  our  present  separation.  I  feel  as  if  I  was  traveling  fast  to  the  blues  so  will 
turn  over  a  new  leaf  and  choose  a  new  subject  that  you  may  think  not  I  am  growing 


•Smith  Thompson  was  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
1818-23,  and  associate  justice  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  1823-1843. 


458 


"The  Nation's  Guest" 


melancholy  from  a  country  life.  I  must  tell  you  we  have  the  house  very  comfortable 
indeed,  the  hall  is  so  warm  from  heated  air,  Papa's  old  hobby,  that  we  keep  a  large  col- 
lection of  plants  in  it.  One  parlour  has  a  very  open  stove,  which  warms  it  almost  too 
much  and  is  very  cheerful,  and  the  other  which  we  use  as  an  eating  room  is  warmed  from 
below  also.  I  believe  on  recollection  I  have  told  you  all  this  before,  but  no  matter,  I  am 
scarce  of  subject  to-day.  Do  you  know  Eliza  McEvers  is  engaged  to  Allen  Livingston, 
a  brother  of  Mary?  He  is  gone  to  France  for  his  health,  I  hope  not  the  Livingston 
malady,  and  will  return  in  May.  They  say  he  is  a  fine  young  man,  but  a  great  whip  and 
not  over-fond  of  work  if  he  should  find  it  necessary  to  follow  a  profession.  Whether  he 
has  fortune  enough  to  live  without  one  I  do  not  know.  There  is  nothing  more  new  that 
I  can  think  of  to-day.  Mary  Anne  is  waiting  for  me  to  try  on  a  dress  for  her.  We 
have  been  in  a  sad  dilemma  about  preserve  making  this  fall,  for  the  sentimental  Lucy, 
thinking  some  one  was  going  to  attack  her  at  night,  jumped  out  of  the  window  intending 
to  hang  by  the  sill  until  all  was  quiet,  but  it  unfortunately  gave  way  and  she  fell  down 
in  a  paved  yard  and  broke  her  knee  pan.  She  is  getting  well,  but  is  not  well  enough  to 
work.  Did  you  ever  fit  in  your  white  dresses?  Brown  silks  are  the  rage  now,  and  I 
have  got  a  very  handsome  one.  The  girls  have  also  browns  trimmed  with  purple,  which 
look  very  gay  and  handsome.  If  you  want  to  be  fashionable  dash  down  to  church  some 
day  with  white  feathers  in  your  black  hat  and  astonish  the  natives  as  well  as  the  Castle. 
It  is  the  decided  winter  hat,  and  you  ought  to  edge  it  with  gold  cord  or  steel  beads.  Love 
to  all  the  children  and  Le  Roy.  I  mean  to  excuse  pens  for  I  have  vowed  not  to  write 
again  until  they  are  mended.  Yours  ever, 

Margaret  Emmet. 

I  forgot  to  ask  you  whether  you  had  the  Waddington  visitors  with  you  yet?  Sarah 
Seton  was  out  here  yesterday  and  said  her  sister  had  a  most  pressing  invitation  from 
you  and  that  she  only  waited  for  her  clothes  which  are  going  up  to  her.  Are  they  more 
friendly  with  the  Islanders  than  at  first?  In  a  letter  from  Mary  she  said  that  far  from 
being  an  acquisition  to  their  society  they  took  from  the  pleasure  of  going  to  Elersie.  I 
am  writing  in  the  dark  and  with  a  most  unhappy  pen,  so  make  all  reasonable  excuses. 

M.  Emmet. 

In  a  letter  written  by  Miss  Margaret  Emmet  to  Mrs.  Le  Roy,  on  Febru- 
ary 24th,  1824,  we  find  reference  to  the  renewal  of  an  old  acquaintance  be- 
tween Mr.  Emmet  and  Lafayette,  whom  he  had  known  socially  in  Paris  be- 
fore the  French  Revolution.    It  is  thus  described: 

Papa  writes  from  Albany  in  good  spirits  and  says  the  Marquis  Lafayette  did  him 
the  honor  of  sending  word  that  he  intended  waiting  on  him,  which  for  the  Nation's  Guest 
was  kind  to  a  degree  and  one  of  the  first  visits  Papa  had  in  view  was  to  the  Marquis,  if 
the  old  gentleman  had  not  been  too  quick  for  him.  They  must  have  been  like  two  pots  of 
honey  meeting,  for  the  General  is  inconceivably  kind  in  his  manners  and  I  think  Papa  is 
formed  on  the  same  model. 

Mr.  A.  Oakey  Hall  concludes  his  account  of  Mr.  Emmet's  professional 

work  by  citing  a  noted  case,  recorded  as  Gibbons  versus  Ogden,  1824. 

The  United  States  Supreme  Court  reports  also  show  that  he  was  retained  in  it  for 
many  memorable  cases.  The  most  memorable  one  was  the  leading  constitutional  con- 
troversy of  Gibbons  v.  Ogden,  9  Wheaton,  page  1,  which  is  regarded  in  our  national  ju- 
risprudence as  a  milestone  on  the  highway  of  constitutional  lore.  Respondent  Ogden 
had  been  an  assignee  of  Robert  Fulton's  steam  plant,  and  of  an  exclusive  privilege  by  act 
of  the  New  York  legislature  of  navigating  the  waters  appertaining  to  the  Hudson  River 


Gibbons  versus  Ogden 


459 


and  to  those  portions  of  the  bays  around  the  lower  harbor  which  were  in  the  jurisdiction 
of  New  York  State.  Appellant  Gibbons  had  in  the  State  courts  sought  an  injunction 
against  Ogden's  assertion  of  his  exclusive  navigation  privileges  from  the  State — that  he 
denominated  an  unconstitutional  monopoly.  And  in  support  of  his  right  to  conduct  a 
steam  ferry  through  New  York  waters  to  a  point  in  New  Jersey,  he  set  up  a  United  States 
navigating  license  to  himself  under  due  Federal  statutory  authority.  The  State  courts,  in 
giving  to  Ogden — Robert  Fulton's  assignee — the  full  benefit  of  his  legislatively  awarded 
monopoly,  brought  Gibbons  as  appellant  to  the  Washington  court.  The  conflict  between 
State  rights  and  a  paramount  Federal  jurisdiction  of  navigable  waters  produced  wide- 
spread interest.  Newspaper  and  legal  gossip  divided  in  opinion.  But  the  larger  number 
of  disputants  viewed  with  alarm  any  monopoly  of  the  then  new  but  rapidly  growing  tran- 
sit by  steamboat.  In  the  February  term  of  1824  the  controversy  reached  the  tribunal  over 
which  the  great  John  Marshall  presided,  and  of  which  Joseph  Story  was  a  junior  member 
in  company  with  Smith  Thompson  of  New  York,  whose  commission  was  then  only  a  year 
old.  Their  elder  associates  were  Bushrod  Washington  of  Virginia,  who  held  commission 
from  the  administration  of  his  great  namesake;  William  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina, 
Thomas  Todd,  of  Kentucky,  and  Gabriel  Duval,  of  Maryland — all  of  whom  had  been  law 
students  when  the  Federal  Constitution  went  first  on  trial.  Gibbons  had  retained  Daniel 
W'ebster  and  William  Wirt,  and  the  legal  rank  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  at  that  time  may 
be  well  estimated,  when  the  State  of  New  York,  whose  legislative  rights  were  in  question 
by  the  controversy,  retained  him  against  those  eminent  jurists  as  aid  to  the  private  counsel 
of  Ogden,  who  was  the  afterward  eminent  Chief-Justice  Thomas  J.  Oakley  of  New  York 
City.  There  was  an  immense  audience  of  congressmen,  lawyers  and  laymen 
assembled  when  the  four  eminent  counsel  took  seats,  after  all  below  the  Bench, 
had  in  standing  greeted  the  full  Bench,  for  the  popular  interest  if.  the 
great  legal  battle  had  then  become  climacteric.  The  scene  when  the  argument 
opened  would  have  formed  on  canvas  a  rare  historical  picture,  with  the  strong  Wash- 
ingtonian  countenance  of  Chief-Justice  Marshall  in  the  foreground,  and  with  the  eagle- 
eyed  Webster,  whose  laurels  of  the  great  Dartmouth  College  case  still  adorned  his  Jove- 
like forehead ;  with  the  handsome  and  graceful  Attorney-General  Wirt,  wearing  literary 
honors  as  author  of  "The  British  Spy,"  and  the  biography  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  also 
professional  fame  first  won  in  the  Burr  treason  trial ;  with  Thomas  J.  Oakley,  a  facial 
combination  of  hawk  and  owl ;  and  with  the  Milesian  bearing  of  Emmet,  all  as  middle 
figures  in  the  picture.  The  report  of  the  argument  and  of  the  opinions  of  Marshall  and 
Johnson,  that  begin  the  ninth  volume  of  Wheaton's  Reports,  constitutes  the  longest  entry 
on  the  reports  of  the  Court  up  to  that  date,  and  spreads  over  a  score  of  pages.  Mr. 
Webster's  argument  is  a  marvel  of  arrangement,  and  constitutes  a  very  ladder  of  logic, 
each  round  leading  to  the  next,  until  these  finally  reach  an  apex  of  eloquent  defense  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  as  possessing  supreme  jurisdiction  over  the  navigable  waters 
and  commerce  of  the  United  States.  It  was  not  ornate,  he  was  leaving  that  to  Wirt,  but 
he  held  up  his  client's  license  to  traverse  Federal  waters  as  the  paramount  factor  in 
the  controversy.  Oakley  followed  with  plausible  pleas  for  coincidence  of  State  sover- 
eignty with  Federal  safeguards.  Emmet  succeeded  him,  leaving  Wirt  to  answer  their 
joint  argument.  Emmet's  address,  after  a  reader  had  grasped  Webster's  exposition  of 
the  controlling  power  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  reads  speciously,  but  the  reader  can  not 
fail  to  extol  its  admirable  rhetoric  and  classic  style.  It  will  impress  the  student  as  even 
more  ornate  than  the  closing  argument  of  Wirt,  which  aimed  to  shade  logic  with  style. 
The  episodes  and  the  closing  paragraphs  in  the  arguments  of  each  combatant  glow  with 
fancy  and  illustration. 

Webster's  constitutional  views  won  upon  Marshall's  massive  intellect,  and  he  delivered 
an  opinion  that  has  long  been  monumental  in  jurisprudential  regions,  holding  with  Justice 
Johnson,  who  also  prepared  an  opinion  that  is  only  a  foil  to  that  one  by  the  Chief 
Justice.  The  Court  decided  that  the  grant  by  the  New  York  legislature  was  unconstitu- 
tional and  void,  and  that  Gibbons,  the  appellant,  had  by  virtue  of  his  Federal  license,  and 


460 


Reply  to  Mr.  Pinkney 


by  the  operation  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  freest  right  to  navigate  the  New  York 
and  all  other  waters.  The  opinion  was  the  first  strong  national  blow  judiciously  delivered 
at  the  potency  of  States  rights  when  in  conflict  with  Federal  authority. 

Although  unsuccessful,  Mr.  Emmet's  legal  prestige  was  improved,  and  for  three 
years  longer  he  maintained  supremacy  at  the  Washington  and  Eastern  bars.  In  the  au- 
tumn of  1827  his  fee-book  showed  him  in  receipt  of  the  annual  income  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  equivalent  in  purchasing  power  to  double  that  amount  now-a-days. 

Mr.  Hall  gives  the  following  account  of  a  difficulty  in  the  U.  S.  Supreme 
Court  between  Mr.  Emmet  and  Mr.  Pinkney  of  Maryland.  Finding  it  diffi- 
cult to  reply  to  Mr.  Emmet's  argument,  Mr.  Pinkney  had  referred  to  him  as 
an  alien.  Mr.  Charles  G.  Haines,  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Emmet's,  who 
was  present  at  the  time,  has  given  a  detailed  version  of  this  affair  in  his 
ample  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet,  which  follows  the  account  of  his  death  in  this 
work. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  remarkable  for  display  of  courtesy  to  Bench  and  Bar,  and  slow  to 
anger.  On  one  occasion  early  in  his  career,  he  and  William  Pinkney  were  opponents  in  the 
Supreme  Court  at  Washington  in  a  case  that  the  latter  had  greatly  at  heart,  and  Mr. 
Pinkney  appears  to  have  traveled  out  of  the  merits  to  indulge  in  personal  references  to 
his  opponent,  with  a  view  perhaps — as  are  often  forensic  tactics — of  irritating  and  weak- 
ening reply.  The  incident,  however,  seemed  to  have  operated  as  a  hone  for  sharpening 
his  intellect  without  ruffling  his  temper.  When  the  argument  ended  he  said  to  the 
Court,  "Perhaps  I  ought  to  notice  the  remarks  of  the  opposite  counsel,  but  they  belonged 
to  a  species  of  warfare  in  which  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  found  no  experi- 
ence. I  am  willing  to  leave  my  adversary  whatever  advantage  he  may  gain  from  display 
of  his  talent  in  that  direction.  When  I  came  to  this  country  I  came  as  a  friendless 
stranger,  but  I  am  proud  to  say  that  from  the  Bar  generally,  and  from  the  Bench  uni- 
versally I  have  experienced  nothing  but  politeness  and  even  kindness.  I  have  been  ac- 
customed to  admire  and  even  reverence  the  learning  and  eloquence  of  the  gentleman,  and 
he  was  the  last  man  from  whom  I  should  have  expected  personal  observations  of  the  kind 
in  question.  The  learned  gentleman  had  once  filled  the  highest  office  his  country  could 
bestow  at  the  Court  of  St.  James — as  a  subject  of  which  I  was  born — but  I  am  sure  he 
did  not  acquire  his  breeding  in  that  school."  Court  and  Bar  looked  delighted,  for  William 
Pinkney's  manner  was  often  overbearing.  But  in  Wheaton's  Life  of  Pinkney  appears  a 
report  of  the  apology  that  the  latter  immediately  tendered,  viz. :  "The  manner  of  the 
gentleman  in  reply  reproaches  me  by  its  forbearance  and  urbanity,  and  hastens  the  re- 
pentance which  reflection  would  have  produced.  I  offer  him  a  cheerful  atonement.  Cheer- 
ful because  it  puts  me  to  rights  with  myself,  and  because  tendered  to  an  interesting 
stranger  whom  adversity  has  tried,  and  affliction  [evidently  referring  to  the  execution 
of  his  brother  Robert]  struck  severely  to  the  heart;  to  an  exile  whom  any  country 
might  be  proud  to  receive,  and  every  man  of  generous  temper  would  be  ashamed  to 
offend."  Perhaps  at  this  atonement  Mr.  Emmet  may  have  felt  what  Frederic  R.  Cou- 
dert  expressed  when,  having  been  roughly  treated  by  an  adversary's  speech,  and  the  latter 
having  regretfully  apologized,  Mr.  Coudert  observed,  "I  now  rejoice  at  the  incident  be- 
cause of  the  charming  recompense." 

In  concluding  this  portion  of  our  subject  we  reproduce  a  letter  from  Miss 
Mary  Anne  Emmet  containing  a  very  interesting  account  <5f  a  ball  in  the  old 
country-house  on  the  Middle  Road,  which  was  doubtless  given  for  her.  This 


Emmet  Ball 


461 


is  the  last  of  the  series  of  family  letters  in  which  any  reference  is  made  to 
social  matters : 

New  York,  October  30th,  18E5. 

I  feel,  my  dear  Elizabeth,  as  if  I  had  really  neglected  you  for  this  some  time  past  in 
allowing  the  troubles  of  company  to  interfere  with  my  regularity  in  writing,  but  in  my 
last  letter  I  told  you  how  hurried  we  were  between  visiting,  seeing  company  and  writing 
invitations  for  the  ball  which  is  safely  over  and  that  I  might  not  be  able  to  write  until 
we  were  more  quiet.  Friday  was  the  eventful  evening,  and  if  we  may  take  the  assurance 
of  all  our  friends,  and  the  proof  that  others  gave  of  staying  till  four  in  the  morning 
it  went  off  handsomely  and  gaily.  We  had  the  carpet  up  in  one  room  and  as  soon  as  the 
rooms  got  very  crowded  had  the  other  raised  as  we  had  made  due  preparation  for  it.  We 
had  the  rooms  well  lighted,  as  that  adds  so  much  to  the  liveliness  of  a  ball ;  and  altho'  in 
the  country,  our  friends  paid  us  the  compliment  of  turning  out  in  a  new  finery  many 
of  them.  We  transformed  Papa's  study  into  a  card  room  for  gentlemen  and  the  other 
front  room  into  a  kind  of  withdrawing  room  where  there  stood  a  large  bowl  of  whiskey 
punch  and  where  in  the  end  of  the  evening  there  was  a  substantial  supper  laid  for  the 
gentlemen,  such  as  jellied  turkey,  patties  and  all  the  necessary  et  ceteras  for  a  good 
supper.  Simon  was  our  head  man  so  we  had  none  of  the  trouble  of  preparing  refresh- 
ments except  to  tell  him  some  few  good  things  we  wanted  and  he  arranged  everything 
as  handsomely  as  we  could  wish.  We  sent  out  from  four  to  five  hundred  invitations, 
but  there  are  so  many  families  in  mourning  and  many  not  yet  in  town,  that  we  had  not 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  there,  but  that  filled  our  rooms  most  plentifully  and  the 
civility  was  paid  to  those  who  were  not  there.  As  luck  would  have  it,  it  stormed  and 
rained  most  tremendously  all  the  day  before  so  that  one  lady  said  we  were  the  pity  of 
the  town  from  the  appearance  of  the  weather  and  the  disappointments  we  would  have. 
But  the  sun  rose  on  Friday  most  brilliantly  and  I  think  I  never  saw  a  more  lovely  moon- 
light night  than  it  proved  to  be.  Among  the  lions  of  the  evening  we  had  no  less  a  per- 
sonage than  a  viscount,  and  an  English  sprig  of  nobility  for  the  young  ladies  to  set  their 
caps  for.  He  is  a  very  unaffected  young  man  and  seems  delighted  with  New  York,  but 
sails  for  England  this  week,  so  there  an  end  of  Lord  Falkland.  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  are 
fattening,  as  well  as  the  baby,  for  I  thought  you  wanted  it  when  I  left  you.  My  friend 
Edwards  has  not  availed  himself  of  your  introductory  letter  yet  and  I  have  not  seen  him 
although  Jane  saw  company  two  days  and  I  sent  him  an  invitation  for  Friday  evening. 
I  suppose  he  was  better  engaged,  for  the  Ogdens  were  here  and  said  he  got  the  note. 
Your  things  I  will  send  by  Harriet  Ogden,  who  was  here  that  evening  and  said  she 
would  take  charge  of  them.  The  curtain  pins  I  had  bought  before  your  letter  arrived 
telling  me  not  to  do  it.  I  got  them  cheap  and  am  going  to  send  everything  in  a  small 
box,  which  will  prevent  their  being  an  inconvenience  to  them.  You  will  see  Harriet  Ogden 
returned  as  free  as  a  young  lady  need  be  and  more  so  than  befits  parting  lovers,  but  I  sup- 
pose she  has  had  constant  consolation  while  absent.  Tell  Mary  I  owe  her  a  scrap  of 
doleful  intelligence  for  the  one  she  sent  me  in  your  last  letter,  which  by  the  bye  I  got  with 
one  a  week  older.  I  am  in  hopes  she  did  it  only  to  try  me,  as  she  did  once  before,  for 
I  should  really  be  sorry  to  think  I  had  taken  a  last  look  at  my  friend  Charnock,  but  he 
is  such  an  unsettled  creature  there  is  no  knowing  where  his  home  will  be  or  hope  of  leav- 
ing him  where  we  found  him. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  give  a  piece  which  I  dare  say  will  surprise  you,  it  is  that 
Selden  is  to  be  married  to  Miss  Packard  in  January.  How  long  the  engagement  has  been 
I  don't  know,  for  I  only  heard  it  the  other  day,  but  I  understand  she  is  very  consumptive. 
I  have  not  seen  her  although  we  called  and  invited  her.  There  are  no  other  new  engage- 
ments that  I  know  of  to  tell  you.  Eliza  McEvers  has  set  out  full  sail  this  winter  to  look 
for  a  new  admirer  and  is  full  of  spirits  and  full  of  airs.  She  put  all  her  fascinations  in 
requisition  to  catch  "my  lord,"  but  he  says  his  heart  is  a  perfect  cullender,  which  gave  her 
no  hopes,  as  it  admitted  the  powers  of  many  others  besides  herself,  and  when  he  goes 


462 


An  End  of  Lord  Falkland 


she  will  find  some  other  flower.  Kiss  the  darling  little  ones  for  me.  I  hope  you  still  keep 
your  plan  of  coming  down  this  winter  in  view.  Give  my  love  to  Le  Roy  and  Mary 
[Ogden]  if  she  is  with  you. 

Yours  ever, 

Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Leroy,  Margaret  Emmet. 

Potsdam,  N.  Y. 


That  revolution  <which  gave  liberty  to  England  seemed  to  increase  the  disposition  as  it 
increased  the  power  to  oppress.  The  English  Parliament  continued  to  legislate  for 
Ireland  but  it  ruined  her  by  legislation,  it  assailed  her  manufactories  and  trade,  and 
as  it  diminished  the  value,  so  it,  not  inconsistently,  destroyed  the  means  of  life. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


It  is  idle  to  dispute  about  the  precise  terms  and  nature  of  the  sovereignty  <with  which  he 
[Henry  II]  tvas  invested.  It  is  idle  to  appeal  to  early  charters  and  to  triumph  in 
early  parliaments.    The  appeal  is  delusive  and  the  triumph  is  vain. 

T,  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXI 

Mr.  Emmet's  early  connection  with  the  Catholic  Emancipation  movement  in  Ire- 
land— His  attitude  towards  his  own  work  and  that  of  others — His  feeling  naturally- 
one  of  charity  for  all — His  knowledge  of  theology — Incident  connected  with  Mr. 
Charles  O'Conor — His  account  of  the  Orangemen's  procession  in  New  York  and  its 
results — Catholics  unjustly  treated — Fate  of  the  clergyman  who  wished  to  know  all 
about  the  "bell,  book  and  candlestick" — Emmet's  defence  of  the  Irishmen  who  were 
unjustly  imprisoned  and  its  result — Letter  to  Mr.  Emmet  from  Richard  Lalor  Shiel 
— Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Rowan — William  Charles  Macready  and  the  Astor  Opera 
House  Riot — Bust  of  Mr.  Emmet — Letter  from  Macready — Mr.  Emmet's  last  known 
public  act  an  expression  of  his  legal  opinion  as  to  the  standing  of  Rutger's  Medical 
School  of  Geneva  College — Mr.  A.  Oakey  Hall's  account  of  Mr.  Emmet's  last  day 
before  his  seizure  and  death. 

UTTON  seems  to  have  been  the  first  person  of  prominence 
in  Ireland  to  make  any  movement  in  favor  of  Catholic 
Emancipation  and  Mr.  Emmet  was  probably  the  second 
to  do  so. 

The  first  mention  made  of  Emmet  taking  any  active 
part  in  Irish  politics  is  in  Tone's  "Journal",  where  Em- 
met's introduction  to  the  sub-committee  of  the  Catholics 
on  15th  October,  1792,  is  recorded.  Tone  states  that  he 
was  well  received  by  the  members,  and  richly  deserved 
their  admiration.  He  was  the  best  of  all  friends  of  Catholic  Emancipation, 
always  excepting  Mr.  Hutton.  From  this  time  Emmet,  behind  the  scenes  of 
Catholic  agitation,  continued  to  give  his  pen  to  their  cause. 

This  trait  in  Mr.  Emmet's  character  by  which  he  generously  gave  the  credit 
to  others  to  which  he  himself  was  entitled  is  fully  illustrated  in  his  contributions 
to  "Pieces  of  Irish  History,  illustrative  of  the  condition  of  Catholics  in  Ireland", 
published  by  Dr.  Macneven,  which  have  been  already  given.  From  this  volume 
we  have  taken  the  memoir  entitled  "Part  of  an  Essay  Towards  the  History  of 
Ireland"  from  Mr.  Emmet's  pen,  which  appears  in  the  beginning  of  this  book, 
and  in  which  he  gives  the  history  of  the  efforts  made  in  Ireland  to  obtain  a 
repeal  of  the  Popery  Laws,  which  held  three-fourths  of  the  population  of  Ire- 
land in  a  grievous  state  of  bondage.  He  also  detailed  the  movement  for  organ- 
izing the  United  Irishmen,  who  included  Catholic  relief  among  the  objects 
whose  reform  they  sought.   No  one  was  more  active  or  had  been  more  familiar 

463 


464 


Intolerance  in  New  York 


with  every  step  taken  to  advance  these  political  movements  in  Ireland  than 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and  yet  after  having  given  due  credit  to  others,  Mr. 
Emmet  makes  not  the  slightest  reference  to  himself. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  throughout  life  absolutely  free  from  all  feeling  of  bigotry 
or  prejudice  towards  those  who  differed  from  him  in  religious  belief.  His 
course  was  made  all  the  more  prominent  in  contrast  to  the  marked  illiberality 
shown  towards  the  Catholics  both  in  Ireland  and  in  this  country,  by  many  of 
those  occupying  the  same  station  of  life  as  his  own.  He  transmitted  the  same 
generous  and  charitable  disposition  to  his  children,  who  were  as  marked  in 
their  liberality  as  he  had  been. 

But  Mr.  Emmet  did  not  hold  this  feeling  towards  the  Catholics  simply 
through  a  sense  of  liberality  or  indifference ;  he  made  himself  familiar  with 
their  tenets  as  far  as  he  was  able,  and  while  he  did  not  fully  share  their  belief, 
as  no  Protestant  can  without  being  properly  informed,  he  never  misunderstood 
or  misrepresented  their  motives.  During  a  noted  ecclesiastical  trial  in  con- 
nection with  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  during  the  early  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, Mr.  Emmet  was  suddenly  called  upon  to  take  part,  and  that  without 
preparation.  To  the  astonishment  of  all  he  showed  that  he  possessed  a  pro- 
found knowledge  of  theology  and  ecclesiastical  law  in  all  detail.  The  writer 
was  informed  of  this  incident  by  his  uncle,  Judge  Robert  Emmet,  who  stated 
that  it  was  generally  conceded  after  the  termination  of  this  trial  that  his  father, 
as  a  theological  scholar,  had  not  an  equal  in  the  country.  In  this  respect  Mr. 
Emmet  was  not  unlike  his  elder  brother,  Christopher  Temple,  of  whom,  as  we 
have  seen,  Grattan  held  that  "he  knew  more  law  than  any  judge  on  the  bench 
and  more  divinity  than  any  bishop  in  the  land." 

Several  years  before  the  death  of  the  illustrious  jurist,  Charles  O'Conor, 
he  happened  to  be  dining  with  the  writer.  During  the  dinner,  on  recognizing 
a  silver  pitcher  from  which  he  was  being  served,  he  related  to  the  writer  and 
his  family  the  following  anecdote,  as  he  termed  it,  a  portion  of  the  unwritten 
history  of  N'ew  York: 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1824,  a  procession  of  Orangemen  marched  out  of  the 
city,  with  banners  flying,  and  the  band  playing  "Croppies  lie  down,"  etc.,  to  the 
little  hamlet  of  Greenwich  village,  then  in  the  country  between  the  present  site 
of  Jefferson  Market  and  the  North  River.  This  village  was  settled  at  that  time 
almost  exclusively  by  Irish  Catholics,  who  were  chiefly  laboring  men.  Mr. 
O'Conor  stated  that  these  people  were  obliged  to  live  together  to  a  great  extent 
for  their  own  protection,  as  a  large  portion  of  the  New  Yorkers  were  at  that 
time  very  bitter  and  prejudiced  against  all  those  who  differed  with  them  in 
religious  belief. 

The  Orangemen  marched  deliberately  to  this  village  for  the  purpose  of  irri- 
tating the  inhabitants,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  they  received  a  most  humil- 
iating thrashing.  As  the  fugitives  were  driven  into  the  city,  the  worthy  Sheriff 
proceeded  to  swear  in  a  special  posse,  and  on  reaching  Greenwich  every  man 
who  could  be  found  was  arrested.  On  the  following  morning  a  hundred  Irish- 
men or  more  were  arraigned  on  the  charge  of  "rioting  and  disturbing  the  peace", 


' '  Bell,  Book  and  Candlestick  "  465 


with  almost  a  certainty  of  a  conviction  before  them.  During  the  following 
September  term  these  men  were  tried  on  the  charges  cited,  and  the  judge,  hear- 
ing the  testimony  and  not  supposing  apparently  that  there  could  be  another  side, 
was  about  to  pass  sentence. 

Mr.  Emmet,  who  was  then  living  in  the  country  and  had  not  heard  of  the 
difficulty,  at  that  moment  happened  to  come  into  the  courtroom.  Mr.  O'Conor 
stated  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  any  idea  of  Mr.  Emmet's  indignation 
on  learning  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  that  some  of  these  men  had  been  im- 
prisoned for  six  weeks  or  more.  On  the  opening  in  a  few  moments  of  another 
court  in  the  same  building  he  expected  to  appear  in  a  noted  case,  but  he  threw 
aside  his  engagement  to  defend  these  men.  So  freely  did  he  speak  of  the  dis- 
graceful state  of  intolerance  which  then  existed  in  the  city,  and  of  the  great 
injustice  suffered  in  consequence,  that  the  judge,  on  hearing  how  matters  stood, 
forthwith  discharged  the  prisoners  without  even  a  reprimand  being  deemed 
necessary. 

Mr.  O'Conor  went  on  to  say  that  a  few  days  afterwards  it  so  happened 
that  a  clergyman  connected  with  one  of  the  churches  of  the  city  gave  a  thought 
to  his  cook's  religious  status,  and  then  learned  that  she  was  a  Catholic.  Pos- 
sibly with  a  special  interest  in  her  spiritual  welfare,  he  descended  into  the 
kitchen  and  commenced  operations  with  the  inquiry:  "Biddy,  let  me  know 
about  your  bell,  book  and  candlestick."  "Troth  an'  I  will,"  was  her  reply; 
so  putting  her  foot  against  her  broom  and  breaking  off  the  handle,  she  seized 
him  by  his  white  cravat  and  tallied  the  blows  over  his  head  and  shoulders  with 
"This  is  for  the  bell,  this  for  the  book,  and  this  for  the  candlestick."  Finally 
he  managed  to  escape  into  the  street,  with  Biddy  after  him.  This  publicity 
placed  the  laugh  against  the  clergyman,  and  in  a  few  days  the  whole  incident 
was  illustrated  by  the  issue  of  a  series  of  caricatures.  The  clergyman,  as  an 
honest  man,  publicly  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  in  the  wrong  and  had  de- 
served his  punishment. 

In  consequence  of  Mr.  Emmet's  defence  of  the  men  from  Greenwich,  and 
because  of  this  incident  of  Bridget  and  the  clergyman,  a  truer  sense  of  justice 
seems  to  have  been  aroused  in  the  community  and  a  more  charitable  tone  de- 
veloped. 

As  regards  the  silver  pitcher,  Mr.  O'Conor  said  that  he  was  at  the  time  an 
office  boy  of  about  twenty  years  of  age,  and  had  just  begun  to  read  law  during 
his  spare  moments.  A  committee  of  the  Greenwich  men  waited  upon  him 
with  the  request  that  he  should  take  charge  of  some  money  which  had  been 
collected  to  purchase  a  testimonial  for  Mr.  Emmet.  Under  his  supervision  this 
silver  pitcher  was  made  in  New  York  and  presented  to  Mr.  Emmet.  The  fol- 
lowing appropriate  inscription  was  engraved  upon  it : 

Presented  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.,  as  a  slight  testimonial  of  their  respect  and 
admiration  for  the  Patriotism  and  talents  displayed  in  his  gratuitous  defence  of  his  Ex- 
iled Countrymen  from  the  assaults  of  Irish  Orangemen  in  America,  by  the  Irishmen  of 
the  village  of  Greenwich  whose  cause  and  principles  he  advocated  on  that  occasion  in 
the  Court  of  Sessions  of  New  York  for  September  term  1824. 


466 


An  Echo  of  Old  Wars 


Mr.  Charles  G.  Haines's  memoir  of  Thomas  A.  Emmet  closes  with  the  fol- 
lowing reference  to  this  event  described  by  Mr.  Charles  O'Conor : 

In  a  recent  case  in  our  criminal  court  for  the  city  of  New  York,  Mr.  Emmet  has 
had  an  opportunity  of  explaining  the  b.-oad  principles  of  that  grand  revolution  in  which 
he  embarked.  The  United  Irishmen  ai:d  the  Orangemen  who  had  emigrated  to  this 
metropolis  had  a  tremendous  battle  upon  the  old  party  grounds.  They  appeared  in  our 
streets  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city  with  their  ancient  badges  of  destruction.  Terrible 
assaults  and  batteries  were  committed,  but  no  lives- lost. 

Mr.  Emmet  appeared  in  Court  as  the  counsel  of  his  ancient  associates,  and  we  may 
well  imagine  in  what  manner  he  touched  on  that  portion  of  Irish  history  that  recalled 
to  his  mind  the  days  of  his  suffering,  persecution  and  imprisonment.  For  two  hours  he 
spoke  on  this  topic ;  and  as  the  younger  Lyttleton  said,  when  he  first  heard  Lord 
Chatham,  "he  made  my  blood  run  cold,  and  touched  the  deepest  recesses  of  my  heart." 

The  Irish  population  had  gathered  into  Court  and  with  silent  awe  they  heard  their 
great  countryman  pour  out  his  soul  on  the  degradation  of  the  country  which  they  had 
abandoned.  However,  both  parties  did  not  feel  the  pride  which  was  manifested  by  the 
famous  Lord  Lovat,  when  he  was  tried  for  his  life  and  found  guilty.  Mr.  Murray, 
afterwards  Lord  Mansfield,  was  then  Attorney-General,  and  conducted  the  prosecution — 
the  trial  having  taken  place  in  England,  not  Scotland.  The  eloquence  of  Lord  Mansfield 
requires  no  eulogium  at  this  late  day.  He  broke  forth  on  this  occasion  with  great  power. 
After  he  had  concluded,  Lord  Lovat,  who  was  proud  to  see  a  Scotchman  at  the  head  of 
the  English  bar,  remarked  "that  it  was  worth  being  executed  to  hear  such  a  speech  from 
one  of  his  countrymen." 

Mr.  Haines,  however,  was  unable  to  appreciate  the  true  merits  of  the 
case,  but  fortunately  the  judge,  as  was  shown  in  his  ruling  and  in  the  uncondi- 
tional discharge  of  the  prisoners,  was  fully  qualified  to  do  so. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  John  D.  Crimmins  for  a  copy  of  this  letter 
from  his  collection : 

Dublin,  August  26th,  1826. 

Sir: 

The  letter  of  your  old  friend  and  compatriot,  Hamilton  Rowan,  which  will  be  de- 
livered to  you  by  Mr.  Macready  will  account  for  the  liberty  which  I  take  in  writing  to 
you. 

I  should  not  have  presumed  to  do  so,  if  Mr.  Rowan  had  not  insisted  on  it,  and  as- 
sured me  that  you  would  not  consider  it  overweening  or  intrusive  upon  my  part.  He 
suggested  to  me  that  it  was  not  impossible  that  my  name  should  have  met  your  eye,  and 
that  you  might  not  disapprove  of  the  course  which  I  have  taken  in  our  struggle  for 
liberty  in  Ireland.  I  have  ventured  to  act  upon  that  possibility,  and  at  Mr.  Rowan's  in- 
stance, beg  to  assure  you  that  the  gentleman  whom  he  has  introduced  to  you  is  not 
undeserving  of  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Emmet : — in  other  words  that  he  is  a  man  of  ac- 
complished manners,  and  of  great  personal  worth,  and  that  he  possesses  the  highest 
talents  in  an  art,  which  its  connexion  with  eloquence  must  have  taught  you  to  value. 

Shortly  after  I  had  been  called  to  the  Irish  Bar  circumstances  which  I  shall  not 
weary  you  by  explaining,  induced  me  to  write  for  the  stage.  My  knowledge  of  Mr. 
Macready  commenced  at  that  period.  I  have  since  exclusively  addicted  myself  to  the 
wiser  if  not  the  more  agreeable  pursuits  of  that  profession  of  which  you  are  an  orna- 
ment, but  my  intimacy  with  Mr.  Macready  has  not  been  interrupted,  and  until  I  have 
ceased  to  prize  accomplished  manners,  unblemished  honor,  and  great  abilities,  my  regard 
and  respect  for  him  will  never  sustain  a  diminution. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  your  literary  predilections,  but  I  have  good  warrant  for 


Letter  to  Rowan 


467 


introducing  an  actor  to  you.  Cicero  was  the  friend  of  Roscius  and  you  will  not  want 
a  precedent  for  any  services  which  it  may  be  in  your  power  to  confer  upon  him. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be  (with  that  feeling  of  melancholy  attachment  which  every 
good  Irishman  should  entertain  for  your  name), 

Your  most  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

R.  Sheil. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq., 
New  York. 

During  the  latter  years  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life  he  devoted  himself  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  duties  of  his  profession  and  to  a  most  united  and  affectionate 
family.  His  life  was  otherwise  uneventful,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  fol- 
lowing characteristic  letter  written  to  his  old  friend  and  political  confrere, 
Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan,  no  others  have  been  preserved  but  those  referring 
to  business  matters. 

New  York,  8th  January,  1827. 

My  dear  old  Friend: 

For,  as  I  am  feeling  the  advances  of  age,  I  presume  you  have  not  remained  in  statu 
quo  for  the  last  twenty-five  years.  I  received  your  letter  by  Mr.  Macready  and  thank 
you  for  it.  Many  circumstances  prevented  my  answering  it  until  now,  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  detail  on  paper,  but  be  assured,  no  difference  or  coldness  of  feeling  towards 
you  had  any  share  in  causing  the  delay. 

Mr.  Macready  is  a  gentleman  whose  talents  and  worth  have  gained  him  very  high 
consideration  here,  and  who  has  entirely  justified  the  warm  recommendations  he  was  the 
bearer  of  from  Europe.* 

I  dare  not  write  to  you  about  Ireland,  though  probably  if  we  were  together  we 
would  talk  of  little  else. 

I  remember  the  days  when  I  fancied  letters  might  be  intercepted.  If  such  a  thing 
could  happen  now,  a  letter  from  T.  A.  E.  to  A.  H.  R.,  filled  with  Irish  politics,  would 
be  a  bonne  bouche  for  a  Secretary.  America  is  not  what  you  saw  it,  nor  even  what 
your  sanguine  mind  could  anticipate.  It  has  shot  up  in  strength  and  prosperity  beyond 
the  most  visionary  calculation.  It  has  great  destinies,  and  I  have  no  doubt  will 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  man  throughout  the  world.  When  you  were  here  party 
raged  with  a  fiend-like  violence,  which  may  lead  you  to  misjudge  of  what  you  may 
occasionally  see  within  an  American  newspaper,  should  you  ever  look  into  one.  Whether 
the  demon  be  absolutely  and  for  ever  laid,  I  cannot  undertake  to  say ;  but  there  is  at 
present  no  more  party  controversy  than  ought  to  be  expected,  and  perhaps  ought  to 
exist  in  so  free  a  country;  and  sure  I  am  it  does  not  interfere  with  general  welfare 
and  happiness;  indeed  I  think  it  never  can — their  roots  are  stuck  so  deep. 

Of  myself  and  family  I  need  only  say  we  are  extremely  well.  I  have  succeeded 
better  than  I  thought  possible  when  I  set  foot  on  this  shore.  I  still  enjoy  my  health 
and  faculties.  The  companion  of  my  youth  and  of  my  sufferings  does  the  same.  We 
are  surrounded  by  eight  children  and  twelve  grandchildren,  with  the  prospect  of  steady 

*Mr.  William  Charles  Macready  was  a  well-known  English  actor  of  great  talent,  whose  private 
life  was  without  blemish.  He  visited  the  United  States  in  1826,  1843  and  1848.  His  last  appearance  on 
the  stage  in  this  country  was  May  10th,  1849,  as  Macbeth,  at  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House,  on  the 
evening  of  the  noted  Forrest-Macready  riot.  The  country  had  been  for  some  time  in  the  midst  of 
the  turmoil  engendered  by  the  "Know-Nothing  Party"  in  its  efforts  to  rouse  the  passions  and  prejudices 
of  the  native-born  against  the  Catholics  and  all  those  of  foreign  birth.  Edwin  Forrest,  the  actor,  was 
a  rival,  and  for  some  fancied  slight  availed  himself  of  the  "Know-Nothing"  excitement,  and  with  the 
aid  of  his  friends  started  the  riot  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  a  number  of  innocent  persons,  who 
were  shot  down  by  the  troops  called  out  to  quell  it.  Mr.  Macready  was  at  the  time  a  guest  of  the 
writer's  uncle,  Judge  Robert  Emmet,  who  then  resided  at  No.  64  Clinton  Place  (Eighth  Street).  Mr. 
Macready  was  finally  smuggled  out  of  the  theatre  to  a  conveyance  waiting  in  the  neighborhood,  one  of 
Judge  Emmet's  sons,  Mr.  Richard  S.  Emmet,  driving  him  out  of  town  to  New  Rochelle,  where  he  took 
a  train  to  Boston,  arriving  in  time  to  catch  a  steamer  by  which  he  returned  home.    History  repeats  itself. 


468 


Bust  of  Mr.  Emmet 


and  progressive  increase  in  the  American  ratio.  I  pray  God  you  have  had  your  share  in 
the  happiness  of  this  life. 

Your  sincere  and  affectionate  friend, 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

To  Archd.  H.  Rowan,  Esqr. 

This  letter,  written  less  than  a  year  before  his  death,  was  in  all  probability 
the  last  that  Mr.  Emmet  addressed  to  anyone  in  Ireland. 

In  a  letter  in  the  writer's  possession,  written  June  17th,  1827,  by  Prof.  John 
Patten  Emmet  to  his  sister  from  the  University  of  Virginia,  Dr.  Emmet,  who 
had  been  constantly  engaged  in  writing  a  new  course  of  lectures  for  the  follow- 
ing session,  as  he  had  been  changed  from  professor  of  natural  science  to  that  of 
chemistry  and  Materia  Medica  in  connection  with  the  School  of  Medicine,  com- 
plains of  his  weary  and  monotonous  life.  But  he  mentions  incidentally  a  bust 
of  his  father  which  he  had  taken  during  his  last  visit  to  New  York,  the  last 
likeness  of  Mr.  Emmet  as  he  appeared  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Hitherto  I  have  toiled  like  the  Irishman  in  the  bottomless  Sedan  chair,  and  "if  it 
were  not  for  the  honor  of  it  I  would  as  soon  be  walking". 

In  the  way  of  recreation  I  am  still  limited,  the  fiddle  causes  despondency  and  Satan 
[his  violoncello]  smothers  despair  and  fury  amid  its  roar. — I  have  the  bust  mounted  on 
one  of  my  tables  with  the  crooked  corner  of  the  mouth  to  the  leeward,  and  I  feel  sin- 
cerely gratified  in  recognizing  its  familiar  features.  It  is  indeed  an  excellent  likeness  and 
I  value  it  more  than  all  I  possess. 

A  copy  of  this  bust  was  used  afterwards  as  the  model  for  that  placed  by 
the  legal  profession  in  the  City  Hall. 

The  following  letter  written  by  Mr.  Macready,  and  from  the  Crimmins  col- 
lection, is  of  great  interest  from  his  reference  to  Mr.  Emmet  and  in  showing 
his  relation  with  the  family : — 

City  Hotel,  New  York. 

My  Dear  Sir: — 

When  last  I  left  this  city,  I  calculated  securely  on  offering  in  person  to  yourself  and 
your  revered  father  my  parting  good  wishes  and  adieus.  The  disappointment  of  that 
expectation  I  feel  a  real  deprivation ;  and  with  this  assurance  you  will  readily  believe, 
that  I  set  no  uncommon  value  on  the  expressions  of  your  regard.  They  will  often  recur 
to  me  among  the  happiest  of  my  American  recollections,  and  I  must  always  hope  for 
occasions  to  evince  with  what  delight  I  accept  the  title  of  "your  friend". 

Whilst  I  have  a  shelf  to  bear,  or  even  a  pocket  to  contain  the  volume,  your  gift,  I 
shall  keep  it  in  remembrance  of  you  and  him,  whose  disinterestedness,  philanthropy  and 
enthusiasm  have  often  been  the  subject  of  my  conversation  and  thoughts  in  our  common 
country.  It  is  with  veneration,  and  let  me  be  allowed  to  speak  the  language  of  my  heart, 
with  affection,  that  I  think  of  him ;  and  if  I  do  lament  the  extremities  into  which  his 
sensibility  to  his  country's  sufferings  goaded  him,  the  loss  of  such  a  man  to  Ireland  is 
not  among  the  least  of  the  causes  of  my  regret.  I  wished  to  write  to  him  farewell,  since 
I  could  not  have  the  honor  of  shaking  hands  with  him,  but  I  am  diffident  of  my  right  to 
intrude  upon  him.  Will  you  offer  him  my  most  respectful  and  affectionate  regards? — I 
think  in  vain  to  find  the  words  that  will  interpret  my  feelings. 

I  am  obliged,  in  all  the  confusion  of  departure,  to  check  my  pen,  but  unless  you  take 
measure  to  prevent  me  I  shall  resume  it  in  occasional  memoranda  of  myself  from 
Europe. 

My  wife  and  sister  unite  with  me  in  every  kind  wish  to  you  and  yours,  and  with 


William  Charles  Macready 


469 


every  thought  of  good  that  ever  was  crowded  within  that  melancholy  word,  farewell,  I 
remain  in  truth, 

My  dear  sir, 
Your  attached  and  grateful  friend, 
July  15,  1827.  W.  C.  Macready. 

Robert  Emmet,  Esq., 
30  Beach  St., 

Hudson  Square. 

This  letter  is  an  important  one  in  settling  the  place  of  Macready's  birth, 
on  the  score  of  which  he  was  driven  from  the  Opera  House  by  the  Know- 
Nothing  mob.    In  his  "Incidents  of  My  Life"  the  author  has  stated : 

When  Mr.  Macready  first  visited  the  United  States  in  1826,  he  brought  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  my  grandfather,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  from  Archibald  Rowan,  his  old 
political  friend  of  1798,  and  he  continued  to  keep  up  the  same  friendly  relation  with  the 
family  throughout  his  life.  He  is  always  termed  an  English  actor,  but  I  believe  in  private 
life  he  must  have  been  an  Irishman,  both  by  birth  and  sympathy,  or  he  would  not  have 
been  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Rowan,  nor  would  he  have  kept  up  through  life  his 
relation  with  the  Emmet  family. 

To  the  best  of  the  writer's  knowledge  this  is  the  only  evidence  to  show  that 
William  Charles  Macready  was  an  Irishman  by  birth  and  sympathy. 

This  is  the  latest  recorded  mention  of  Mr.  Emmet,  with  the  exception  of  a 
reference  by  Mrs.  Tucker,  in  a  letter  written  to  her  uncle,  Judge  St.  George 
Tucker,  of  Williamsburg,  Va.,  while  on  a  visit  to  New  York  with  Dr.  Emmet 
and  his  bride.   Mrs.  Tucker  wrote  July,  1827 : 

My  beloved  Byrd  was  received  with  open  arms  by  Dr.  Emmet's  family,  and  their 
reception  of  me  was  that  of  a  near  relative.  They  are  indeed  a  most  charming  family, 
all  accomplished  and  intelligent,  but  unaffected  and  plain  in  their  manners,  and  a  more 
united  and  affectionate  family  I  have  never  known.  .  .  .  The  old  gentleman  (Mr. 
Emmet)  is  very  mild  and  affectionate  in  his  manners  and  very  agreeable  in  conversation; 
his  wife  is  much  younger. 

There  had  been  a  disagreement  for  some  time  between  the  authorities  of  the 
two  Medical  Schools,  then  in  New  York  and  for  some  reason  now  unknown, 
Mr.  Emmet  as  counsel  issued  the  following  notice  in  the  newspapers  and  in 
the  form  of  a  broadside,  twelve  days  before  his  death. 

To  The  Public 

As  attempts  have  been  made  to  throw  doubt  upon  the  vitality  of  the  degrees  of 
Rutger's  Medical  Faculty  of  the  Geneva  College,  it  is  deemed  sufficient  to  submit  to  the 
public  the  following  opinion  of  eminent  counsel. 

David  Hosack,  M.  D., 

President  of  the  Faculty. 
We  have  deliberately  examined  the  charter  of  Geneva  College  and  the  acts  re- 
lating to  the  differing  colleges  in  this  State,  and  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
diplomas  granted  by  Geneva  College  to  those  who  shall  study  Medicine  with  the  Rutger's 
Medical  Faculty  of  that  college  are  good,  effectual  and  valid  in  every  purpose  for  which 
a  Medical  degree  is  legally  requisite,  and  equally  as  to  that  of  any  other  Medical  College 
in  this  State. 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet 
Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman 


470 


Sudden  Death 


At  the  close  of  his  article  on  Mr.  Emmet  Mr.  A.  Oakey  Hall  wrote: 

On  November  12  of  that  year  he  entered  a  New  York  court-room  apparently  in  full 
health  and  spirits,  to  conduct  a  trial,  but  suddenly  his  transcribing  pen  fell  from  his 
hand,  for — as  an  eloquent  medical  lecturer  once  observed  to  his  students — "beside  every 
worker  with  his  brain  walks  in  close  company  an  unseen  spirit  armed  with  a  javelin, 
ready  at  any  moment  to  strike,  and  the  popular  name  of  that  attendant  spirit  is  'apo- 
plexy.' "  The  metaphorical  stroke  reached  Emmet,  while  Court,  Bar  and  auditors  be- 
came absorbed  in  the  most  anxious  interest  for  the  fate  of  the  eminent  citizen  with 
seven  years  of  the  Biblical  span  of  life  yet  spared  to  him;  but  on  the  following  night 
he  expired.  The  notes  of  testimony*  which  he  had  taken  on  that  fatal  day  are  yet  pre- 
served by  one  of  his  descendants  who  followed  his  great-grandfather's  profession.  These 
were  a  full  and  accurate  transcript  of  what  had  occured  up  to  the  moment  when  the 
fatal  clot  invaded  his  perhaps  too  active  brain.  Thus  he  literally  died  in  harness,  after 
having  on  the  Sunday  previous  ejaculated  the  supplication  in  the  litany  service, — "From 
battle,  murder,  and  sudden  death  good  Lord  deliver  us." 

*Mr.  Hall  had  certainly  seen  this  manuscript  in  1895.  But  unfortunately  it  wa*  carefully  laid  aside 
and  no  one  of  the  present  generation  can  recall  ever  having  heard  of  it.  One  of  the  newspaper 
accounts  of  the  day  in  describing  the  removal  of  Mr.  Emmet  to  this  house  mentions  that  this  paper  was 
taken  to  the  house  and  delivered  to  some  member  of  the  family. 


In  the  year  1778  the  wretchedness  of  Ireland  appeared  for  the  first  time  to  interest  the 
British  Parliament.  But  it  <o>as  not  the  justice  or  generosity  of  thai  Parliament  <which 
the  tvretchedness  of  Ireland  had  moved.    It  had  alarmed  its  fears. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


For  himself  he  sought  no  prominence,  no  popular  applause;  he  shrunk  from  observation 
•where  his  merits,  in  spite  of  his  retiring  habits,  forced  themselves  into  notice.  No 
man  could  say  that  Emmet  tvas  ambitious. 

R.  R.  Madden. 


Chapter  XXX 

"New  York  Evening  Post"  account  of  Mr.  Emmet's  last  successful  case — Postscript 
in  "New  York  American"  for  the  following  day,  with  the  first  announcement  of  Mr. 
Emmet's  seizure — The  "New  York  Evening  Post"  publishes  his  death  notice  and  arrange- 
ment for  his  funeral — "New  York  American"  contains  the  first  sketch  of  his  life, 
generally  reprinted  throughout  the  country,  and  announces  Mr.  Emmet's  death — 
Biographical  sketch  from  the  "New  York  Evening  Post" — Account  given  the  writer 
by  Dr.  Francis,  of  his  course  of  treatment — Milder  measures  might  have  allowed  a 
reaction  and  prolonged  his  life — Meeting  and  action  of  the  Common  Council  of  New 
York — List  of  members — Proceedings  of  the  Medical  Schools— "New  York  Courier" 
gives  the  arrangement  for  funeral  honors — Proceedings  of  the  Court  of  General  Sessions. 


HE  "New  York  Evening  Post"  for  November  3,  1827, 
contained  the  following  account  of  Mr.  Emmet's  last 
case : 

Jackson  in  the  trial  of  the  Astor  land  claim  in  the  Circuit 
Court  on  the  demise  of  Fowler  vs.  Carver  in  this  Court  had 
just  been  concluded.  As  reported  in  the  "Evening  Post", 
November  13,  1827 : — This  case  involves  the  title  to  certain 
lands  confiscated  to  the  State,  as  the  property  of  Roger  Mor- 
ris and  Mary  his  wife,  in  1779.  Some  time  since  Astor  pur- 
chased of  the  heirs  of  Colonel  Morris,  their  claim  to  this 
property.  This  claim  was  founded  on  a  marriage  settlement 
said  to  have  been  executed  in  1754,  conveying  a  life  estate  in  the  property  to  Morris 
and  his  wife,  and  after  their  death  the  remainder  to  the  children  of  that  marriage 
and  their  heirs. 

The  deed  being  produced,  it  appears  that  the  property  was  vested  in  two  trustees  for 
the  heirs,  and  that  Morris  and  his  wife  were  entitled  by  it  to  sell  of  the  property  to  the 
amount  of  £3,000.  It  was  shown  that  previous  to  this  marriage  the  fee  simple  vested  in 
Mrs.  Morris,  and  that  afterwards  three  deeds  had  been  made  of  certain  portions  of  the 
property,  but  not  to  the  amount  of  £3,000.  Several  ancient  residents  on  the  premises  tes- 
tified that  they  never  heard  of  the  marriage  settlement  until  the  purchase  by  Astor,  and 
that  they  held  their  lands  under  Roger  and  Mary  Morris,  and  subsequently  under  the 
State.  Colonel  Barclay  and  Judge  [Egbert]  Benson  testified  that  the  marriage  settlement 
was  spoken  of  familiarly  in  the  family  and  the  latter  had  seen  it  in  1784  in  possession  of 
Governor  Livingston,  one  of  the  witnesses  to  the  deed.  Livingston  made  oath  before  a 
magistrate  in  1784  of  its  execution  by  all  the  signing  parties.  In  the  same  year  Joanna 
Philips,  one  of  the  trustees,  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  a  compensation  to  the  heirs, 
but  a  committee  reported  that  if  her  statement  was  correct  there  was  a  remedy  at  law. 

The  cause  was  summed  up  by  Messrs.  Van  Buren  and  Webster  for  the  plaintiffs, 
and  Messrs.  D.  B.  Ogden  and  Emmet  for  the  defendant.    It  was  committed  to  the  jury 

471 


472 


Mr.  Emmet's  Last  Case 


about  4  o'clock  yesterday  afternoon,  after  an  able  charge  from  Judge  Thompson,  and 
this  morning  they  came  into  court,  with  a  general  verdict  in  favor  of  Mr.  Astor. 

In  the  course  of  the  trial  several  exceptions  were  taken  to  the  opinions  of  the  judge, 
which  are  yet  to  be  decided  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

The  "New  York  American",  for  Wednesday  evening,  November  14th,  1827, 
contained  the  following  postscript,  which  was  the  first  intimation  given  the 
public  of  Mr.  Emmet's  sudden  illness : 

Two  o'clock  P.  M.— We  have  merely  time  to  state,  that  the  venerable  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  so  long  known,  and  so  highly  admired  for  his  genius  and  eloquence,  was  this 
morning  taken  with  a  paralytic  affection,  which  is  considered  as  threatening  his  life, 
while  attending  in  the  Circuit  Court,  as  counsel  in  the  trial  of  one  of  the  ejectment  suits 
brought  against  the  Trustees  of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor.  In  consequence  of  an  event 
so  lamentable,  the  Court  forthwith  adjourned. 

The  "New  York  Evening  Post"  for  Thursday,  November  15th,  1827,  con- 
tained among  its  list  of  deaths  the  announcement  : 

Last  evening,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.,  aged  65  years.  His  friends  and  those 
of  his  family,  and  the  members  of  the  Bar,  are  respectfully  invited  to  attend  his  funeral 
to-morrow  at  twelve  o'clock  noon  precisely,  without  further  invitation,  from  his  late 
residence  No.  30  Beach  street,  Hudson  Square. 

The  following  appeared  as  an  editorial  in  the  "New  York  American",  No- 
vember 15,  1827: 

Death  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

It  was  our  melancholy  duty  to  announce  yesterday  that  Mr.  Emmet,  while  engaged 
in  his  professional  duties  in  the  Circuit  Court,  was  struck  with  apoplexy;  and  the  fore- 
bodings which  were  then  uttered  as  to  the  result  are  realized, — for  he  is  no  more;  he 
expired  last  night  about  half-past  ten  o'clock.  The  high  standing  of  this  gentleman,  at 
the  bar,  his  talents  and  character,  the  circumstances  of  his  life  and  those  of  his  death, 
combine  to  take  him  out  of  the  ordinary  routine,  and  require  something  more  at  the  hand 
of  a  public  journalist,  than  the  brief  notice  which  daily  records  in  these  columns  that  man 
is  mortal. 

Of  the  early  life  and  history  of  Mr.  Emmet  before  he  came  to  the  United  States,  it 
is  not  our  purpose  to  speak;  neither  is  it  for  us  to  allude  to  any  acts  of  his  political 
career  after  he  came  here.  Beneath  the  pall  which  now  enshrouds  his  cold  remains,  we 
will  see  only  the  man  of  genius,  the  eloquent  advocate,  the  enlightened  and  polished 
gentleman,  the  devoted  and  affectionate  father,  husband,  friend — snatched  too  soon,  and 
in  the  fulness  of  his  fame  and  usefulness  from  a  community  that  he  adored  and 
served, — from  a  family  that  he  dearly  loved.  From  the  first  moment  of  Mr.  Emmet's 
admission  to  the  bar  of  New  York,  he  took  a  leading  place.  To  great  fervor  of  mind 
and  manner  united  with  a  ready  and  emphatic  elocution,  Mr.  Emmet  added  the  advan- 
tages of  a  fine  education,  of  varied  and  extensive  literary  acquirements,  and  of  the  most 
untiring  industry  and  perseverance.  He  was  to  the  day  of  his  death  an  eminent  exam- 
ple of  a  conscientious  and  indefatigable  counsellor,  who  thinks  nothing  is  done  for  his 
client,  while  anything  remains  to  be  done.  He  was,  indeed,  hardly  more  remarkable  for 
his  eloquence,  real  as  that  was,  than  for  the  other,  perhaps  as  uncommon,  and  certainly 
as  useful,  characteristic. 

Of  his  eloquence  at  the  bar,  we  should  say  fervor  was  the  most  striking  quality — 
a  fervor  not  less  of  matter  than  of  manner.  He  was  copious,  from  a  just  reliance  upon 
his  accumulated  stores  of  literature,  which  afforded  the  utmost  variety  of  illustration  and 
argument,  and  he  was  confident,  though  eminently  courteous,  in  his  manner  and  tone,. 


THE  NEW-YORK  MIRROR. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Death  in  Action 


473 


because  he  always  understood  his  cause,  and  entered  upon  it  with  the  zeal  of  convic- 
tion. 

The  circumstances  of  this  distinguished  man's  death,  are  in  themselves  singularly  af- 
fecting. He  had  been  constantly  and  most  arduously  employed  for  some  weeks  in  causes 
of  the  greatest  importance.  He  had  prepared  himself  in  them  with  his  usual  labor  and 
research ;  and  as  lately  as  Monday  last,  he  made  in  the  Astor  cause  a  speech,  which,  per- 
haps, no  one  of  his  earlier  efforts  surpassed. — Without  allowing  himself  any  respite, 
after  this  effort,  he  forthwith,  though  now  verging,  we  presume,  upon  seventy  years, 
entered  upon  the  important  contested  claim  of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor.  In  attendance 
upon  this  cause,  it  was  yesterday,  that  the  hand  of  death  was  laid  upon  him.  In  a  full 
court,  it  was  suddenly  perceived  that  Mr.  Emmet  had  drooped  upon  the  table.  The 
Attorney-General  who  was  sitting  near,  addressed  him,  but  finding  him  speechless,  the 
alarm  was  immediately  communicated  to  the  court — which  thereupon  forthwith  ad- 
journed— medical  aid  was  sent  for,  and  every  application  which  skill,  prompted  by  strong 
personal  attachment,  could  suggest  was  soon  made,  but  made  in  vain. 

The  blood  flowed  indeed  from  the  arms  and  the  temples;  but  sense,  consciousness  and 
intelligence  had  fled  forever.  The  scene  presented  in  the  court-room,  as  this  sad  truth  be- 
came apparent,  must  have  been  heartrending.  The  oldest  members  of  the  bar  were  in 
tears  and  sobbing  aloud  around  their  fallen  and  late  mighty  compeer;  the  family  of  the 
dying  man  were  collecting  about  him  in  all  the  agonies  of  hope  struggling  against  despair — 
while  he,  whose  voice  had  so  lately  filled  the  hall — whose  immortal  mind  had  held  in 
breathless  suspense  the  feelings  of  admiring  crowds,  lay  bleeding,  speechless  and  un- 
conscious before  them. 

He  was  removed  in  a  litter  about  3  o'clock,  to  his  own  house,  where  he  died.  Yet 
is  there  in  the  manner  of  this  death  something  glorious  and  consolatory.  It  recalls  the 
great  Chatham,  struck  down  among  his  peers,  or  the  warrior  perishing  upon  the  field  of 
his  fame.  The  spirit — the  immortal  mind — has  worn  out  its  feebler  and  more  worthless 
tenement — and  returned  to  the  God  who  gave  it — unbroken  by  decay — and  who  can  lament 
such  an  issue  to  such  a  life?    Better,  oh!  better  it  is  for  such 

.    .    .    .    to  perish  'mid  the  shock, 
Than  linger  piece-meal  on  the  rock. 

Of  the  domestic  virtues  and  affections  of  the  deceased,  it  becomes  not  a  newspaper 
to  speak — they  are  too  sacred  for  the  public  eye.  The  bleeding  hearts  of  those  he  has 
left  behind  him  are  the  most  affecting  witnesses  of  how  much  and  how  justly  he  was 
beloved — how  deeply,  how  enduringly  he  will  be  lamented. 

It  is  mentioned  as  a  striking  circumstance,  that  the  day  of  Mr.  Emmet's  death  was 
the  24th  anniversary  of  that  upon  which  he  had  filed  the  declaration  of  his  intention  to 
become  an  American  citizen.* 

The  "New  York  Evening  Post"  on  Thursday,  November  15,  1827,  published 
the  following: 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. — Yesterday  this  distinguished  counsellor,  while  engaged  in 
trying  a  cause  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  was  suddenly  struck  with  apoplexy. 
After  remaining  for  about  two  hours  in  a  state  of  insensibility,  he  was  removed  to  his 
house,  where  he  expired  last  night,  between  11  and  12  o'clock.  On  the  opening  of  the 
Court,  this  morning,  Mr.  D.  B.  Ogden  very  feelingly  announced  the  melancholy  event, 
and  the  Court  immediately  adjourned.  The  members  of  the  bar  were  then  called  to  order, 
and  the  venerable  Judge  Benson  being  present,  was  appointed  Chairman,  and  the  Chan- 
cellor, also  present,  was  appointed  Secretary. 

It  was  on  motion  resolved,  that  a  general  meeting  of  the  profession  be  held  on 


*Macneven  referred  to  this  article  in  his  "Address  to  the  Bar".  It  was  reprinted  in  full  in  "The 
Albany  Argus  and  City  Gazette"  on  Tuesday  morning,  Nov.  20,  1827. 


474 


Medical  Treatment 


Friday  (to-morrow)  morning  at  10  o'clock,  in  the  Supreme  Court  Room,  for  the  purpose 
of  testifying  their  respect  for  the  memory  of  their  esteemed  deceased  brother. 

The  character  and  outlines  of  the  life  of  the  great  man  whose  thread  of  earthly  ex- 
istence has  been  thus  suddenly  snapt  short,  will  in  a  short  time  be  given  from  the  pen 
of  an  old  and  intimate  friend,  one  competent  to  render  justice  to  the  memory  of  the  la- 
mented deceased  whose  qualifications  as  a  learned  jurist,  and  erudite  scholar,  were  rarely 
equalled.  He  had  a  mind  deeply  imbued  with  that  degree  of  refinement  which  a  long  and 
familiar  acquaintance  with  belles  lettres  only  can  confer;  and  which,  on  suitable  occa- 
sions, sparkled  from  his  lips,  and  illustrated  and  adorned  his  argument  by  apt  and  happy 
quotations  from  the  ancient  classics.  Nor  was  he  scarcely  more  remarkable  for  his  capa- 
cious intellect  than  the  amiable  and  benevolent  qualities  of  the  heart.  H'is  loss  will  be 
long  and  deeply  deplored  by  all  who  had  the  opportunity  of  being  personally  acquainted 
with  him. 

P.  S. — We  are  told  that  yesterday  was  the  anniversary  of  Mr.  Emmet's  arrival  in 
this  country,  24  years  ago;  a  singular  coincidence. 

Evidently  the  burden  of  Mr.  Emmet's  business  had  increased  greatly  for 
some  time  before  his  death,  and  he  must  have  disregarded  many  warnings 
which  his  medical  training  in  early  life  should  have  taught  him  could  not  be 
ignored  with  impunity.   Mr.  Haines  in  his  memoir  has  written: — 

Early  in  November,  1827,  Emmet  had  been  much  engaged  in  the  defence  of  Lieuten- 
ant Percival  on  a  charge  of  extortion,  and  also  in  a  cause  of  unusual  importance,  gener- 
ally called  the  great  Astor  case,  involving  the  right  of  Mr.  Astor  to  lands  in  Putnam 
county,  to  the  amount  of  perhaps  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  the  former  case 
he  defended  his  client  with  all  his  accustomed  vigour  and  ability,  and  the  result  was  a 
verdict  of  acquittal.  In  the  latter,  on  Monday,  the  12th,  he  addressed  the  jury  in  a  style 
of  animated  eloquence,  of  prompt  and  overwhelming  retort,  and  of  powerful  argument, 
which  was  said  by  many  of  his  audience  to  have  even  surpassed  his  earlier  efforts.  On 
Wednesday,  the  14th,  while  attending  the  trial  of  another  cause  of  importance  (the  case 
of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbour)  in  which  he  was  counsel,  in  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court,  he  was  seized  with  an  apoplectic  fit;  and  on  being  carried  home  he  expired  in  the 
course  of  the  following  night,  being  in  the  64th  year  of  his  age.  He  had  made  no  exer- 
tion in  particular  that  day,  but  had  taken  notes  of  the  testimony  through  the  morning; 
and  on  examination  these  notes  were  found  to  be  a  full  and  accurate  transcript  of  what 
occurred  up  to  the  very  moment  when  the  pen  fell  from  his  hand  on  his  being  seized  with 
the  fit.  The  scene  in  the  court-room  was  in  the  highest  degree  impressive.  Every  in- 
dividual present — the  court,  the  bar,  the  audience,  all  were  absorbed  in  the  most  anxious 
interest  for  the  fate  of  this  eminent  man.   The  court  was  instantly  adjourned. 

In  1855  the  writer  obtained  a  full  description  of  the  treatment  administered 
to  Mr.  Emmet  by  Dr.  John  W.  Francis,  the  first  physician  to  arrive,  and  whose 
office  was  in  Chambers  Street,  just  back  of  the  City  Hall.  The  writer  also  re- 
calls hearing  a  statement  made  by  his  uncle,  Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.,  that  on 
coming  downstairs  to  attend  to  some  law  business,  about  seven  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  his  father's  death,  he  met  his  father  then  going  to  bed,  after  having 
been  up  all  night.  Four  hours  later,  at  eleven  o'clock,  the  old  gentleman  was 
in  court. 

Dr.  Francis's  statement  showed  that  the  course  of  treatment  followed,  ac- 
cording to  the  practice  of  the  day,  was  at  least  heroic,  for  he  opened  a  vein  in 
both  arms  and  at  both  ankles  until,  as  the  Doctor  expressed  it,  "the  blood 
ran  all  over  the  floor  without  his  coming  to!"    From  the  son's  account  and 


Meeting  of  the  Common  Council  475 


the  consequent  probability  of  exhaustion,  the  loss  of  blood  certainly  did  no 
good,  while  without  the  excessive  bleeding  he  might  possibly  have  been  re- 
vived by  rest  and  the  judicious  use  of  stimulants  and  counter-irritation. 


In  Common  Council — Special  Meeting,  November  15,  1827. 


PRESENT 


The  Hon'ble  William  Paulding,  Mayor,  President 
Richard  Riker,  Esquire,  Recorder 


Aldermen 


John  Gates  Cebra 
Samuel  Gifford,  Jun'r 
Campbell  P.  White 
John  Agnew 
Anthony  Lamb 
John  Lozier 
Jameson  Cox 
Stuart  F.  Randolph 
Jacob  B.  Taylor 
Gideon  Ostrander 
Lemuel  Pittman 
Effingham  Schiefflin 


Assistants. 

Thomas  Bolton 
Wm.  W.  Mott 
Samuel  Stevens 
Isaac  Brown 
John  Shepherd,  Jun'r 
James  Lynch 
William  S.  Coe 
Thomas  T.  Woodruff 
John  R.  Peters 
Abraham  M.  Valentine 
Jeremiah  Dodge 
Henry  Storms 


The  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  was  dispensed  with. 

His  Honor  the  Mayor  informed  the  Board  that  he  had  at  the  request  of  several 
members  called  the  meeting  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Es- 
quire, and  to  give  to  the  Board  an  opportunity  of  paying  such  marks  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  their  much  lamented  and  highly  respected  Fellow-Citizen  as  they  should 
judge  proper  and  expedient. — Whereupon 

The  Recorder  presented  the  following  Preamble  and  Resolutions  which  were  unani- 
mously adopted : — 

When  in  the  course  of  Divine  Providence,  individuals  who  have  been  held  in  high 
and  deserving  esteem  by  their  fellow-citizens  are  removed  from  this  state  of  mortal  exis- 
tence, it  is  becoming  and  useful  to  testify  by  public  expression  a  sense  of  that  esteem. 

It  is  becoming  as  a  reward  of  merit,  it  is  useful  as  an  incentive  to  a  faithful  dis- 
charge of  duties. 

The  death  of  the  deeply  lamented  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  furnishes,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  Board,  such  an  occasion  for  the  expression  of  public  sentiment.  He  has  long  filled, 
in  the  eye  of  this  community,  a  distinguished  station.  His  talents  have  shed  a  lustre  over 
our  country — his  virtues  were  a  model  for  imitation,  and  endeared  him  wherever  he  was 
known. 

This  Common  Council,  sincerely  sympathizing  with  his  family  and  with  the  public  at 
large,  and  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory. 

resolved,  That  this  Board  attend  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  the  late  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  this  day  at  twelve  o'clock. 

resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Board  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for 
the  space  of  thirty  days.  J.  Norton,  Clerk. 

This  above  was  copied  from  "Minutes  of  the  Common  Council,  Vol. 
LXII,  Sept.  24,  1827  to  Jan.  14,  1828,  City  Library",  to  be  had  at  City  Hall, 
New  York. 


476 


Newspaper  Tributes 


At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of  professors  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  Geneva 
College,  held  at  the  College  on  Thursday  evening,  the  15th  of  November  instant,  Pro- 
fessor Francis,  having  communicated  the  death  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Counsellor  of 
this  Board,  and  formerly  a  member  of  the  Medical  profession. 

On  motion — Resolved,  That  the  professors  of  this  college  deeply  sympathize  with 
the  family  of  Mr.  Emmet  on  the  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  death  of  an  inestimable 
husband  and  father;  and  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  transmitted  to  his  bereaved 
relatives. 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  will  unite  with  the  Bar  and  with  the  public  in  testifying 
their  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  distinguished  individual  whose  loss  is  so  deeply 
and  justly  regretted. 

Resolved,  That  the  professors  will  suspend  their  respective  lectures  on  the  16th  inst, 
and  will  attend  the  obsequies  of  the  illustrious  deceased. 


The  following  are  among  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  funeral  honors 
paid  Mr.  Emmet : 

"New  York  Courier,"  15th  November,  1827. 

With  sentiments  of  deep  and  unfeigned  regret  we  state  that  this  venerable  and 
distinguished  citizen  was  seized  with  apoplexy  yesterday,  while  engaged  in  his  professional 
duties  in  the  Circuit  Court  in  the  City  Hall.  Such  was  the  sensation  produced  by  this 
melancholy  occurrence,  that  the  court  immediately  adjourned.  We  can  not  but  fear  that 
the  voice  which  so  often  and  so  eloquently  has  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  injured  and  op- 
pressed— the  mind  that  has  rendered  plain  and  clear  the  most  intricate  and  abstruse  ques- 
tions of  law — the  heart  that  has  beaten  with  a  fervid  pulse  for  the  cause  and  principles 
of  his  adopted  country,  will  be  lost  to  us  for  ever.  We  were  informed  at  his  house  as 
late  as  ten  o'clock  last  evening  that  he  was  then  alive,  but  no  hope  was  entertained  of 
his  recovery. 


Thomas  Addis  Emmet. — Our  fears  of  yesterday  were  too  well  founded — the  great 
advocate  and  estimable  man  is  no  more.  He  has  descended  to  the  tomb  in  the  fulness  of 
years  and  the  maturity  of  honours.  The  speaking  eye  is  closed  in  darkness — the  eloquent 
tongue  is  silent— and  the  generous  heart  is  now  but  cold  clay.  To  one  whose  life  was 
marked  by  such  beauty  and  purity  as  his,  death,  even  when  he  comes  with  such  appalling 
suddenness,  comes  not  on  an  unprepared  subject.  He  had  so  lived  that  he  feared  not 
to  die;  and  while  we  mourn  the  loss  of  so  estimable  a  man,  regret  is  chastened  by  the 
well-founded  belief  that  he  has  passed  from  this  to  a  better  and  happier  state  of  being. 

Few  men  of  brilliant  talents  can  pass  through  a  conflicting  professional  life  without 
exciting  envy  and  enmity;  fewer  still,  how  pure  soever  in  character,  can  escape  the 
breath  of  suspicion  and  misrepresentation.  In  this  the  lamented  Emmet  was  peculiarly 
fortunate;  his  enemies  were  few  indeed,  and  envy,  despairing  of  reaching  the  elevation 
on  which  he  stood,  looked  elsewhere  for  an  object.  No  whisper  was  ever  heard  against 
the  purity  of  his  character. 

He  kept  the  whiteness  of  his  soul  unsullied  and  added  to  brilliancy  of  genius,  up- 
rightness of  purpose  and  generosity  of  heart. 

Such  was  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and  as  such  we  consign  him  to  his  honoured  grave. 

At  a  court  of  general  sessions  held  at  the  City  Hall  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  and 
for  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  on  the  16th  day  of  November,  1827 : 

Present — Richard  Riker,  Recorder;  Jacob  B.  Taylor,  Gideon  Ostrander,  and  Camp- 
bell P.  White,  Esqrs.,  Aldermen. 


By  order, 


David  Hosack,  M.  D.,  Pres.  of  the  Med.  Faculty. 
Valentine  Mott,  M.  D.,  Dean. 


"New  York  Courier,"  16th  November,  1827. 


Adjournment  of  Court 


Upon  the  opening  of  the  court,  the  Recorder  stated,  that  it  had  been  announced  to 
the  presiding  magistrates  that  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  expired  on  the  evening  of  the  14th 
instant,  and  would  be  buried  this  day  at  twelve  o'clock. 

The  following  order  was  forthwith  directed  to  be  entered  upon  the  minutes  of  the 
court : 

That  the  Judges  of  this  court  now  and  here  will  attend  the  funeral  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  one  who,  by  uniting  the 
greatest  abilities  with  the  most  unsullied  integrity,  has  for  more  than  twenty  years  thrown 
a  lustre  upon  the  New  York  Bar.  The  Judges  now  present  most  deeply  deplore  his  death, 
and  will  unite  with  their  associate  justices,  and  other  public  functionaries,  and  with  their 
fellow-citzens,  in  testifying  their  regard  for  the  deceased,  their  admiration  of  his  talents, 
and  their  approbation  of  his  virtues. 

The  learned  Counsel  whose  death  is  thus  lamented  by  the  court  has  discharged,  in 
their  fullest  extent,  all  the  duties  of  public  and  of  private  life;  and  by  his  great  attain- 
ments and  excellent  qualities  has  reflected  equal  honour  upon  the  country  of  his  birth 
and  the  country  of  his  adoption. 

From  the  "Commercial  Advertiser",  15th  November,  1827. 

Death  of  Mr.  Emmet. — It  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  regret  that  we  record  the 
death  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq.,  who  has  so  long  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  emi- 
nent American  jurists  and  whose  gigantic  legal  mind  shed  lustre  over  the  bar  of  New 
York.  There  was  something  very  solemn  and  deeply  affecting  in  the  suddenness  and 
manner  of  his  death.  He  may  be  said  to  have  died  on  the  field  of  his  victories  and  well- 
earned  renown. 

He  was  closely  confined  in  court  during  the  trial  of  the  Astor  cause,  in  which,  on 
Monday  last,  he  summed  up  in  behalf  of  the  plaintiff  in  a  masterly  and  elaborate  address. 
The  trial  of  the  "Sailors'  Snug  Harbour"  cases  ensued,  in  which  he  was  also  engaged. 
We  learn  that  for  two  nights  he  had  scarcely  taken  any  repose,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  such  intense  and  unremitted  mental  occupation  produced  the  shock  which  has  ter- 
minated his  valuable  life.  He  was  sitting  in  court  yesterday,  in  the  forenoon,  in  apparent 
health,  and  was  conversing  only  a  few  moments  before  the  event.  He  was  observed 
to  lean  forward  with  his  head  resting  on  his  hand,  or  on  the  table,  and  when  spoken  to 
was  found  to  be  entirely  insensible.  When  this  was  ascertained  the  court  immediately 
adjourned.  Messengers  were  despatched  for  the  members  of  his  family  and  physicans, 
who  speedily  arrived.  Bleeding  was  resorted  to,  but  without  producing  any  apparent 
effect.  A  litter  was  prepared  for  his  removal,  on  which  he  was  carried  to  his  house  in 
Hudson-square.*  The  Court  of  Chancery,  which  was  sitting  at  the  same  time,  was  also 
immediately  adjourned.  The  melancholy  event  produced  a  profound  and  solemn  sensa- 
tion in  the  crowd  who  assembled  round  the  court-room,  in  which  his  friends  and  the 
medical  gentlemen  called  in  were  employing  their  ineffectual  efforts  on  his  behalf.  We 
believe  that  Mr.  Emmet  remained  in  a  state  of  insensibility  from  the  moment  of  the 
attack  until  he  expired  last  night  at  a  few  minutes  after  eleven. 

There  are  few  of  our  citizens  who  have  not  witnessed,  at  some  time,  the  displays  of 
argumentative  and  impassioned  oratory  which  flowed  from  the  lips  of  this  great  lawyer. 
His  vigour  seemed  to  remain  unimpaired  to  the  last,  and  he  has  died  in  the  fulness  of 
his  fame  and  at  the  height  of  his  profession.  We  will  not  do  injustice  to  his  memory 
by  a  feeble  attempt  to  characterise  the  style  of  his  eloquence.  This  task  will  no  doubt 
be  performed  by  some  of  his  able  compeers  on  whom  it  will  devolve. 

On  the  opening  of  the  court  this  morning,  Mr.  David  B.  Ogden  very  feelingly  an- 
nounced the  melancholy  event,  and  the  court  immediately  adjourned.  The  members  of 
the  bar  who  were  present,  including  his  honor,  the  Chancellor,  were  then  called  to  order, 


•Mr.  Emmet's  residence,  to  the  right  and  south  side  of  the  Square,  is  now  shut  off  by  a  tree  in 
the  park.    That  the  houses  were  all  alike  is  shown  by  those  on  each  side  of  the  church. 


478 


Testimony  of  Respect 


and  the  venerable  Judge  [Egbert]  Benson  being  present  was  appointed  chairman,  and  the 
Chancellor,  also  present,  was  appointed  secretary. 

It  was  a  motion  resolved  that  a  general  meeting  of  the  people  be  held  on  Friday 
(tomorrow)  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  in  the  Supreme  Court  room,  for  the  purpose  of 
testifying  their  respect  for  the  memory  of  their  eminent  deceased  brother. 


They  [the  Catholics  of  Ireland]  tuere  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  population,  and  instead 
of  enjoying  the  estates  of  their  forefathers,  they  scarcely  possess  one-fifth  of  the. 
landed  property  of  the  kingdom.  To  this  state  they  had  been  reduced  by  various 
causes  <which  might  have  been  forgotten  in  the  lapse  of  years,  but  that  one  still  re- 
mained in  the  code  called  the  Povery  Laws.  T.  A.  Emmet. 


The  Dissenters,  tuho  were  originally  settled  for  the  most  part  in  Ulster  .  .  .  being 
most  engaged  in  manufactories  and  trade,  did  not  feel  dependence  on  England  as 
essential  to  their  existence  or  happiness,  but  they  felt  the  commercial  restrictions  to 
'which  it  gave  rise  as  injurious  to  their  prosperity  and  pursuits  .  .  .  the  predilec- 
tion for  their  native  country  being  therefore  checked  by  no  extraneous  causes,  they 
gradually  ceased  to  consider  themselves  in  any  other  light  than  Irishmen.  They  be- 
came anxious  for  Ireland's  welfare  and  sensible  to  its  wrongs. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXI 

Meeting  of  the  Bar  of  New  York  as  reported  by  the  "Evening  Post" — Decision 
that  a  monument  be  erected — Order  of  procession  to  the  funeral — An  inclement  day 
with  rain  and  hail — Many  thus  prevented  from  attending  the  largest  funeral  ever 
known  in  New  York — The  only  instance  where  the  corporation  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  with  every  official,  attended  as  a  body  the  funeral  of  any  private  individual — 
Editorial  from  New  York  "Enquirer" — Editorial  from  the  "The  Truth  Teller" — An- 
nouncement that  De  Witt  Clinton,  the  Governor  of  the  State,  had  complied  with 
the  request  of  the  New  York  Bar  to  prepare  and  deliver  an  eulogy  on  Mr.  Emmet 
at  his  earliest  convenience — Full  account  of  the  funeral  as  reported  in  the  New  York 
"Evening  Post",  accompanied  with  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet's  career — Meeting  of  the 
Irish  people  to  consider  plans  and  means  for  erecting  a  monument  to  Mr.  Emmet's 
memory  and  services — Dr.  Macneven's  remarks  on  the  occasion. 


HE  "Evening  Post"  for  Friday,  November  16,  contains  an 
account  of  a  public  meeting  held  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in 
relation  to  Mr.  Emmet's  death : 


Meeting  of  the  Bar — Agreeable  to  previous  notice  a  numerous 
meeting  of  the  Members  of  the  Bar  was  convened  this  morning, 
and  on  motion,  Judge  Benson  was  chosen  president,  and  the 
attorney-general,  secretary,  and  four  resolutions  were  passed. 
The  substance  of  the  resolutions  was  as  follows : 
1st. — That  a  marble  monument  be  erected  in  honor  of  the 
deceased. 

2d. — That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  select  some  suitable  person  to  prepare 
a  memoir  of  the  deceased,  and  also  to  deliver  an  eulogium  as  an  incentive  to  the 
junior  members  of  the  bar. 

3rd. — That  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  be  worn  for  thirty  days. 

4th. — That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  the  afflicted  family. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Hoffman  the  bar  formed  a  procession  and  proceeded  to  the 
house  of  the  deceased. 

The  following  account  of  the  funeral  procession  and  the  previous  proceed- 
ings of  the  Bar,  Bench,  Common  Council  and  College  of  Physicians  are  taken 
from  the  New  York  "Commercial  Advertiser"  for  November  16th,  1827: 

The  procession  was  formed  by  the  committee  at  the  City  Hall  in  the  following 
order  and  proceeded  to  the  late  dwelling  of  Mr.  Emmet.    But  so  great  was  the 

479 


480 


Meeting  of  the  Bar 


number  that  only  a  portion  left  the  ranks  and  the  same  order  was  preserved  until 
it  was  changed  at  the  church  after  the  funeral. 

High  Constable. 
Governor  and  Chancellor. 
Former  Chancellor. 
Present  and  former  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Judges  of  the  United  States  Court. 
First  Judges  of  Common  Pleas  and  former  Recorders. 
Present  and  former  Attorney-Generals. 
Clerk  of  County  and  Clerk  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 
Clerks  of  U.  S.  Courts  and  U.  S.  Marshals. 
Clerks  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  Register  in  Chancery  and  Surrogate. 
District  Attorney  and  U.  S.  District  Attorney. 
Members  of  the  Bar. 
Students  at  Law. 
Sheriff. 
Mayor  and  Recorder. 
Members  of  the  Common  Council. 
Members  of  the  Common  Council  elect. 
The  College  Physicians,  Members  of  the  Medical  Profession  and  Medical  Students 

in  a  body. 

A  shower  of  rain  and  hail  prevented  many  from  attending,  who  were  desirous  of 
showing  their  respect  to  the  deceased. 

It  is  noteworthy  that,  to  the  best  of  the  writer's  knowledge,  this  is  the  only 
instance  of  the  corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York  attending  the  funeral  of 
a  private  individual  in  its  official  capacity. 

All  business  was  suspended  throughout  the  city,  and  the  flag  of  every 
vessel  in  the  harbor  remained  at  half  mast  during  the  funeral.  If  a  great 
calamity  had  befallen  the  city  it  could  not  have  called  forth  a  greater  demon- 
stration of  sorrow,  apparently  from  all  in  every  walk  of  life. 

The  "New  York  Enquirer",  for  Friday,  November  16,  1827,  printed  the 
following : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq. 

We  have  to  report  what  our  readers  already  know  too  well,  that  this  distin- 
guished individual  is  no  more.  From  the  statement  in  the  papers  of  Wednesday, 
the  public  mind  was  prepared  for  such  a  result.  He  lingered  from  the  morning  of 
that  day,  under  a  paralytic  attack,  without,  so  we  understand,  any  recurrences  of 
his  senses,  or  any  great  suffering,  until  the  same  evening,  when  he  expired.  Mr. 
Emmet  was  attacked  in  Court,  while  engaged  as  counsel  in  the  "Snug  Harbor 
Cause,"  and  fell  gently  on  the  table.  His  illness  was  not  immediately  discovered. 
When  observed  (by  the  Attorney-General)  he  was  removed  into  a  contiguous  apart- 
ment and  the  proper  scientific  means  resorted  to.  The  Court  immediately  adjourned. 
Mr.  Emmet,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  was  removed  to  his  own  house,  where  he  ex- 
pired at  11  o'clock. 

It  is  impossible  to  think  of  this  gentleman's  death  without  a  sentiment  of  deep 
regret.  None,  who  have  ever  had  the  honour  of  his  acquaintance  will  refuse  to  bear 
a  willing  and  eager  testimony  to  his  amiable  temper,  his  inflexible  integrity,  his 
ardent  friendship,  his  fine  companionable  qualities,  his  conversational  power,  and  his 
universal  benevolence.  In  private  life  he  was  the  centre  about  which  clustered  and 


Facile  Princeps 


481 


clung  the  affections  of  a  large  and  respectable  family.  No  one  could  be  more  warm- 
ly loved,  and  no  one  more  deservedly  and  sincerely  honoured.  In  public  life  his  qualities 
were  of  the  most  brilliant  character.  As  an  orator,  he  was,  if  not  the  first,  at  least 
among  the  first  in  the  country.  As  an  advocate  he  had  no  equal.  Mr.  Emmet  had 
not  been  originally  intended  for  the  Bar.  Like  the  present  Lord  Stowell  and  Sir 
Edward  Coke,  he  came  to  the  profession  at  an  age  comparatively  advanced.  But 
he  brought  to  it  an  intellect  which  great  observation  of  the  world  had  sharpened, 
and  which  long  and  diligent  study  had  enriched.  His  mind,  naturally  capacious  and 
comprehensive,  had  gathered  together  information  of  every  kind,  from  every  quarter, 
and  he  would  have  been  eminent  for  his  large  general  knowledge,  even  if  he  had  not 
been  more  renowned  as  an  advocate  and  a  lawyer.  The  most  striking  of  his 
faculties  was  quickness  of  perception,  and  to  this  was  joined  a  surprising  steadi- 
ness and  power  of  attention.  He  saw  the  truth  at  a  glance,  and  had  what  is  rarely 
combined  with  that  faculty,  the  art  of  stripping  that  truth  of  all  its  disguises  and 
intricacies,  and  presenting  it  clearly  and  forcibly  to  others.  His  logical  powers  par- 
took of  a  strong  intellect,  reasoning  with  good  sense  and  honest  feeling,  on  the 
materials  before  it.  In  passages  of  a  more  declamatory  cast,  he  manifested  none 
of  the  verbose  and  affected  imagery  of  a  rhetorician,  but  was  at  once  simple,  nervous, 
original  and  energetic.  His  occasional  appeals  to  the  passions  of  a  Jury,  were  sin- 
gularly solemn  and  affecting.  And  it  was  his  distinguished  merit  to  preserve,  on 
all  occasions,  the  most  perfect  good  faith  to  his  client,  his  conscience,  and  the  court. 

There  is  no  man  whose  loss  will  be  more  perceptible  (or  more  regretted)  at 
the  Bar.  He  was,  by  the  consent  of  his  colleagues,  facile  princeps.  Such  an  ab- 
straction of  such  a  lawyer — so  suddenly — in  the  very  midst  of  his  professional  pur- 
suits, and  immediately  after  one  of  his  most  elaborate  and  most  able  pleadings, 
comes  upon  the  mind  with  a  strange  and  melancholy  force.  We  think  of  it  with 
sorrow,  but  that  sorrow  is  mitigated  by  the  conviction  that  it  is  unalloyed  by  the 
slightest  feeling  of  regret  for  any  occurrence  of  his  life — a  fame,  which  neither 
envy  nor  calumny  ever  dared  to  sully. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  Mr.  Emmet  declared  his  intention  to  become  an 
American  citizen  on  the  14th  of  November,  and  it  was  on  the  14th  of  November 
that  he  died.*  He  was  an  Irishman  by  birth.  He  was  one  of  those  high-hearted 
patriots,  who  in  the  dark  hour  of  his  country's  peril,  was  neither  awed  by  the 
menaces  of  his  oppressors,  nor  enfeebled  by  the  suffering  of  the  oppressed.  When 
Ireland  was  one  vast  sea  of  discord,  where  despotism  and  rebellion  waged  a  fierce 
and  fearful  battle — where  patriotism  was  defeated  by  treachery,  and  power 
strengthened  by  submission;  when  the  firmest  no  longer  dared  to  resist  and  the 
sanguine  had  ceased  to  hope ;  it  was  then  that  he  pursued  an  intrepid  march  in 
his  country's  cause,  through  temptations  and  through  threats,  through  "good  report 
and  evil  report,"  till,  in  labouring  for  the  freedom  of  his  country,  he  sacrificed  his  own. 
We  have  no  room  to  dwell  upon  his  magnanimity  while  in  prison,  nor  to  detail  his  suf- 
fering while  in  exile. 

He  came  to  the  United  States,  at  that  time  the  only  asylum  for  the  proscribed, 
and  condemned  and  banished  patriots  of  the  old  world.  It  was  a  fortunate  vessel 
that  brought  him  to  our  shores.  He  came  to  honour  and  to  be  honoured.  How  he  has 
lived  since  the  day  of  his  landing,  how  he  has  deported  himself  as  a  citizen,  and  as 
an  advocate  may  be  learned  from  the  universal  sorrow  which  is  felt  at  this  sudden 
bereavement.  Like  that  of  some  of  the  venerable  fathers  of  our  Revolution,  his 
death  has  thrown  a  feeling  of  grief  over  the  whole  city. 

In  order  to  testify  the  public  respect  for  Mr.  Emmet  the  following  arrangement 
of  the  funeral  procession  has  been  made  by  a  committee.   The  citizens  are  requested 


"Chapter  XXIV  contains  an  interesting  account  of  the  record  book,  showing  that  Mr.  Emmet  made 
his  declaration  on  the  third  day  after  his  arrival  in  this  country. 


482 


Funeral  Procession 


to  meet  this  day  at  three  o'clock  at  the  City  Hall.  The  procession  will  move  from 
there  to  Grace  church. 

ORDER  OF  PROCESSION. 

High  Constable. 
Present  and  former  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Judges  of  the  U.  S.  Courts. 
First  Judge  of  Common  Pleas  and  former  Recorders. 
Present  and  former  Attorney-Generals. 
Clerk  of  County  and  Clerk  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 

Clerk  of  U.  S.  Courts  and  U.  S.  Marshal. 
Clerk  of  Supreme  Court  and  Register  in  Chancery. 
District  Attorney  and  U.  S.  District  Attorney. 
Members  of  the  Bar. 
Students  of  Law. 
Sheriff. 
Mayor  and  Recorder. 
Members  of  the  Common  Council. 
Members  of  the  Common  Council  elect. 

This  paper  also  announced — 

Browerre  has  a  most  faithful  original  bust  of  Mr.  Emmet;  nothing  can  be  more 
spirited,  natural  and  correct.   This  notice  will  come  with  effect  at  a  time  when  many 

desire  to  have  some  memento  of  a  lost  and  valued  friend. 

This  was  a  copy  of  the  bust  made  by  Dr.  John  P.  Emmet.  The  original 
has  already  been  referred  to  and  will  be  again.  ^ 

From  the  "Commercial  Advertiser"  for  Saturday  (Evening),  Novem- 
ber 17: 

Funeral  of  Mr.  Emmet — When  this  paper  went  to  press  yesterday,  the  funeral 
procession  of  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  entering  Grace  Church.  The  pro- 
cession was  very  numerous,  notwithstanding  the  storm  of  rain  mingled  with  hail. 
In  moving  from  the  late  residence  of  Mr.  E.  the  procession  advanced  through  Beach 
Street  towards  Broadway,  where  it  was  met  by  an  immense  assemblage  of  individ- 
uals anxious  to  perform  the  last  honors  to  the  eminent  deceased.  Every  window  and 
avenue  was  filled  with  spectators.  The  flags  on  the  public  offices  of  the  city  were 
displayed  at  half  mast  and  there  seemed  to  be  but  one  expression  of  unaffected  sorrow 
pervading  the  city. 

The  solemn  services  of  the  Church  were  read  in  a  deeply  impressive  manner 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright.  The  anthem  beginning — "I  heard  a  voice"  &c,  was 
sung  by  a  full  choir,  accompanied  by  the  rich  and  full-toned  organ  of  that  church, 
with  good  effect.  As  the  plaintive  and  melting  tones  died  away  upon  the  ear, 
every  head  was  bowed,  every  eye  suffused,  and  every  heart  melted  in  unison.  The 
service  ended,  the  remains,  as  we  mentioned  in  anticipation  last  evening,  were  con- 
veyed to  the  burial  grounds  attached  to  St.  Mark's  Church,  attended  by  great  num- 
bers of  his  friends  and  there  interred. 

After  giving  the  list  of  pall  bearers,  and  the  resolutions  passed  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Bar,  which  will  be  given  hereafter,  the  editorial  proceeds  with  its 
account  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life: 

It  is  not,  perhaps,  generally  known  that  Mr.  Emmet  was  originally  bred  to  the 
profession  of  medicine.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Emmet,  an  eminent  professor  of 
medicine  in  Dublin,  and  for  many  years  held  the  high  appointment  of  State  Phy- 
sician. 


GRACE  &  TRINITY  CHURCHES 

BROADWAY. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Editorial  Comment 


483 


Mr.  E.  was  (with  two  brothers)  educated  in  the  University  of  Dublin  (Trinity 
College)  where  he  took  the  degree  of  M.A.  after  which  he  proceeded  to  the  College 
of  Edinburgh  for  the  study  of  medicine,  and  took  a  degree  there  of  M.D. 

He  then  proceeded  to  the  Continent,  and  visited  most  of  the  courts  of  Europe, 
during  which  his  elder  brother,  Temple  Emmet,  died*  at  an  early  age  after  distin- 
guishing himself  at  the  head  of  the  Irish  bar  as  one  of  the  most  eloquent  men  of 
his  day. 

The  death  of  this  gentleman  gave  a  new  direction  to  the  pursuits  of  Mr.  Emmet; 
and  after  returning  from  the  Continent  he  entered  in  the  Middle  Temple  as  a  student 
of  law,  where  he  continued  the  usual  number  of  terms,  and  was  then  (1790)  called  to 
the  Irish  bar. 

Here  he  soon  rivalled  the  high  reputation  of  his  deceased  brother,  and  became 
an  eminent  practitioner. 

Feeling,  with  many  others  of  his  countrymen,  the  political  evils  under  which 
Ireland  had  for  so  long  a  period  been  suffering,  he  associated  his  talents  with  those 
who  were  desirous  of  effecting  a  revolution  in  his  country,  and  a  separation  from 
England.  The  high  reputation  of  his  integrity,  zeal  and  abilities  soon  rendered 
his  conduct  in  this  political  struggle  an  object  of  extreme  jealousy  and  alarm  to 
the  Irish  Government: — and  on  the  12th  of  March,  1798,  he  with  several  others  (alike 
engaged)  were  arrested  and  confined  in  different  gaols  throughout  the  kingdom — 
and,  after  some  time  he,  with  others,  was  transferred  to  Fort  George  in  Scotland,  until 
enlarged  in  1802,  on  condition  of  transporting  themselves  to  some  country  not  at 
war  with  Great  Britain. 

Mr.  Emmet  as  well  as  several  others  of  his  associates  chose  to  emigrate  to  this 
country,  most  congenial  with  their  political  opinions,  and  accordingly  (after  spending 
a  short  time  in  France)  he  sailed  for  this  country  in  the  year  1804,  and  arrived  in  New 
York  in  the  latter  part  of  that  year. 

After  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  this  State,  in  which,  we  understand,  the 
general  rule  of  the  court  was  dispensed  with,  Mr.  Emmet  rapidly  rose  in  the 
profession,  and,  indeed,  almost  immediately  took  that  stand  which  his  talents  en- 
titled him  to  occupy,  and  which  he  maintained  while  he  lived.  His  first  distinguished 
effort  was  in  the  defence  of  some  fugitive  slaves,  in  which  his  enthusiastic  manner 
and  energetic  eloquence  commanded  the  admiration  of  all  who  heard  him.  On  the 
death  of  Matthias  B.  Hildreth,  Esq.,  the  Attorney-General  of  this  State,  Mr.  Emmet 
was  appointed  his  successor,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1812.  After  holding  this  office 
for  a  short  period,  less,  we  believe,  than  a  year,  he  resigned  it,  and  did  not  during 
the  residue  of  his  life  seek  or  occupy  any  public  station. 

From  that  period  to  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was  unremittingly  in  laborious 
and  important  business.  His  industry  was  indefatigable;  and  while  he  always  mas- 
tered the  minutest  detail  of  every  cause,  his  genius,  with  the  mental  resources  of 
general  knowledge,  on  which  he  could  always  draw  for  illustration,  irradiated  even 
the  most  dull  and  uninviting  topics.  His  name  belongs  to  the  history  of  his  country, 
and  his  memory  will  always  be  cherished  in  that  which  adopted  him,  and  claims  his 
legal  reputation  as  part  of  the  inheritance  of  her  national  glory. 

The  "Truth  Teller",  New  York,  November  17,  1827,  contains  the  follow- 
ing, as  a  portion  of  an  editorial,  written  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Emmet : 

A  scene,  as  melancholy  and  distressing,  as  it  was  unexpected,  occurred  Wednes- 
day forenoon  at  the  City  Hall,  during  the  session  of  the  United  States  Court.  This 
distinguished  patriot  and  amiable  citizen,  while  attending  as  counsellor  in  the  im- 
portant case  of  Sailors'  Snug  Harbour,  was  suddenly  struck  with  a  paralytic  affec- 
tion, which  instantly  deprived  him  of  the  use  of  his  faculties.  ...    At  eleven  o'clock 


•This  is  not  correct  as  Dr.  Emmet  was  several  years  in  practice  before  the  death  of  his  brother. 


484 


' 'Through  Good  and  Evil  Report" 


of  the  same  evening,  this  good,  this  virtuous,  this  patriotic  individual  breathed  his 
last!  Thus  in  the  fulness  of  his  fame,  at  the  height  of  his  profession,  and  beloved  by 
all,  has  our  Bar  been  deprived  of  its  brightest  ornament, — America  of  one  of  her 
noblest  citizens — and  Irishmen  of  one  of  their  best  friends,  by  the  unrelenting  hand 
of  Death.  His  sudden  demise  has  thrown  a  gloom  over  the  city,  and  has  excited 
sentiments  of  sorrow  and  regret  that  will  be  re-echoed  from  all  parts  of  the  Union. 
In  Ireland — the  country  of  his  birth — that  country  for  which  he  suffered  so  many 
persecutions,  similar  sentiments  will  pervade  the  hearts  of  every  one,  when  the  sad 
and  melancholy  intelligence  reaches  it.  Ireland,  and  Irishmen,  indeed  owe  him  much. 
In  the  language  of  a  contemporary  well  may  we  say — he  was  one  of  those  high- 
minded  patriots,  who  in  the  dark  hour  of  his  country's  peril,  was  neither  awed  by 
the  menaces  of  his  oppressor,  nor  enfeebled  by  the  suffering  of  the  oppressed. 

When  Ireland  was  one  vast  sea  of  discord,  where  patriotism  was  defeated  by 
treachery,  and  power  strengthened  by  submission;  when  the  firmest  no  longer  dared 
to  resist,  and  the  sanguine  had  ceased  to  hope,  it  was  then  that  he  pursued  an  in- 
trepid march  in  his  country's  cause,  through  temptations  and  through  threats, 
through  good  report  and  evil  report,  till  in  labouring  for  the  freedom  of  his  country, 
he  sacrificed  his  own. 

He  eventually  came  to  this  country — at  the  time  the  only  asylum  for  the  pro- 
scribed, and  condemned,  and  banished  patriots  of  the  old  world.  How  he  has  lived 
since  the  day  of  his  landing — how  he  has  deported  himself  as  a  citizen,  and  an  advo- 
cate, may  be  learned  from  the  sorrow  which  is  felt  at  this  sudden  bereavement. 

The  following  account  of  the  funeral  procession  and  interment  is  taken 
from  "The  Morning  Courier",  17th  November,  1827 : 

Between  the  hours  of  11  and  12  o'clock,  on  the  16th  instant,  there  was  an  im- 
mense crowd  of  people  assembled  in  Hudson-square.  The  universal  sensation  of 
grief  which  the  death  of  Mr.  Emmet  excited  shows  the  high  respect  and  veneration 
in  which  he  was  generally  held. 

At  one  o'clock  the  procession  began  to  move. 

[Then  follow  the  names  and  titles  of  the  several  legal  and  public  functionaries 
given  in  the  preceding  notice.] 

The  procession  advanced  through  Beach  Street  towards  Broadway,  where  it  was 
met  by  an  immense  assemblage  of  individuals  anxious  to  perform  the  last  honours 
to  the  eminent  deceased.  Every  window  and  avenue  was  filled  with  spectators,  and 
notwithstanding  the  coldness  and  disagreeableness  of  the  day  we  believe  there  has 
been  seldom  witnessed  in  this  city  a  more  numerous  or  more  respectable  funeral. 

About  half  past  one  o'clock  the  procession  arrived  at  Grace  Church.  The  funeral 
service  was  here  read  in  a  most  impressive  manner  by  the  officiating  clergyman. 
The  melodies  and  solemn  sound  of  the  organ,  the  delightful  and  awe-inspiring  music 
of  "I  heard  a  voice"  &c,  and  the  melancholy  occasion  of  the  assembly  evidently  affected 
every  person  present. 

Hence  the  procession  moved  to  St.  Mark's  Church  graveyard,  where  the  body  of 
the  much  lamented  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  interred. 

From  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  17th  November,  1827 : 
We  learn  that  Governor  Clinton  has  complied  with  the  wishes  of  the  committee 
of  the  bar,  and  accepted  of  their  invitation  to  pronounce  the  eulogy  on  Mr.  Emmet,  in 
conformity  to  the  resolution  of  the  bar  of  this  city,  adopted  on  the  16th  instant.* 

This  issue  of  the  same  paper  contained  an  account  of  the  funeral  as  follows  : 
We  mentioned  yesterday  that  a  meeting  of  the  bar  of  New  York  was  held  that 

*No  eulogy  was  delivered  for  the  Bar  Association,  as  Mr.  Clinton  died  a  few  weeks  after  he 
accepted,  and  no  one  else  was  appointed.    Mr.  Sampson  was  to  have  prepared  a  memoir  of  Mr.  Emmet, 

but  he  also  died  before  he  had  succeeded  in  collecting  any  material.  Dr.  Mitchell  delivered  the  only 
address  at  the  request  of  the  authorities  at  the  City  Hall. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


ST.  MARK'S  CHURCH,  "IN  THE  BOWERI E" 


Mr.  Sampson  s  Eulogy  485 


morning  to  testify  the  respect  of  the  profession  for  the  memory  of  Mr.  Emmet. 
The  distinguished  reputation  of  the  deceased,  the  awful  and  sudden  visitation  by 
which  he  has  been  struck  down  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  the  reverence  universally 
paid  to  his  private  worth,  made  the  meeting  a  crowded  and  affecting  one.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy  of  the  resolution  proposed  by  Mr.  Ogden  and  unanimously 
adopted. 

1.  Resolved,  That  a  marble  monument  be  erected  in  some  suitable  part  of  the 
city,  in  memory  of  the  talents  and  character  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Esq. 

2.  Resolved,  That  a  memoir  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Emmet  be  prepared,  and  a  funeral 
oration  delivered  in  testimony  of  his  virtues,  and  as  an  incentive  to  the  junior  mem- 
bers of  the  bar. 

3.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  carry  into  effect  the  above 
resolution,  and  that  a  copy  of  the  work  be  presented  to  his  family,  with  an  assur- 
ance to  them,  of  our  condolence  on  the  afflicting  dispensation,  with  which  they  have 
been  visited. 

4.  Resolved,  That  this  meeting  do  adjourn,  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Emmet, 
and  that  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar  do  wear  the  usual  badges  of  mourning  for  thirty-one 
days. 

After  the  resolutions  were  passed,  the  meeting  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Roose- 
velt and  Mr.  Clark,  who  severally  enlarged  upon  the  eminent  talents  and  virtues  of 
the  deceased.  Mr.  Sampson  then  briefly,  but  in  an  eloquent  and  affecting  manner, 
addressed  the  chair.  Of  this  address  he  has  politely  furnished  us  with  the  following 
copy: 

"Sir — I  do  not  rise  to  eulogize  my  friend.  The  name  of  Emmet  belongs  to  his- 
tory, and  history  will  claim  it.  She  has  already  prepared  a  niche  for  him  beside 
the  side  of  those  illustrious  brothers  of  a  gifted  family  who  descended  long  before 
him  to  their  early  graves. 

"He  was  the  friend  of  my  younger  days,  and  the  object  of  my  constant  admiration, 
and  I  might  speak  of  those  days  and  tell  of  the  trophies  he  had  won  before  his  sun 
had  reached  half  its  meridian  of  splendour.  I  might  say  how  he  lived  in  the  hearts 
of  millions  in  another  land,  but  this  would  be  to  break  in  idly  upon  the  sanctity  of 
this  solemn  and  affecting  scene.  Far  better  is  his  praise  shown  forth  here  at  this 
moment  by  this  assembly  of  all  the  aged  and  the  young  of  that  honourable  calling 
of  which  he  was  so  bright  an  ornament.  Where  years,  and  station,  and  dignity  of 
worth  bow  down  their  heads,  bend  their  looks  to  earth  and  think  it  not  stooping 
when  they  do  him  reverence.  What  individual  praise  can  equal  this,  what  words, 
what  human  tongue  can  speak  so  movingly?  And  when  the  historian  shall  trace  back 
that  life  which  was  dedicated  to  virtue  and  to  honour,  and  would  give  some  notion 
of  those  winning  and  endearing  attributes  that  graced  his  loftier  qualities,  let  him 
describe  if  he  can  this  scene:  let  him  tell  not  only  how  he  lived,  but  how  he  died  in 
the  field  of  his  renown,  in  the  exercise  of  his  great  powers  which  failed  him  not 
till  the  hand  of  the  Almighty,  in  the  middle  of  his  earthly  glory,  beckoned  him  to  His 
presence:  how  he  expired  by  the  side  of  his  faithful  colleagues,  and  sunk  into  the 
arms  of  those  honourable  competitors  upon  whom  he  had  so  lately  bestowed  the  meed 
of  generous  applause:  how  the  death  stroke  that  silenced  evermore  his  eloquent 
tongue  praised  theirs  also:  how  manhood's  cheeks  were  wet  with  tender  tears:  how 
awful  justice  in  the  judgment  seat  held  in  her  breath  a  while:  how  the  hand  long  used 
to  hold  her  balance  in  its  steady  grasp,  laid  it  for  a  time  aside  lest  it  might  tremble 
and  falter  in  its  office.  Nor  let  the  faithful  historian  fail  to  state  in  justice  to  a 
great  community,  to  a  people  in  whose  laws  is  inscribed,  and  in  whose  manners  and 
whose  hearts  is  seated,  the  ennobling  and  exalted  virtue  of  hospitality ;  how  with  a 
characteristic  magnanimity  and  with  one  universal  and  spontaneous  voice  they 
honoured  this  beloved  brother  of  adoption,  whose  excellence  after  four  and  twenty 
years  of  probation,  they  justly  challenged  as  belonging  to  themselves.    Long  may  it 


486 


Long  May  this  Pre-eminence  Endure 


be  the  proud  and  high  prerogative  of  this  great  and  happy  nation,  to  receive  into 
its  bosom  and  draw  to  itself  as  to  a  free  and  happy  haven  the  wealth  and  strength 
and  intellectual  treasures  of  less  happy  climes.  Long  may  this  pre-eminence  en- 
dure, that  in  it  the  injured  and  oppressed  may  find  a  home,  and  the  great  and  good 
man  friends  and  brothers. 

"I  said  I  did  not  rise  to  eulogize  my  friend;  but  peculiarly  as  I  stood  related  to 
him  whom  we  all  mourn,  and  with  him  to  the  many  who  will  honour  those  who  honour 
him,  I  thought  it  might  not  be,  I  hope  it  was  not,  unbecoming  to  express  the  feelings  of, 
let  me  be  allowed  to  call  it  gratitude,  which  pressed  upon  my  heart." 

A  vote  was  then  taken  that  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  regulate  the 
procession  of  the  members  of  the  bar  in  the  funeral,  and  that  they  should  proceed 
to  the  late  residence  of  Mr.  Emmet,  after  which  the  meeting  adjourned  until  11 
o'clock.  Between  the  hours  of  11  and  1  o'clock,  a  large  crowd  assembled  in  Hudson 
square,  and  at  1  o'clock  the  procession  began  to  move  in  the  following  order : 

The  Clergy. 

Pall  Bearers.  The  Coffin.  Pall  Bearers. 

Friends  of  the  deceased.  Friends  of  the  deceased. 

Relatives  of  deceased. 
Dr.  Macnevin  and  Son. 
High  Constable. 
Governor  and  Chancellor. 
Former  Chancellor. 
Present  and  former  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

Judges  of  the  United  States  Courts. 
First  Judge  of  Common  Pleas  and  former  Recorders. 
Present  and  Former  Attorney-Generals. 
Clerk  of  County  and  Clerk  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 
Clerks  of  United  States  Courts  and  United  States  Marshal. 
Clerks  of  Supreme  Court  and  Register  in  Chancery  and  Surrogate. 
District  Attorney  and  United  States  District  Attorney. 
Members  of  the  Bar. 
Students  of  Law. 
Sheriff. 
Mayor  and  Recorder. 
Members  of  Common  Council. 
Members  of  Common  Council  elect. 
Citizens,  two  by  two. 

The  official  portion  of  the  procession  preserved  its  order  throughout,  after 
leaving  Grace  Church.  But  an  addition  to  the  procession  soon  formed  in  the 
side  streets  and  as  it  got  into  line  the  citizen  portion  gradually  extended  from 
curb  to  curb.  Apparently  every  man  in  the  city  and  every  Irishman  accom- 
panied by  a  son  turned  out  to  show  their  respect,  but  comparatively  few  indi- 
viduals saw  the  head  of  the  procession.  They  were  kept  for  hours  standing 
in  line  before  they  passed  St.  Mark's  Church,  with  uncovered  heads,  and  long 
after  the  body  had  been  deposited  in  the  vault. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  Pall  Bearers: — His  Excellency  De  Witt 
Clinton,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York;  Chancellors  Kent  and  Jones;  Judges 
Betts  and  Thompson;  Nathan  Sanford,  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  Esqs.,  United  States 
Senators;  Messrs.  William  Sampson,  John  Chambers,  Robert  Swanton,  D.  B.  Ogden, 
C.  D.  Colden,  J.  O.  Hoffman,  and  Sam'l  Boyd. 

The  procession  in  passing  through  Beach  Street  towards  Broadway  was  joined 


He  Has  Not  Left  His  Superior 


487 


by  multitudes  of  our  citizens  drawn  together  by  the  common  sorrow  of  the  loss  of 
such  a  man.  The  streets  were  thronged  and  the  windows  filled  with  spectators  as 
it  proceeded.  Arriving  at  Grace  Church  the  funeral  service  was  read  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Wainwright,  after  which  the  procession  moved  to  St.  Mark's  Church-yard,  where 
the  body  of  the  deceased  was  interred. 

Here  followed  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life  by  the  editor  of  "The  Post". 
The  New  York  "Albion",  17th  November,  1827,  contained  the  following: 

The  melancholy  death  of  this  excellent  man  and  distinguished  advocate  has 
been  announced  to  this  community,  and  excited  a  sympathy  as  honourable  to  its 
possessors  as  it  was  justly  merited  by  the  eminent  virtues  of  him  whose  sudden  and 
appalling  demise  all  hearts  deplore. 

When  an  individual  in  ordinary  life,  whatever  may  be  the  purity  of  his  character 
and  the  general  elevation  of  his  views,  is  snatched  away  from  us,  the  loss  penetrates 
the  hearts  of  friends,  and  perhaps  destroys  for  ever  all  the  blessed  and  soothing 
joys,  and  all  the  affectionate  endearment  of  the  social  circle  in  which  he  moved; 
but  society  feels  not  the  event  that  has  occurred,  and  the  great  machine  rolls  on 
with  the  regularity  of  undisturbed  and  noiseless  progression.  But  when  a  man  like 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  whose  name  is  engraved  on  the  imperishable  tablets  of  his- 
tory, whose  genius  and  whose  eloquence  have  received  the  unbought  tribute  of  both 
hemispheres,  whose  public  and  private  course,  whether  as  a  patriot  or  a  father,  was 
a  combination  of  unspotted  honour,  of  the  gentlest  and  kindest  affections,  and  the 
warmest  charity,  the  simple  beauty  of  whose  life  was  a  commentary  on  what  man 
may  be  in  this  transitory  world,  when  such  a  man  is  struck  down  into  the  remorse- 
less grave,  the  blood  rushes  back  to  the  fountain  of  the  heart,  and  we  are  lost  in 
wonder  as  we  contemplate  the  strange  and  unaccountable  Providence  which  has 
hurried  him  so  suddenly  away.  Emmet  passed  from  before  our  eyes  like  a  bright 
vision,  he  stood  but  now  in  the  glorious  panoply  of  talent  and  eloquence  in  the  very 
hall  of  judgment,  pursuing  the  noble  career  he  had  embraced  with  an  ardour  and 
devotion  rarely  witnessed  at  any  time,  but  almost  never  at  his  period  of  life. 

We  heard  his  last  effort,  which,  like  the  increasing  splendour  of  the  sun  as  it 
sinks  to  rest,  seemed  to  grow  yet  more  radiant  with  feeling  and  energy  and  all  the 
attributes  of  genius,  and  in  another  moment,  the  heart  that  was  ever  filled  with  the 
noblest  sentiments  and  the  colossal  mind  which  could  patiently  examine  the  arcana 
of  practice,  unravel  the  knotted  combination  of  falsehood,  or  comprehend  within 
its  grasp  the  profoundest  questions  of  government  and  politics,  were  palsied  by  the 
cold  hand  of  relentless  death !  It  is  a  consolation  to  those  who  loved  him  that  he  died  in 
the  full  possession  of  his  unrivalled  faculties,  and  rich  in  the  affections  of  all  those  who 
ever  approached  him. 

To  this  community  which  he  has  so  long  served,  his  loss  is  a  severe  one;  but  to 
the  brethren  of  the  bar,  perhaps  his  loss  is  irreparable.  The  amenity  of  his  manners, 
the  urbanity  of  his  deportment,  the  excellence  of  his  heart,  and  the  kindness  to  the 
younger  members  of  the  profession,  all  rendered  him  a  model  for  imitation,  and  are 
for  ever  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  those  with  whom  he  was  associated.  Of  that  bar 
he  might  well  be  called  the  father,  "et  decus  et  tutamen" ;  perhaps  we  may  say  with- 
out offence  to  those  who  survive  him,  that  whether  we  regard  the  virtues  of  the 
heart,  the  high  sense  of  honour  which  characterized  every  action  of  his  life,  or  the 
displays  of  his  forensic  talent,  he  has  not  left  his  superior  behind  him. 

Mr.  Emmet  was  born  at  Cork,  April  24th,  1761 — his  father  was  a  physician  of 
great  practice  and  reputation,  and  resided  at  Dublin,  and  Mr.  E.  after  receiving  a 
most  liberal  education  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  medicine.  After  passing  some 
time  at  Edinburgh,  he  visited  the  schools  of  the  Continent,  and  returned  to  Dublin 
having  made  all  the  acquisitions,  which  unremitted  labour  and  a  vigorous  mind  could 


488 


The  Model  of  a  Lawyer 


achieve  at  that  period  of  life.  We  believe,  however,  that  Mr.  Emmet  practised  but 
little.  The  death  of  an  elder  brother,  who  even  in  this  talented  family  was  pre- 
eminent, changed  his  determination,  and  gave  a  direction  to  his  future  fortunes  and 
laid  the  foundation  for  his  future  fame.  Dr.  Emmet  wished  him  to  embrace  the  pro- 
fession of  his  devoted  brother,  and  he  immediately  entered  into  its  studies  with  an 
ardour  proportioned  to  his  future  success.  Called  to  the  bar,  he  was  immediately 
distinguished  among  his  contemporaries  and  might  have  looked  to  the  highest  honours 
of  his  profession,  had  he  squared  his  politics  with  his  interests.  Becoming  the  asso- 
ciate and  friend  of  Curran,  O'Connor,  Grattan  and  Keogh,  he  espoused  the  cause  of 
Ireland — a  cause  which  at  last  brought  his  brother  to  the  scaffold;  and  he  was  one  (chief 
director)  of  the  executive  committee  of  United  Irishmen  in  the  memorable  rising  of 
1798 — and  actively  engaged  in  the  organization  of  that  society  and  its  plans  for 
revolutionizing  Ireland. 

Such  was  then  his  reputation  at  the  bar,  that  he  was  invited  to  the  important 
office  of  defending  Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan;  when  he  declined  from  the  best  mo- 
tives, and  yielded  that  task  to  the  firmness  and  fearless  devotion  of  Curran.  He 
was  soon  called  to  experience  the  fate  of  his  client — and  with  Macneven  and  many 
others  he  was  imprisoned  in  the  jail  of  Dublin,  on  a  charge  of  high  treason.  After 
remaining  here  for  some  months  without  any  overt  act  charged  against  him,  over- 
tures were  made  by  the  Government  to  him  and  the  other  prisoners  to  detail  the  plan 
of  their  intended  revolution,  and  the  names  of  those  implicated  in  it,  as  the  price  of 
their  release.  The  proposition  was  rejected  with  indignation  as  a  reflection  on  their 
honour.  Dr.  Macneven  and  Mr.  Emmet  were  the  committee  who  received  the  offer. 
The  prisoners  were  then  removed  to  Fort  George  in  Scotland  and  thus  bonds  which 
bound  Mr.  Emmet  to  a  father,  a  gallant  brother,  and  affectionate  sister  were  severed 
forever.    After  two  years  more  of  lingering  captivity,  Mr.  Emmet  was  released. 

In  1804  he  found  a  resting  place  in  New  York  and  soon  won  his  way,  and  helped 
by  his  matchless  eloquence,  to  add  another  triumph  to  the  university  of  Irish  talent. 
He  first  distinguished  himself  here  in  defending  some  fugitive  slaves,  and  astonished 
his  audience  by  the  ardour  of  his  enthusiasm  and  the  novel  excellence  of  his  man- 
ner. He  held  for  a  short  time  in  1812  and  '13,  the  office  of  Attorney-General  of  this 
State,  but  soon  resigned  the  appointment,  and  never  afterward  sought  or  occupied 
a  public  station. 

Simple  and  unostentatious  in  private  life  Mr.  Emmet  devoted  his  whole  soul 
to  his  profession.  Midnight  orgies  never  followed  the  severe  labours  of  the  forum, 
and  no  client  ever  complained  that  the  merits  of  his  case  had  not  been  perceived 
and  sustained.  His  knowledge  was  profound,  his  researches  to  his  last  moment  un- 
remitting, he  possessed  a  mind  of  extraordinary  comprehension  and  the  strongest 
and  most  extensive  powers  of  analysis — he  enjoyed  the  secret  of  identifying  himself 
with  his  case  and  adding  a  sort  of  professional  interest  to  his  professional  obligation. 
Endowed  with  a  brilliant  imagination,  fortified  with  accurate  and  discriminating  views 
of  English  history,  enriched  with  all  the  fruits  of  various  knowledge  and  blessed 
with  a  noble  enthusiasm,  he  appeared  at  the  bar,  the  very  model  of  a  learned,  accom- 
plished, and  eloquent  lawyer. 


To  the  Memory  of  T.  A.  Emmet. 

The  sun  was  low  in  the  evening  sky, 

Not  a  mist  nor  a  cloud  was  before  him; 
And  he  ting'd  the  hills  with  so  rich  a  dye 
That  had  it  not  been  for  Him  on  high, 
The  heart  would  have  knelt  to  adore  him. 


'  The  Patriot  s  Setting  Glory ' '  489 


On  the  orb  of  light  as  I  stood  to  gaze, 

With  a  sense  of  suppress'd  devotion 
I  thought  of  Him  who  had  lit  his  rays, 
When  sudden  he  sank  and  quenched  his  blaze, 

In  the  waves  of  the  Western  Ocean. 

Thus— Erin!  thou,  from  thy  isle  of  green, 

With  a  sigh  for  his  tearful  story, 
Tho'  mountains  of  billows  roll  between, 
In  a  burst  of  sorrow  hast  lately  seen 

The  Patriot's  setting  glory. 

His  heart — his  arm  were  once  thine  own, 

When  Liberty's  trump  was  sounded; 
But  he  found  thee  chained  to  a  tyrant's  throne 
And  he  wept  to  leave  thee  thus  alone, 

Thy  brightest  hopes  confounded. 

He  left  the  shores  of  the  sea-green  Isle, 

And  the  scenes  of  his  youthful  pleasures; 
But  he  found  a  home  in  the  Freeman's  smile 
And  he  soothed  his  cares,  and  he  shar'd  a  while 

The  Freeman's  hallow'd  treasures. 

And  now  he  is  gone  to  a  better  world, 

Where  a  brother  had  gone  before  him, 
Despatch'd  by  oppression's  bloody  hand, 
While  he  stood  the  chief  of  a  patriot  band 

With  the  banner  of  Liberty  o'er  him. 

And  there  he  talks  of  his  deeds  of  fame, 

And  of  Erin's  tears  and  sorrow; 
And  there  he  sees  the  oppressor's  name 
Obscured  in  the  shades  of  deathless  shame, 

In  the  tyrant's  dread  to-morrow. 

He  sees  from  the  high  and  holy  sphere 

The  land  where  his  form  reposes: — 
And  he  reads  the  hearts  that  love  him  here, 
And  he'll  see  the  hands  from  year  to  year, 

That  shall  strew  his  grave  with  roses. 

"Pierre." 

The  foregoing  verses  were  printed  in  the  issue  of  the  New  York  "Truth 
Teller"  for  November  17,  1827: 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 
(From  a  paper  issued  in  New  York,  November  17,  1827.) 

Fate  gave  the  word,  the  arrow  sped, 

And  death  was  on  the  dart; 
The  noble  blood  of  Emmet  fled 

Like  lightning  from  the  heart. 


490 


Death  Loves  a  Shining  Mark 


And  with  it  fled  a  stream  of  fire, 

The  glowing  fire  of  mind, 
Which,   while   it   kindled   brighter,  higher, 

Exalted,  cheer'd,  refin'd ! 

In  life  he  ran  a  noble  race — 

His  country,  and  her  laws 
Shone  with  a  more  enchanting  grace 

When  Emmet  led  her  cause. 
O!  there  was  eloquence  of  soul 

To  move  the  sturdy  mind — 
To  bind  it  with  a  firm  control, 

Or  shake  it  like  the  wind. 

He  sleeps  among  the  coffin'd  dead, 

Beneath  St.  Mark's  lone  tomb ; 
Eternal  flowers  shall  deck  his  bed, 

And  verdant  laurels  bloom. 
Death  loves  a  shining  mark,  'tis  said — 

A  rich,  a  golden  prize; 
And  when  with  Emmet's  soul  he  sped, 

Joy  sparkled  in  the  skies. 

In  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  Monday,  November  19,  1827,  appeared 
the  following: 

Notice. — A  meeting  will  be  held  of  the  naturalized  citizens,  of  Irish  birth  and 
parentage,  at  Tammany  Hall,  on  Wednesday  evening  next,  the  21st  inst.,  at  7  o'clock, 
in  relation  to  their  deceased  and  distinguished  countryman,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

Monument  to  Mr.  Emmet. 

At  a  meeting  of  citizens  of  Irish  birth  and  parentage  convened  by  public  adver- 
tisement and  held  at  Tammany  Hall  on  the  evening  of  the  21st  inst.,  Dr.  George 
Cuming  being  called  to  the  chair,  and  Alderman  Campbell  P.  White  appointed  secre- 
tary, 

Dr.  Macneven,  evidently  under  the  influence  of  strong  feelings,  addressed  to  the 
meeting  the  following  observations : 

''The  melancholy  occasion  which  calls  us  together  will  be  our  apology  for  giving 
vent  to  Irish  feelings,  and  assembling  in  the  character  of  Irishmen  at  present.  We 
have  lost  a  friend  who  by  his  virtues  and  his  genius  was  an  honour  to  our  native 
country — a  country  ever  dear  to  our  affections,  though  of  late  so  fallen  as  scarcely 
to  live  in  the  knowledge  of  the  world,  or  to  honour  and  reputation,  but  through  its 
exiles.  If  it  were  for  nothing  else  than  the  reverence  we  bear  our  native  land  we 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  memory  of  Emmet,  for  the  beneficial  influence  he  has 
shed  upon  the  Irish  character  in  the  United  States. 

"Twenty  years  ago,  as  several  here  may  remember,  strong  prejudices  against  the 
emigrants  from  Ireland  prevailed  widely  through  this  city,  and  even  reached  some 
of  the  best  men  in  the  community.  But  they  were  prejudices  and  we  had  the  con- 
solation of  seing  them  gradually  give  way  before  the  bright  example  of  great  per- 
sonal worth,  conciliating  manners,  and  the  honourable  employment  of  the  highest 
intellectual  powers.  One  incident  of  those  times  is  fit  to  be  recalled,  as  it  forcibly 
exhibits  the  propriety  of  conduct  which  won  esteem,  and  the  sense  of  justice  which 
prompted  the  eloquent  and  beautiful  effusiqn  contained  in  "The  American"  of  loth 


Dr.  Macneven's  Address 


491 


of  November — a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  our  departed  friend  alike  distinguished  by 
good  feelings,  good  taste,  and  the  greatest  felicity  for  expressing  them.  Deception 
will  often  come  upon  us  from  without,  but  the  merit  that  redeems  it  is  our  own. 

"Through  all  the  city  the  public  press  took  the  same  just  and  generous  part; 
nor  is  this  surprising,  though  it  be  praiseworthy.  Men  whose  own  vocation  con- 
sists in  the  daily  exercise  of  talents,  frequently  of  a  high  order,  could  not  but  ex- 
perience an  instinctive  sympathy  and  fellow  feeling  towards  one  whom  talents  so  various 
and  commanding  had  raised  to  undisputed  eminence. 

"For,  an  honour  never  conferred  here  before  on  a  private  citizen,  our  municipal 
fathers,  in  their  corporate  capacity,  attended  the  obsequies  of  Emmet. 

"The  Grand  Assize  of  this  metropolis  of  the  Union,  a  body  that  has  rarely 
convened  since  the  revolution,  being  assembled  to  try  the  validity  of  Captain  Ran- 
dal's munificent  bequest,  have  it  in  contemplation  to  affix  a  tablet  to  our  country- 
man's fame  on  the  wall  of  the  court  where  he  fell — heretofore  the  scene  of  his  use- 
fulness— henceforward  of  his  renown.  Nor  is  it  irrelevant  for  me  to  remark  that 
his  professional  career  at  the  New  York  Bar  began  in  prosecuting  a  suit  against 
negro  slavery,  and  that  its  last  act  was  a  defence  of  charity. 

"The  Judges  adjourned  from  the  bench  to  attend  him  to  his  grave. 

"The  members  of  the  Bar  among  whom  he  spent  his  life,  and  who  must  be  ad- 
mitted to  be  the  most  discerning  judges  of  his  character,  of  his  genius,  and  of  the 
vastness  of  his  acquirements — the  most  capable  to  appreciate  his  unwearied  toil, 
his  urbanity  to  his  compeers,  his  fidelity  to  his  clients;  the  members  of  the  Bar 
resolved  with  one  accord  to  perpetuate  the  benefit  of  so  illustrious  an  example, 
especially  for  the  sake  of  junior  members,  by  the  erection  of  a  monument.  This 
inspiring  incentive  is  likely  to  be  placed  in  the  daily  view  of  the  profession,  to 
rouse  the  latent  energies  of  genius  to  noble  emulation,  to  kindle  the  rivalship  of  elo- 
quence and  proclaim  the  triumph  of  science  and  of  labour. 

"The  Faculty  of  Physics  of  Geneva  College  wears  mourning  for  an  early  mem- 
ber of  the  medical  profession,  and  has  appointed  his  distinguished  contemporary 
and  friend  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  Dr.  Mitchell,  to  pronounce  his  eulogium. 

'By  strangers  honored,  and  by  strangers  mourned.' 

"After  these  kind-hearted,  these  generous  proceedings  of  the  Americans,  what 
shall  be  the  conduct  of  his  fellow-citizens  of  Irish  birth?  They  will  indeed  embalm 
the  memory  of  Emmet  in  their  hearts,  but  they  will  also  leave  behind  them  a  less 
frail  memorial  of  their  esteem.  They  will  erect  an  Irish  monument  to  an  Irish 
patriot,  where,  thank  God!  they  have  power  to  do  it.  And  it  shall  revive,  iri  asso- 
ciated remembrances,  the  names  of  many  confederates  of  his  sublimest  purposes, 
who  now  sleep  without  their  fame,  whose  epitaph  is  not  yet  written,  but  to  whom  this 
monument  to  a  brother  will  be  a  cenotaph." 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  then  unanimously  adopted,  and  ordered 
to  be  published. 

Whereas,  The  life  of  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  has  been  eminently  hon- 
ourable to  the  character  and  genius  of  our  native  country,  and  the  country  of  our 
ancestors;  and  the  deeming  of  it  of  service  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind  to  en- 
courage, by  due  honours,  an  undeviating  perseverance  in  the  righteous  use  of  the 
highest  faculties,  more  especially  when  devoted  to  the  paramount  cause  of  Man's 
rights  and  liberties.  Therefore 

Resolved,  That  a  subscription  be  opened  for  erecting  a  monument  to  the  memory 
of  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  commemorative  of  his  virtues  and  genius. 

Resolved,  That  in  order  to  extend  the  right  of  joining  in  the  subscription  to  the 
whole  Irish  population,  no  greater  sum  than  three  dollars  to  be  received  from  any 
person. 

Resolved,  That  our  heartful  and  most,  grateful  thanks  are  justly  due,  and  hereby 


492 


The  Tribute  of  Irishmen 


most  cordially  and  respectfully  tendered  to  our  American  fellow  citizens,  for  their 
generous  and  hospitable  reception  of  Irishmen,  giving  us  happiness  and  a  home  in 
the  best  and  freest  country  in  the  universe. 

Resolved,  That  the  names  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Monument  be  inscribed  upon 
a  scroll  of  parchment,  and  deposited  in  a  safe  manner  under  the  dome. 

George  Cuming,  Chairman. 
Campbell  P.  White,  Secretary. 

From  the  "Argus  and  City  Gazette"  (Albany,  N.  Y.),  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, November  21. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Bar  held  in  pursuance  of  public  notice,  at 
the  Supreme  Court  Room,  in  the  Capitol,  on  Monday  the  19th  of  November,  1827, 
John  V.  Henry,  Esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Judge  Duer  appointed  secretary. 

The  object  of  the  meeting  was  briefly  stated  from  the  chair,  to  be  the  adopting 
of  measures  expressive  of  their  regret  for  the  lamented  death  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  so  long  distinguished  and  so  justly  esteemed  both  for  professional  eminence 
and  for  his  amiable  character  in  private  life. 

Whereupon  Abraham  Van  Vechten,  Esq.,  after  a  few  pertinent  and  feeling  remarks, 
moved  the  following  resolution,  which  was  seconded  by  Harmanus  Bleecker,  Esq.,  and 
unanimously  adopted,  viz: — 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Bar  sincerely  lament  the  death  of  their 
highly  distinguished  brother,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and  to  manifest  their  respect 
for  his  memory  and  eminent  talents,  agree  to  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for 
thirty  days. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  James  King,  Esq.,  seconded  by  Judge  Van  Rensselaer, 
Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  published  in  the  daily  newspapers 
printed  in  the  city  of  Albany.* 

J.  V.  Henry,  Chairman. 
W.  A.  Duer,  Secretary. 

*The  same  resolutions  were  printed  in  the  "Albany  Daily  Advertiser",  Tuesday,  November  20,  1827. 


By  the  statute  for  "Better  securing  the  dependency  of  Ireland",  formal  renunciation  <was 
made  of  the  vile  connection  between  tyrant  and  slave. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Religion  may  be  said  to  have  separated  Ireland  into  t<wo  people,  the  Protestants  and 
Catholics;  the  Protestants  were  divided  into  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England 
and  the  Dissenters.    Both  of  these  had  been  in  their  origin  foreign  colonists. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXII 

A  scholarly  biographical  sketch  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  by  William  Cullen 
Bryant,  published  in  the  N.  Y.  "Evening  Post" — Probably  Mr.  Bryant's  first  contri- 
bution after  becoming  editor — Correspondence  of  the  committee  with  Governor  De 
Witt  Clinton  in  accordance  with  the  request  of  the  New  York  Bar  to  deliver  the 
Emmet  eulogy — The  Albany  "Daily  Advocate"  prints  an  account  of  a  meeting  held 
in  that  city  to  forward  the  Emmet  Monument  movement — The  Randall  farm  and 
Sailors'  Snug  Harbor — Mr.  Charles  King's  letter  of  condolence  to  the  family — 
Report  in  the  "Evening  Post"  of  the  Emmet  Monument  meeting  held  in  New  York 
and  the  names  of  those  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions — A  poem  from  the  New 
York  "Evening  Post"  to  Mr.  Emmet's  memory. 


OR  some  time  before  Mr.  Emmet's  death  he  had  been  sub- 
jected in  the  New  York  "Evening  Post"  to  ill-natured 
references,  frequently  of  a  personal  character  or  bearing 
on  his  political  course.  Under  the  management  of  Cob- 
bett,  although  he  himself  was  an  unnaturalized  Irishman 
and  had  been  actively  associated  with  Mr.  Emmet  in 
Irish  politics  abroad,  the  paper  had  been  inimical  to  Mr. 
Emmet  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  this  country.  But 
on  the  death  of  the  chief  editor  a  short  time  before  Mr. 
Emmet's  death  the  editorship  was  assumed  by  William  Cullen  Bryant  and 
under  his  management  a  change  took  place  in  the  tone  of  the  "Post".  In  the 
issue  for  Wednesday,  November  21st,  1827,  the  following  sketch  of  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet's  life  appeared  as  an  editorial.  It  was  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Bryant  and  was  probably  his  first  article  subsequent  to  taking  charge  of  the 
paper.   Mr.  Bryant  wrote  as  follows  : 

By  the  death  of  Mr.  Emmet  the  State  of  New  York  has  lost  one  of  the  most 
learned  lawyers  that  ever  adorned  her  bar,  and  an  advocate  whose  powers  were 
unrivalled.  Gifted  with  a  mind  of  uncommon  energy,  he  had  cultivated  it  with  sin- 
gular industry.  To  a  profound  knowledge  of  law  as  a  general  science,  and  of  minute 
acquaintance  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  legal  system  of  Great  Britain  and  our 
own  country,  he  added  a  degree  of  scholastic  learning  to  which  few  have  arrived; 
he  was  well  versed  in  classic  literature,  and  he  had  directed  his  attention  to  every  source 
from  whence  his  mind  could  gather  strength  or  derive  improvement.  He  was  edu- 
cated for  the  medical  profession,  received  the  degree  of  M.D.,  and  was  considered 
by  those  who  were  best  enabled  to  form  a  just  opinion  of  the  extent  of  his  acquire- 

493 


494  William  Cullen  Bryant's  Sketch 


ments,  one  who  was  destined  to  rise  to  the  very  head  of  the  profession.  Though 
his  capacity,  intellectual  activity,  and  indefatigable  perseverance  would  have  given 
him  proficiency  and  fame  in  any  profession,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  his  talents 
were  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  profession  of  law;  he  possessed  that  quickness  of 
perception,  that  keen  insight  into  human  nature,  that  knowledge  of  the  human  heart, 
that  skill  in  detecting  its  windings  and  developing  its  operations,  and  that  power  of 
successfully  investigating  the  most  intimate  of  human  affairs,  which  the  bar  is  so 
well  calculated  to  call  forth  and  to  strengthen.  The  eloquence  of  Mr.  Emmet  was 
of  a  high  order:  it  displayed  all  the  ardency  of  feeling  for  which  his  countrymen 
are  remarkable,  controlled  by  a  sound  and  discriminating  judgment.  With  an 
imagination  glowing  at  times  with  the  brightest  images  of  poesy;  with  a  mind  ever 
active,  ever  on  the  alert;  with  extraordinary  logical  ability,  and  an  admirable  com- 
mand of  language;  his  view  of  the  subject  upon  which  he  spoke  was  always  clear 
and  comprehensive;  he  never  left  it  until  he  had  thoroughly  examined  and  sifted  it 
in  all  its  parts  and  bearings;  the  arrangement  of  his  argument  was  always  lucid, 
and  his  diction  well  chosen;  his  rhetorical  figures  were  often  striking,  and  were 
generally  introduced  to  give  force  and  effect  to  his  reasoning,  not  merely  to  please 
the  ear,  or  to  amuse  fancy.  His  speeches  have  a  solidity,  an  energy  of  language 
and  a  range  of  thought  about  them,  which  stamp  them  as  the  effusions  of  a  man, 
of  vigorous  intellect,  who  feels  the  importance  of  his  subject,  and  is  fully  in  earnest 
with  it ;  who  is  determined  to  fight  his  way  to  success,  and  cannot  stop  to  entertain 
his  auditors  with  his  finely  turned  periods,  or  the  graceful  involution  of  his  sentences. 
The  manner  of  Mr.  Emmet  was  extremely  impressive.  His  voice  was  deep  and  well 
toned;  though,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  owing  to  the  loss  of  his  teeth,  his  enun- 
ciation was,  at  times,  a  little  indistinct.  His  gesture  was  often  vehement,  but  gen- 
erally judicious  and  appropriate.  Although  on  many  occasions  a  very  impassioned 
speaker,  yet  he  never  fell  into  that  fervid  monotony  of  manner  which  often  charac- 
terizes such  speakers :  his  pauses,  and  the  cadences  and  inflexions  of  his  voice,  were 
proper  and  effective.  Mr.  Emmet's  forte  undoubtedly  lay  in  the  production  and 
support  of  arguments  to  convince  the  judgment,  which  has  induced  many  to  regard 
him  as  a  skilful  and  powerful  reasoner,  rather  than  a  very  great  orator.  But  Mr. 
Emmet  could  touch  the  sensibilities  and  stir  up  the  passions  when  he  pleased,  and 
the  passages  of  pure,  and  even  sublime  eloquence,  which  occur  in  some  of  his 
speeches,  establish  his  claim  to  the  reputation  of  an  eminent  orator  upon  a  firm 
and  immovable  foundation.  In  the  biographical  work  which  is  to  be  written,  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  his  style  of  forensic  oratory  will  be  made  a  subject  of  particular  ob- 
servation and  critical  remark,  and  that  the  author  will  take  pains  to  cull  and  collate 
the  best  specimens  of  his  argumentive  powers,  and  the  most  brilliant  sallies  of  his 
fancy.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact,  that  the  posthumous  fame  of  a  great  advocate  is  often 
ephemeral,  for  the  want  of  some  judicious  and  tasteful  person,  who  should  collect 
and  arrange  the  interesting  and  valuable,  but  almost  forgotten  speeches,  which  he 
has  delivered. 

Of  Mr.  Emmet's  character  as  a  man,  he  was  so  generally  known  in  this  com- 
munity, that  little  need  be  said.  One,  who  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  well  what 
he  was,  can  bear  witness  to  the  amiability  of  his  disposition,  the  excellence  of  his 
heart,  and  the  highly  honorable  principles  by  which  he  was  ever  actuated. 

"The  mourner  shall  sit  on  thy  tomb." 

B* 


'William  Cullen  Bryant  became  connected  with  the  "Evening  Post"  in  1826  and  was  not  in  accord 
politically  with  William  Coleman,  who  with  the  aid  of  Wm.  Cobbett  opposed  Mr.  Emmet  whenever  he 
could  use  his  paper  for  the  purpose.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Emmet's  death  Mr.  Bryant^was  temporarily 
in  charge  of  the  "Post"  and  was  the  author  of  the  article  just  given  and  signed  "B". 

Mr.  Bryant  became  editor  of  the  paper  early  in  December,  1827,  and  continued  in  charge  until  he 
retired  on  account  of  his  advanced  age,  and  throughout  his  life  he  was  a  personal  friend  of  the  different 
members  of  the  Emmet  family. 


Governor  Clinton  to  Mr.  Sampson  495 


As  already  noticed,  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  Tuesday,  November 
27,  1S<?7,  announced  that  Governor  Clinton  had  complied  with  the  wishes  of 
the  Committee  of  the  Bar,  and  accepted  their  invitation  to  pronounce  the 
eulogy  on  Mr.  Emmet,  in  conformity  to  the  resolution  of  the  Bar  of  New  York, 
adopted  on  the  16th  inst. 

The  New  York  "Evening  Post",  November  29,  1827 : 

The  following  is  the  correspondence  between  the  Committee  of  the  Bar  and  the 
Governor,  in  relation  to  the  eulogy  of  the  late  Mr.  Emmet  and  addressed  to  Wm. 
Sampson,  Esq.: 

To  His  Excellency  De  Witt  Clinton,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Dear  Sir. — The  committee  for  effectuating  the  resolutions  of  the  Bar  in  this 
city  in  honor  of  Mr.  Emmet,  wishing  that  the  fulfilment  of  their  purposes  should  be 
attended  with  a  distinction  corresponding  with  that  which  has  been  so  freely  displayed  by 
the  community  at  large,  invoke  the  aid  of  your  talents,  character,  and  station,  and  re- 
quest that  you  will  accept  of  the  painful  but  generous  office  of  pronouncing  the 
eulogy  voted  by  the  second  resolution;  the  time  and  place  to  be  such  as  shall  best 
suit  your  own  convenience.  I  am  sir,  with  great  consideration,  your  obedient  servant, 

William  Sampson, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Bar. 

Albany,  22nd  Nov.,  1827. 

Dear  Sir. — I  have  been  honored  with  a  letter  from  you,  as  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Bar  of  New  York,  requesting  me  to  pronounce  an  eulogium  on  the  de- 
ceased Mr.  Emmet,  and  leaving  the  time  to  my  convenience.  With  the  latitude  al- 
lowed me  as  to  time  I  shall  certainly  consider  it  due  to  the  friendship  (as  ardent  as 
sincere),  which  I  always  entertained  for  that  illustrious  man,  and  the  high  respect 
which  I  have  cherished  for  his  virtues  and  talents,  to  comply  with  a  request  which 
I  consider  an  honor.  I  regret  that  my  official  duties  and  arrangements  will  not  per- 
mit me  to  perform  this  sacred  duty  of  friendship  until  May  next. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

De  Witt  Clinton. 

Wm.  Sampson,  Esq.,  Chairman  &c. 

The  "Albany  Daily  Advertiser",  for  Thursday,  November  22,  1827,  printed 
the  following: 

The  names  of  the  gentlemen  appointed  on  the  committee  to  collect  subscriptions 
for  a  monument  to  be  erected  in  memory  of  the  late  Mr.  Emmet,  and  to  provide 
for  a  funeral  oration  and  publication  of  a  memoir,  are  as  follows: 

David  B.  Ogden,  William  Sampson,  Peter  A.  Jay,  James  J.  Roosevelt,  Charles 
Baldwin,  James  Kent,  and  C.  D.  Colden,  Esquires. 

It  is  said  that  one  gentleman,  not  a  member  of  the  bar,  who  was  present  at 
the  awful  event,  has  already  subscribed  a  sum  nearly  equivalent  to  the  purpose. 

The  above  was  reprinted  from  the  New  York  "Commercial  Advertiser". 

The  issue  of  the  "Albany  Daily  Advertiser"  of  November  30  contains  an 
exact  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  at  the  Tammany  Hall  meeting  on  Novem- 
ber 21st. 

The  Bar  of  New  York  have  voted  to  erect  a  marble  Monument  to  the  memory 
of  T.  A.  Emmet,  Esq.,  who  died  last  week  of  apoplexy.  A  memoir  of  his  life  is  to 
be  prepared,  and  a  funeral  oration  delivered  in  testimony  of  his  virtues  and  as  an 
incentive  to  the  junior  members  of  the  Bar. 

Mr.  E.  came  to  this  country  from  Ireland  in  1804. 


496  Mr.  Charles  King's  Condolences 


The  wealthy  corporation  known  to-day  as  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor  was 
founded  on  a  bequest  of  Randal's  farm,  which  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Emmet's 
death  was  of  little  value.  Captain  Randal's  will  was  contested  and  Mr.  Emmet 
gave  his  services  to  the  defence  as  a  charity.  To  gain  this  suit,  and  on  the 
same  day  another  in  which  nearly  all  the  property  of  John  Jacob  Astor  was 
involved,  he  lost  his  life  from  excessive  work. 

One  of  the  first  letters  of  condolence  received  by  the  family  after  Mr. 
Emmet's  death,  as  has  been  already  stated,  was  from  the  eldest  son  of  Rufus 
King.  Social  intercourse  had  existed  between  the  young  people  of  the  two 
families  even  before  Mr.  King's  death,  but  his  son's  expression  of  sympathy 
on  this  occasion  engendered  a  state  of  good  feeling  which  has  remained  un- 
broken. 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  Robert  Emmet,  the  eldest  son,  and  was 
evidently  in  answer  to  one  written  immediately  after  Mr.  Emmet's  death : 

,  Monday,  26  Nov.,  1827 

My  Dear  Sir: 

I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  Saturday,  and  will  not  disguise  from  you  the 
gratification  it  afforded  me.  To  have  been  the  means  of  administering  any,  the 
smallest  balm  to  affliction  such  as  that  which  has  befallen  your  family,  is  in  itself 
a  most  cheering  reflection.  To  be  assured  by  you  that  in  what  I  did  say,  you  were 
not  disappointed  nor  surprised,  is  to  me  at  once,  the  most  gratifying  and  the  most 
delicate  acknowledgment  that  my  feelings  were  justly  appreciated. 

Permit  me  to  add  the  hope,  that  in  the  graves  of  those  whom  Nature  never  meant 
for  foes,  may  be  buried,  as  to  their  survivors,  all  memory  of  the  adverse  circum- 
stances that  separated  them,  and  to  assure  you  on  my  part  of  the  strong  desire 
I  shall  ever  entertain  not  to  impair  your  kind  estimate  of  me. 

I  beg  you  to  present  my  most  sincere  and  respectful  condolences  to  your  mother  and 
sisters,  and  to  believe  me  with  great  regard — 

Your  humble  servant, 

Charles  King. 

To  R.  Emmet,  Esq. 

From  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  Monday,  November  26,  1827 : 

Monument  to  Mr.  Emmet. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Irish  birth  and  parentage,  convened  by  public 
advertisement,  and  held  at  Tammany  Hall,  on  the  evening  of  the  21st  inst,  Dr. 
George  Cuming,  being  called  to  the  Chair,  and  Alderman  Campbell  P.  White,  ap- 
pointed Secretary,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted, 
and  ordered  to  be  published: 

Whereas,  The  life  of  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  has  been  eminently  hon- 
orable to  the  character  and  genius  of  our  native  country  and  the  country  of  our 
ancestors,  and  deeming  it  of  service  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind  to  encourage, 
by  due  honors,  an  undeviating  perseverance  in  the  righteous  use  of  the  highest 
faculties,  more  especially  when  devoted  to  the  paramount  cause  of  man's  rights  and 
liberties. 

Therefore,  Resolved,  that  a  subscription  be  opened  for  erecting  a  Monument  to 
the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  commemorative  of  his  virtue  and  genius. 

Resolved,  That  in  order  to  extend  the  right  of  joining  in  the  subscription,  to  the 


Monument  to  Mr.  Emmet 


whole  Irish  population,  no  greater  sum  than  three  dollars  be  received  from  any  one 
person. 

Resolved,  That  our  heartfelt  and  most  grateful  thanks  are  justly  due,  and  hereby 
most  cordially  and  respectfully  tendered  to  our  American  fellow  citizens,  for  their 
generous  and  hospitable  reception  of  Irishmen,  giving  us  happiness  and  a  home  in 
the  best  and  freest  country  in  the  universe. 

Resolved,  That  the  names  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Monument  be  inscribed  upon 
a  roll  of  parchment,  and  deposited  in  a  safe  manner  under  the  Dome. 

George  Cuming,  Chairman. 

Campbell  P.  White,  Secretary. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  then  appointed  to  receive  subscriptions  in  their 
respective  wards: 

First  Ward. — Thomas  Suffern,  James  McBride,  William  James,  Henry  Lowery, 
Cornelius  Heeny. 

Second  Ward. — James  McCurdy,  John  B.  Montgomery,  Edward  McGaraghan, 
Lewis  Cronly,  Robert  McKeon,  Thomas  Toole,  Sen'r. 

Third  Ward. — Campbell  P.  White,  James  Magee,  Samuel  Craig,  Edward  Innes, 
George  Gallagher. 

Fourth  Ward. — Dennis  H.  Doyle,  William  Agnew,  Michael  Conrey,  William 
Clancey,  John  F.  Gannon. 

Fifth  Ward. — William  M.  Carter,  George  Bowen,  John  Thomas,  Samuel  Brady, 
John  Linn,  Harris  Blood. 

Sixth  Ward. — Rev.  Edward  Mitchell,  General  Lynch,  Dennis  McCarthy,  John 
Chambers,  Dr.  S.  Macauley,  Dr.  G.  Cuming,  Peter  Davey,  James  Ballagh,  James 
Ryan. 

Seventh  Ward. — Rev.  Dr.  Macauley,  John  Quin,  John  Ridden,  John  Mc- 
Gibben,  Alexander  Carscaddin,  Patrick  Sullivan,  John  Shannon,  Lawrence  Power. 

Eighth  Ward. — William  W.  Cowan,  James  Brown,  John  Caldwell,  Michael  Mul- 
den,  William  Edwards. 

Ninth  Ward. — John  Gibson,  Lawrence  Murphy,  Col.  S.  E.  Fotherall,  Nicholas 
Sackan. 

Tenth  Ward. — David  Atkinson,  Bartholomew  McGaraghan,  Peter  Duffy,  Tighe 
Davy,  Edward  Cooper. 

Eleventh  Ward. — James  Hays,  Charles  Coles,  William  Fitzgerald,  Rowley 
Hogan,  John  Friel. 

Twelfth  Ward. — James  Flanaghan,  James  Dobbin,  Arthur  McCarten,  Peter 
McLaughlin,  Charles  Smyth,  James  W.  Anderson. 

Thirteenth  Ward. — Francis  Henrietta,  Owen  Connell,  Andrew  Fallon,  Edward 
Flanagan,  Mr.  Little. 

Fourteenth  Ward. — Rev.  Dr.  Power,  Rev.  Dr.  Feltus,  Macneven,  Bernard  O'Con- 
nor, John  Largy,  Thomas  Doyle,  Michael  Garvey,  Mr.  Usher. 

The  Boston  "Recorder  and  Telegraph"  for  Friday,  November  20th,  1827, 
said : 

A  bar  meeting  is  called  at  Albany,  to  take  measures  for  expressing  the  regret  of  the 
members  at  the  death  and  memory  of  Mr.  Emmet. 

From  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  December  1st,  1827 : 

Oh!  shed  not  for  Emmet  the  sorrowing  tear! 
He  sunk  in  the  midst  of  his  glorious  career; 
When  thousands  in  rapt  admiration  had  hung 
On  the  accents  that  burst  from  the  eloquent  tongue, 


498 


"Eclipsed  at  His  Noon" 


And  the  high  halls  of  justice  rung  loud  with  the  fame 

Of  the  exiled  patriot's  far-honored  name. 

Oh,  then  came  the  summons,  that  moment  'twas  given, 

That  call'd  him  before  the  tribunal  of  Heaven — 

From  judges  of  earth  to  the  great  Judge  above; 

Who  enthron'd  with  his  attributes,  mercy  and  love, 

Stretched  forth  his  hand  and  severed  the  tie 

That  bound  that  bright  spirit  too  long  from  the  sky. 

In  an  instant  it  burst  from  the  mansion  of  clay 

And  triumphantly  rose  to  the  regions  of  day. 

And  the  last  parting  beam  of  his  genius  was  bright, 

And  glowing,  and  warm  as  the  noonday  of  light ; 

And  the  flash  of  that  ray  still  its  brilliancy  shed 

When  the  light  that  had  caused  it  forever  had  fled. 

No  fading  in  luster,  no  dimness  was  there, 

He  sank  in  the  pride  of  his  glorious  career. 

Like  the  sun,  when  his  splendors  are  cloudless  and  high, 

Eclipsed  at  his  noon  in  the  midst  of  the  sky, 

More  dazzling  he  seems  to  remember,  more  bright 

Than  when  slowly  declining  he  sank  into  night. 

Mary. 


When  England  seemed  to  have  added  strength  to  her  constitution  by  setting  the  House 
of  Hanover  on  the  throne,  when  her  commerce  and  her  arms  had  exalted  her  power 
and  resources  above  every  other  European  State,  her  policy  towards  Ireland  could 
only  be  satisfied  by  the  most  unequivocal  expression  of  the  most  unbounded  despotism. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


White  the  friend  of  freedom  disdains  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  Irish  Parliament,  he 
must  sympathize  in  the  fate  of  the  Irish  people,  through  all  the  changes  of  British 
policy,  still  doomed  to  endure  the  bitter  curse  of  insult  and  gloomy  horrors  of  servi- 
tude, and  still  seize  every  opportunity  tvhich  the  history  of  that  policy  presents  to 
illustrate  its  motives  and  to  reprobate  its  injustice. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXIII 

Boston  meeting  in  relation  to  the  Emmet  Monument — A  New  York  meeting 
for  the  same  purpose  reported  by  the  "Evening  Post",  with  a  list  of  officers — Harvey's 
Sketch — Meeting  called  in  Philadelphia — Hibernian  Relief  Society  of  Boston — From  the 
London  "Times" — Letter  from  Dr.  Macneven  to  Mr.  Duponceau  relating  to  Mr.  Emmet 
— Comments  on  Macneven's  letter— The  writer's  recollection  of  information  obtained 
from  his  relatives  in  relation  to  Dr.  Robert  Emmet,  T.  A.  Emmet  and  others — Report  of 
a  meeting  held  in  Philadelphia  to  advance  the  movement  for  the  Emmet  Monument — A 
poem  from  the  "Evening  Post"  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Emmet. 


N  the  New  York  "Evening  Post"  for  December  3d,  1827, 
was  published  an  account  of  a  meeting  held  in  Boston  to 
forward  the  movement  for  erecting  the  monument  to  Mr. 
Emmet's  memory. 

In  New  York  at  a  meeting  of  the  several  committees  ap- 
pointed to  receive  subscriptions  in  their  respective  wards  (held 
at  the  Broadway  House  on  the  evening  of  the  30th  of  Nov.)  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  late 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  a  man  whose  virtues  and  talents  will  long 
be  remembered  and  revered,  both  in  his  native  and  adopted 
country,  Rev.  Dr.  Feltus  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  John  T.  Dolan  was  appointed 
secretary. 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed,  and  ordered  to  be  pub- 
lished. 

Resolved,  That  Dennis  McCarthy,  Esq.,  be  Treasurer  to  the  General  Fund. 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  of  each  ward  be  requested  to  call  together  his  com- 
mittees as  soon  as  convenient  to  carry  their  object  into  effect,  and  that  they  have 
power  to  add  to  their  numbers. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  of  this  meeting  notify  the  chairman  of  each  com- 
mittee of  the  above  resolution. 

H.  L.  Feltus,  Chairman. 

John  T.  Dolan,  Secretary. 

The  New  York  "Statesman"  for  Tuesday,  December  4th,  1827,  contained 
this  "Sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet" : 

Seldom  has  the  death  of  an  individual  produced  as  strong  a  sensation  in  this 
country  as  that  of  the  eminent  counsellor  and  eloquent  advocate,  who  has  lately 
descended  to  the  tomb,  respected,  beloved,  and  regretted.    He  had  no  enemies.  But 

499 


500 


Harvey  s  Sketch 


his  character  was  not  negative;  and  his  virtues  created  an  unusually  extensive  circle 
of  warm  friends.  The  sympathies  of  the  great  and  the  good  hallow  his  grave. 
His  talents,  eloquence  and  estimable  character  have  called  forth  eulogies  from  the 
ablest  pens.  Every  heart  has  been  anxious  to  pay  a  voluntary  tribute  to  his  memory. 
We  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  our  readers  the  following  concise  and  elo- 
quent sketch,  which  was  handed  to  us  last  evening  by  a  friend,  who  has  often  listened 
with  admiration  to  a  voice  now  mute,  and  who  has  drawn  a  portrait  with  such  strong 
and  vivid  lineament,  as  not  to  be  mistaken  by  any  one  that  has  ever  seen  the  original 
at  the  bar. 

Mr.  Emmet  commenced  his  career  at  the  bar  in  New  York  in  1805,  and  soon  rose 
to  eminence  in  his  profession.  As  a  sound  lawyer  and  able  advocate  he  acquired  in- 
deed great  and  merited  celebrity.  His  integrity  of  heart  and  irreproachable  morals; 
his  age,  his  past  misfortunes,  his  retired  and  studious  habits,  his  frankness  of  mind 
and  his  unaffected  simplicity  of  manners,  secured  him  universal  respect;  while  his  various 
talents,  his  professional  abilities  and  his  splendid  eloquence  rendered  him  at  once 
the  pride  and  ornament  of  the  bar. 

His  name  and  character  seemed  to  be  associated  with  ideas  of  an  elevated 
and  reflective  cast;  with  patriotism  and  moral  courage,  with  dignity  of  mind  and 
rectitude  of  purpose;  with  the  gifts  and  dispensations  of  providence,  the  vicissitudes 
of  life  and  the  instabilities  of  fortune.  He  was  an  exile  expatriated  but  not  dis- 
graced, deprest  but  not  broken,  venerable  in  age,  illustrious  in  adversity.  He  was 
independent,  indeed,  but  his  independence  was  held  by  the  painful  tenure  of  inces- 
sant labour  and  unremitted  exertion.  He  was  ambitious,  too;  but  his  ambition  was 
virtue,  and  its  object,  the  fame  of  excellence. 

His  frame  was  bowed  by  the  pressure  of  years;  but  his  spirit  was  erect.  The 
lustre  of  his  eye  was  lost,  and  its  vision  impaired,  but  the  light  beamed  undiminished. 
His  infirmities  were  indeed  apparent;  but  they  were  those  of  the  body,  not  of  the 
mind.  I  seldom  saw  him  without  reverting  in  imagination  to  the  melancholy  fate 
and  heroic  character  of  his  brother;  and  never  listened  to  him  without  calling  to 
mind  the  genius,  the  eloquence  and  the  sufferings  of  Ireland. 

He  came  into  the  profession  in  the  maturity  of  age  and  the  fulness  of  his  powers, 
with  a  mind  conversant  with  its  duties  and  its  principles,  but  unwarped  by  its  sub- 
tilties  and  unsullied  by  its  collisions.  He  had  no  incipient,  no  probationary  grade; 
but  over  all  that  was  little  or  derogatory  he  rose  at  once  and  placed  himself  beside 
the  ablest  and  most  eminent.  Nor  was  he  mistaken  in  the  estimate  of  his  powers. 
Yet  he  relied  not  upon  that  rare  and  too  often  imaginary  gift  of  intuition; 
nor  did  he  depend  exclusively  upon  a  more  certain  resource,  the  abundance  and 
variety  of  his  previous  acquirements.  His  confidence  rested  upon  his  ability  to  in- 
vestigate and  his  power  to  comprehend. 

To  a  sound  understanding,  cultivated  by  liberal  studies  and  improved  by  ex- 
perience, he  added  the  most  laborious  diligence  and  persevering  research.  To  every 
important  cause,  therefore,  in  which  he  was  engaged,  he  brought  a  mind  familiar  with 
every  principle  applicable  to  its  nature  and  prepared  with  every  argument  that  could 
illustrate  its  merits. 

His  manner  of  speaking  was  original  and  peculiarly  impressive.  He  was  solemn 
and  emphatic  beyond  any  example  in  forensic  eloquence.  His  age,  his  person,  his 
voice,  even  the  imperfection  of  his  accent,  conspired  to  render  him  one  of  the  most 
interesting  speakers  at  the  bar. 

But  of  the  style  of  his  elocution,  I  despair  of  giving  any  adequate  idea.  It  is  as 
difficult  to  describe,  as  it  would  have  been  to  excel.  His  enunciation  was  deliberate 
and  distinct,  his  air  solemn  and  didactic.  His  emphasis  was  peculiarly  strong,  and 
his  gesticulation  bold  and  vehement.  He  possessed  great  compass  of  voice  and  in- 
dulged in  unusual  transitions — descending  at  times  with  great  effect,  from  the  utmost 
energy  of  expression  to  a  low,  prolonged  and  tremulous  intonation. 


Meetings  in  Philadelphia  and  Boston 


501 


When  strongly  impressed  with  the  importance  as  well  as  the  justice  of  his  cause, 
he  seemed  to  devote  to  it  every  faculty  of  his  mind  and  body.  His  genius,  his  judg- 
ment, his  stores  of  legal  and  classical  learning,  and  his  inimitable  powers  of  develop- 
ment and  illustration  were  all  put  in  requisition.  He  exhausted  resource  of  reason,  of 
argument,  and  of  eloquence.  He  threw  into  the  scale  the  weight  of  his  individual  char- 
acter; he  staked  his  reputation  for  integrity;  he  pledged  his  faith,  his  judgment,  and  the 
character  of  his  understanding!  In  these  efforts  he  seldom  failed  of  success,  and  never 
of  impressing  upon  the  minds  of  others  the  conviction  of  his  own  sincerity. 

Confidence,  decision  and  energy ;  an  ardent  Jove  of  civil  and  religious  liberty ; 
and  an  absolute  devotion  to  a  sense  of  duty,  constituted  the  basis  of  his  character: 
and  upon  this  foundation  he  reared  a  column  of  fame,  at  once  majestic  and  beautiful, 
breathing  intelligence,  excellence  and  grandeur. 

Such  is  at  least  my  conception  of  the  talents  and  character  of  Emmet.  He  has 
paid  the  debt  of  Nature;  but  the  grateful  recollection  of  his  virtues  will  long  survive 
him;  and  long,  in  the  language  of  the  Patriot  Bard  of  his  native  Isle,  will  his  form 
"Still  lingering,  haunt  the  greenest  spot  on  memory's  waste." 

J.  H. 

The  above  was  a  newspaper  clipping  taken  from  a  contemporary  scrap  book 
in  which  some  one  has  added  the  initials,  showing  that  J.  Harvey  was  the 
author. 

The  New  York  "Evening  Post"  for  December  4th,  1827,  contained  the 
following: 

The  Irishmen  and  descendants  of  Irishmen,  in  Philadelphia,  are  called  upon  to 
join  their  brethren  of  New  York  in  expressing  respect  for  the  death,  and  respect  for 
the  memory  of  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

From  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  December  10th,  1827 : 

The  Hibernian  Relief  Society  of  Boston,  at  their  last  monthly  meeting,  elected 
William  Sampson  and  Robert  Emmet,  son  of  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  hon- 
orary members. 

The  London  "Times",  for  Thursday,  December  6th,  1827,  contained  the 
following: 

In  the  New  York  papers  of  the  16th  we  find  an  account  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Em- 
met, who,  since  he  escaped  the  fate  of  his  brother,  has  been  a  distinguished  ornament 
of  the  American  bar.  He  was  seized  with  a  paralytic  affection  on  the  14th,  while 
attending  the  Circuit  Court  in  New  York,  and  died  on  the  following  day.  We  sub- 
join the  account  of  this  event,  to  show  the  estimation  in  which  the  last  of  the  Em- 
mets was  held  in  the  country  of  his  exile. 

This  is  followed  by  a  quotation  from  the  New  York  "American"  of  No- 
vember 15th,  1827,  which  has  been  given  above. 

The  appended  letter  from  the  Crimmins  collection  was  not  dated  by  Dr. 
Macneven,  but  bears  his  endorsement — "Dr.  Macneven,  7  Dec. :  1827". 

Dear  Sir — I  have  to  thank  you  for  your  various  favours  for  the  settlement  of 
the  note  to  Dalton  among  others.  This  was  not  presented  for  a  couple  of  days  after 
the  time  when  it  was  made  payable  but  was  discharged  as  soon  as  offered,  and  I 
heard  of  no  protest,  nor  was  there  any  that  I  know  of.  I  read  with  great  pleasure 
and  admiration  your  discourse  on  Chief  Justice  Tilghman.  It  is  a  philosophical 
and  eloquent  composition  and  you  extricate  your  hero  very  dexterously  out  of  his 


502 


Eminent  Worth  of  the  Emmet  Family 


supineness  during  the  period  of  the  revolution;  and  he  made  certainly  great  amends 
for  it  by  the  subsequent  application  of  the  knowledge  and  habits  then  acquired. 

I  find  that  the  demise  of  the  late  Mr.  Emmet  produces  a  strong  sensation  in  your 
city  as  well  as  here.  Indeed  such  a  man  can  very  rarely  appear,  for  many  qualifica- 
tions, mental  and  physical,  that  seldom  unite,  concurred  to  form  his  character.  He 
was  born  with  a  happy  genius,  he  had  no  irritability  of  constitution,  but  could  be 
roused  and  animated  by  the  convictions  of  his  reason.  His  early  studies  were  well 
directed,  as  his  habits  of  labour  continued  unbroken  throughout  his  life.  He  never 
had  a  dyspepsia,  nor  any  of  those  nervous  ailments,  either  natural  or  induced,  which 
produce  so  much  listlessness  and  loss  of  time  in  the  best  disposed  and  most  inclined 
to  work.  His  moral  integrity  could  not  be  surpassed,  and  though  no  censurer  of  the 
faults  of  others,  this  was  not  from  indifference,  but  from  constitutional  calmness 
and  a  command  of  temper,  which  this  happy  temperament  rendered  easy  to  practise. 
We  were  not  relatives  as  you  suppose;  but  intimate  friends  for  thirty  years,  without 
the  least  coolness  for  all  that  time  of  severe  and  eventful  trials. 

Believe  me  with  sincere  esteem  and  respect 

Your  obed't, 
Wm.  J.  Macneven. 

Addressed  to 

P.  S.  Duponceau,  Esq' re, 
Philadelphia. 

Dr.  Macneven  was  a  close  observer,  and  since  he  surpassed  most  of  his 
cotemporaries  intellectually,  he  would  to  a  greater  extent  be  able  to  appreciate 
Mr.  Emmet's  worth  and  character.  Their  close  relationship  through  a  long 
life  and  under  such  varied  circumstances,  gave  the  Doctor  every  opportunity 
for  judging  accurately. 

Macneven's  remark  that  "such  a  man  can  very  rarely  appear,  for  many 
qualifications,  mental  and  physical,  that  seldom  unite,  concurred  to  form 
his  character",  cannot  be  passed  without  comment,  bearing  not  only  on  Mr. 
Emmet  individually,  but  relating  equally  to  the  whole  family.  We  have  seen 
Dr.  Madden's  opinion  as  given  by  himself,  that  this  branch  of  the  Emmet 
family  constituted :  "the  most  talented  family  in  every  respect  that  he  had  ever 
known".  It  was  more,  for  every  member  of  the  family  seemed  to  have  been 
by  nature  perfect  in  character,  and  they  maintained  through  their  lives  a  de- 
gree of  perfection,  from  a  moral  standpoint,  seldom  attained  by  any  mortal  on 
earth.  And  yet  they  were  all  absolutely  free  from  what  is  termed  religious 
influence,  as  to  belief  in  special  dogma.  It  was  natural  for  them  to  observe 
every  law  of  God  and  man;  it  was  done  apparently  without  effort  on  their 
part,  as  they  seemed  free  from  temptation. 

The  writer  has  given  closer  study  to  the  life  of  his  grandfather,  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet,  than  any  one  else.  It  has  been  the  application  of  a  lifetime, 
with  advantages  no  one  has  possessed  in  the  past  or  could  gain  in  the  future ; 
he  has  formed  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Emmet  was  free  from  every  defect  in 
character,  and  was  as  perfect  a  human  being,  from  a  moral  and  mental  stand- 
point, as  lies  within  the  range  of  human  possibility.  Dr.  Madden  also  records, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Archibald  Douglas,  who  knew 
Robert  Emmet,  that:  "so  gifted  a  creature  does  not  appear  in  a  thousand 
years".    The  mother  spent  her  life  in  the  obscurity  of  domestic  surroundings 


Dr.  Emmet's  Tours  of  Inspection 


503 


and  we  have  nothing  which  throws  direct  light  on  her  character  save  her  letters 
to  her  son  in  Fort  George,  and  particularly  the  one  written  after  the  death  of 
her  husband.  Yet,  no  more  evidence  is  needed  as  to  her  mental  and  moral 
qualities  than  the  result  of  her  training,  as  shown  in  the  development  of 
her  children.  The  daughter  was  a  remarkable  woman  as  to  her  intellectual 
attainments,  and  she  seems  to  have  inherited  her  mother's  character.  Temple, 
the  eldest  son,  died  young,  but  he  evidently  possessed  to  the  same  degree  the 
remarkable  intellectuality  of  the  family,  and  bore  the  character  of  a  man  of 
eminent  worth. 

The  father  was  a  noted  intellectual  man  and  one  of  great  learning,  but  he 
was  more  human  and  lacked  the  repose  of  character  and  manner  which  all  the 
other  members  of  the  family  possessed  to  a  degree  that  nothing  seemed  ever 
to  disturb  their  even  tenor.  He  was  irascible,  a  characteristic  none  of  the 
others  possessed  in  the  slightest  degree. 

The  older  members  of  the  family  often  described  to  the  writer,  when  a 
child,  the  appearance  and  peculiarities  of  the  old  gentleman.  He  employed 
a  number  of  men  in  the  cultivation  of  his  garden  and  the  care  of  the  grounds. 
He  spent  several  hours  daily  walking  about  and  inspecting  the  work.  He 
always  walked  with  a  long  staff  about  his  height,  which  he  grasped  in  the 
middle,  as  was  the  fashion  with  many  of  the  day.  If  while  walking,  generally 
with  his  left  arm  under  the  tail  of  his  coat,  he  saw  one  of  the  men  apparently 
neglecting  his  task,  he  would,  in  passing,  knock  him  over  with  a  rap  on  the 
side  of  the  head  and  proceed  on  his  way  without  a  change  in  his  expression 
or  manner.  Any  other  member  of  the  family  would  have  spoken  a  few  words 
to  stimulate  the  offender  to  greater  effort.  It  is  strange  that  this  token  of 
personal  attention  was  never  resented.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  regarded 
by  the  workmen  themselves  as  a  joke,  for  all  knew  that  in  adversity  they  could 
not  apply  for  relief  to  a  better  friend. 

To  return  to  the  press  notices  of  Mr.  Emmet's  demise,  the  Albany  "Daily 
Advertiser"  for  Monday,  December  2i,  1827,  contained  the  following: 

On  Saturday  the  8th  inst.  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  descendants 
of  Irishmen,  was  held  in  the  District  Court  Room,  pursuant  to  notice.  William 
Duane,  Esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Messrs.  John  Horner  and  William  Wilson 
appointed  secretaries. 

The  meeting  was  addressed  by  General  Robert  Patterson,  and  pursuant  to  a 
resolution  offered  by  him,  and  adopted,  committees  were  appointed  for  each  ward, 
to  receive  the  contributions  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  monument  to  the  memory 
of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet.  Wm.  S.  Duane,  Esq.,  has  been  requested  to  deliver  an 
eulogium. 

From  the  New  York  "Evening  Post",  December  26th,  1827: 

The  following  lines,  written  in  honor  of  one  of  Ireland's  favorite  sons,  are  from 
the  pen  of  an  unknown  correspondent: 

Emmet. 

We  mourn  him ! — for  in  reason's  art 

There  is  no  magic  found 
To  bind  and  heal  the  bleeding  heart 

While  memory  clings  around. 


Verses  to  Mr.  Emmet's  Memory 


We  sigh  o'er  visions  passed  away, 

We  mourn  the  moments  fled — 
The  hope,  the  life  of  youth's  sweet  day — 

And  we  must  weep  the  dead ! 

We  mourn  him! — for  the  fearless  voice, 

The  deep  and  thrilling  tone, 
That  call'd  the  spirit  to  rejoice 

In  eloquence — is  gone! 

The  eye,  that  flashed  with  holy  light, 

The  radiance  of  the  mind, 
Hath  past,  like  the  meteor  of  the  night, 

That  leaves  no  trace  behind. 

We  mourn  him,  though  in  strength  he  died, 

As  one  who  ne'er  could  yield, 
Like  warrior  in  his  victor  pride 

Upon  the  laurel'd  field. 

A  glorious  meed  his  genius  won — 

To  sink  untamed,  and  be 
Triumphant  to  the  last,  as  none 

Can  triumph  but  the  free. 

And  yet  we  mourn  him! — for  he  came 

O'er  ocean's  bounding  waves 
From  our  green  land — her  clouded  fame — 

Her  altars,  and  her  graves. 

But  still  her  spirit  breathed  around — 

In  loveliness,  the  tone 
Of  her  wild  song,  and  sorrows  found 

His  faithful  heart  her  own. 

We  mourn  him! — though  we  know  that  earth 

Claims  but  her  kindred  clay — 
That  these  weak  bonds  of  mortal  birth 

Must  break  and  fall  away: 

But  that  the  spirit,  far  on  high, 

Its  pure  response  hath  given, 
Above  yon  calm  and  glorious  sky, 

Amid  the  courts  of  heaven! 

M. 


A  people  owe  no  obligation  tuhilst  force  and  not  choice  compels  them  to  submission. 

John  Locke. 


A  Statesman  .  .  .  is  a  gift  from  Heaven;  Heaven  has  not  seen  fit  to  bestotu  that  gift  upon 
Ireland;  but  as  God  afflicts  those  'whom  He  loves,  Heaven  must  have  loved  Ireland 
dearly. 

Attributed  to  R.  E.  in  Whitty's  "Life  of  Emmet". 


Chapter  XXXIV 

Mr.  Emmet's  death  noticed  throughout  the  country — An  extended  biographical  sketch 
of  Mr.  Emmet's  life  by  an  anonymous  writer,  published  in  Philadelphia — A  memorandum 
given  Dr.  Madden  by  Mr.  Emmet's  son — Offer  to  Mr.  Emmet  of  solicitor-generalship  of 
Ireland — Comment  of  Peter  Burrowes  on  Mr.  Emmet's  career  in  the  United  States — 
C.  H.  Teeling's  reflections  on  Mr.  Emmet's  death  and  course  in  this  country — Dr.  Mitch- 
ell's discourse. 

FTER  Mr.  Emmet's  death  the  press  throughout  the  country 
commented  to  an  unusual  extent  upon  his  character  and 
his  course  as  a  public  man.  Many  of  these  writers  must 
have  known  Mr.  Emmet  personally,  and  not  a  few  were 
exiles  like  himself,  who  had  been  more  or  less  associated 
with  him  in  the  Irish  troubles  of  the  day.  Unfortunately 
the  files  of  but  few  newspapers  of  this  period  were  pre- 
served, and  we  are  thus  deprived  of  much  which  would 
have  been  given  as  reminiscences,  based  upon  personal 
observation.  The  writer  has  been  able  to  obtain  few  notices  of  Mr.  Emmet's 
death  from  newspapers  printed  out  of  the  city  of  New  York;  the  following 
accidentally  came  into  his  hands  as  a  clipping  made  at  the  time.  It  is  taken 
from  the  Philadelphia  "Saturday  Evening  Post"  of  December  15th,  1827. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  much  to  which  this  article  refers  has  already 
been  considered,  it  is  valuable  as  a  resume,  and  is  as  follows: 

A  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  THOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET. 

A  MAN  MISFORTUNE  COULD  NOT  BEND. 

Since  reason,  then,  can  privilege  a  tear, 
Manhood,  uncensured,  pay  that  tribute  here 
Upon  this  noble  urn. 

As  the  name  of  Emmet  is  connected  with  Irish  history,  and  as  he  was  for  many 
years  an  ornament  to  this,  his  adopted  country,  the  events  of  his  diversified  life  are  worthy 
of  record,  and  cannot  fail  to  interest. 

The  Bar  of  New  York  have  appointed  one  who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  early 
history  and  political  career  of  Mr.  Emmet,  to  compose  a  memoir  of  his  life.  As  it  will 
be  some  time  before  this  work  makes  its  appearance,  the  following  sketch  may  not  be 
unacceptable  to  the  public. 

505 


506 


Summary  of  Irish  Grievances 


Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  born  at  Cork,  on  the  24th  of  April,  1764;  his  father,  Dr. 
Robert  Emmet,  was  a  physician  of  great  reputation  and  extensive  practice,  and  held 
for  some  years  the  situation  of  "State  Physician."  He  intended  to  bring  up  Thomas  to 
his  own  profession;  accordingly  when  the  studies  of  the  University  were  over,  he  was 
sent  for  his  medical  education  to  the  celebrated  school  of  Edinburgh.  After  receiving 
his  degree  of  M.D.  he  visited  most  of  the  schools  and  hospitals  of  the  Continent,  and 
returned  to  his  native  country,  with  an  intention  of  commencing  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. The  death  of  his  elder  brother,  Temple  Emmet,  a  barrister  who  had  advanced 
himself  to  the  front  ranks  of  the  legal  profession,  and  who  was  cut  off  before  he  had 
reached  the  meridian  of  life,  gave  a  new  direction  to  his  future  labours — in  compliance 
with  the  request  of  his  father,  and  in  accordance  with  his  own  inclinations,  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  study  of  law* — his  assiduity  was  great,  and  soon  after  his  call  to  the 
Bar  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  profound  lawyer  and  powerful  advocate — with  his 
learning,  his  eloquence,  and  the  respectability  of  his  connection,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  if  his  political  conduct  had  been  dictated  by  a  selfish  prudence,  he  might  have  aimed 
with  success  at  the  highest  honours  of  the  bench — but  such  was  not  the  case. 

To  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Ireland,  it  is  unnecessary  to  describe 
the  manner  in  which  that  ill  fated  country  has  been  oppressed,  from  the  invasion  of 
Henry  the  second,  down  to  the  present  time;  suffice  to  say,  that  the  Irish  have  experienced 
the  treatment  of  a  subjugated  people,  whose  proud  and  distrustful  conquerors  were  de- 
termined to  do  everything  which  lay  in  their  power  towards  breaking  their  spirit,  and 
prostrating  their  national  strength.  The  Catholics  have  been  in  a  peculiar  manner,  the 
objects  of  the  severity  and  vengeance  of  the  British  Government — the  Statutes  of  Eliz- 
abeth, iniquitous  as  they  were,  were  but  the  commencement  of  the  studied  system  of 
tyranny  which  they  had  to  endure, — its  completion  was  left  to  the  authors  of  the  British 
revolution — their  most  galling  fetters  were  fastened  upon  them  by  the  boasted  preservers 
of  English  liberty. 

It  was  natural  to  suppose  that  a  majority  of  the  Catholic  population  would  rally 
around  the  standard  of  James  the  second,  when  deprived  of  his  throne  for  his  exertions 
in  favour  of  that  church,  to  which  they  were  enthusiastically  attached — they  regarded 
him  as  a  sufferer  for  the  faith,  and  entered  into  his  cause  with  zeal — the  battle  of  the 
Boyne  annihilated  their  hopes;  the  victory  of  William  was  complete  and  decisive — they 
were  thrown  into  the  power  of  a  foe  flushed  with  success  and  irritated  at  the  daring  re- 
sistance of  those  whom  they  considered  and  treated  as  rebels, — the  arm  of  legislative 
oppression  was  raised  against  the  whole  mass  of  the  Irish  Catholics,  and  it  seemed  as 
if  their  subjection  was  to  be  ensured  by  stripping  them  of  every  vestige  of  political  power 
or  influence,  and  a  general  conversion  to  Protestantism  to  be  effected  by  a  series  of  the 
most  offensive  and  degrading  marks  of  inferiority.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  so 
ardent  a  people  as  the  Irish  would  bear  with  patience  this  load  of  oppressive  enactments — 
but  they  were  too  firmly  riveted  to  be  easily  shaken  off — insurrections  of  the  populace 
only  served  to  incense,  and  increase  the  severity  of  Government — the  acts  of  atrocity 
which  the  pressure  of  want,  or  the  spirit  of  revenge  induced  them  to  perpetuate,  were 
visited  with  vindictive  retribution,  and  were  used  as  a  pretence  to  show  the  inexpediency 
of  abrogating  any  part  of  the  penal  code,  whenever  any  attempt  of  that  kind  was  made 
by  those  of  rank  and  influence  who  mourned  over  the  wretchedness  of  their  native  land, 
or  those  who  in  a  sister  kingdom  could  feel  compassion  for  a  people  whose  minds  were 
abased,  whose  energies  were  dwindling  away,  and  whose  prosperity  had  departed  under 
the  depressing  and  disastrous  operation  of  this  arbitrary  code.  The  Volunteers  of  Ire- 
land who  had  associated  for  the  noblest  and  most  patriotic  purposes  might  have  raised 
the  country  from  her  state  of  humiliation,  but  they  dispersed  at  the  request  of  their  lead- 
ers, at  the  head  of  whom  was  the  Earl  of  Charlemont,  without  having  done  anything  of 
importance  towards  it.   The  revolution  of  France  hailed  by  the  friends  of  liberty  through- 


*This  is  not  strictly  correct.  Dr.  Emmet  did  study  law  after  the  death  of  his  elder  brother, 
but  before  his  brother  died  he  had  been  for  some  time  in  successful  practice  of  medicine,  and  for  at 

least  a  year  he  held  from  the  Government  the  position  of  "State  Physician"  in  conjunction  with  his  father. 


Mr.  Emmet  as  a  Patriot 


507 


out  the  British  Empire,  as  the  dawning  of  a  new  era — the  tree  of  freedom  which  was 
there  planted,  they  fondly  hoped  would  thrive  and  spread  until  the  remote  nations  of  the 
earth  should  rest  beneath  its  branches — it  was  not  then  foreseen  how  soon  that  sun, 
which  rose  so  full  of  promise,  should  become  obscured,  and  at  length  "sit  in  darkness 
and  in  night."  While  various  associations  were  formed  in  England  and  Scotland,  for  the 
purpose  of  endeavouring  to  obtain  a  reform  in  the  House  of  Commons,  a  society  was 
instituted  in  Ireland,  called  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen,  whose  great  object  was  to 
obtain  an  adequate  representation  of  the  Irish  people — of  this  society,  which  numbered 
among  its  members  many  persons  of  superior  talents,  Mr.  Emmet  became  a  member. 

The  leaders  of  the  opposition  in  Parliament  were  inclined  at  first  to  approve  of  the 
confederacy,  but  their  opinions  changed  when  the  society  came  out  with  a  declaration 
of  their  principles,  against  Mr.  Grattan,  and  in  favour  of  annual  parliaments  and  uni- 
versal suffrage. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1794,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Jackson,  a  member  of  the  society,  was 
arrested  upon  a  charge  of  high  treason — Mr.  Emmet  was  retained  as  one  of  his  counsel — 
Mr.  Jackson  died  upon  his  trial,  in  consequence  of  some  poison  which  he  had  taken. 
About  the  same  time,  Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan  was  arrested  for  some  political  publi- 
cations— he  made  his  escape  from  prison  on  the  1st  of  May  following — he  was  a  gentle- 
man of  excellent  abilities,  and  had  acted  for  some  time  as  secretary  of  the  society.  The 
fate  of  these  members  so  far  from  damping  the  spirit  of  the  confederacy  seemed  to 
nerve  their  determination,  and  add  vigour  to  their  perseverance.  In  1795,  an  union  of  the 
various  branches  of  the  society,  a  Directory  was  effected  by  Theobald  Wolfe  Tone,  an 
ingenious,  active,  enterprising  member — the  test  of  association  was  then  altered,  and  the 
views  of  the  Society  were  no  longer  bounded  by  the  prospect  of  a  parliamentary  reform — 
to  use  their  own  language,  this  test  embraced  both  the  republican  and  the  reformer,  and 
left  to  future  circumstances  to  decide  to  which  point  the  common  strength  would  be  di- 
rected, but  still  the  whole  body  we  are  convinced  would  rejoice  to  stop  at  reform. 

Mr.  Emmet  became  a  member  of  this  united  system  in  1796,  and  was  made  one  of 
the  Directory.  The  aim  of  the  society  was  now  to  attempt  a  revolution  by  calling  in  the 
assistance  of  France,  and  plans  were  laid,  and  negotiations  entered  into  for  that  pur- 
pose— a  stop,  however,  was  put  to  their  exertions  by  the  treachery  of  a  member. 

One  Thomas  Reynolds,  a  mercer,  whose  wealth  gave  him  considerable  influence  over 
his  Catholic  brethren  was  induced  through  the  persuasions  of  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald 
and  Mr.  Bond,  to  attach  himself  to  the  cause — he  was  advanced  to  some  important  offices 
in  the  society,  and  admitted  to  the  confidence  of  its  chiefs — instigated  either  by  avarice 
or  fear,  he  made  a  conditional  disclosure  of  the  purposes  of  the  society,  for  which  he 
received  a  reward  of  five  hundred  guineas.  In  consequence  of  this  development  of  their 
designs,  the  thirteen  Leinster  delegates  were  seized  together  with  their  papers  on  the 
12th  of  March,  1798,  and  on  the  same  day  Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven,  Mr.  Bond,  Mr. 
Sweetman,  Henry  Jackson  and  Hugh  Jackson  were  arrested,  and  warrants  were  issued 
against  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,  Mr.  McCormack,  and  Mr.  Sampson.  After  remaining 
some  time  in  prison  Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven  and  Arthur  O'Connor  were  examined  be- 
fore the  Secret  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords.  During  the  long  examination  which 
he  underwent,  Mr.  Emmet  explained  the  objects  of  the  Directory  while  he  was  a  member 
of  it,  avowed  an  intention  of  separating  from  Great  Britain,  and  of  calling  in  the  aid  of 
France,  and  brought  forward  some  arguments  to  prove  that  Ireland  would  prosper  as  a 
separate  nation ;  he  indignantly  repelled  the  charge  that  any  of  those  in  power  were  to 
be  put  to  death,  and  when  he  described  the  manner  in  which  their  opponents  were  to 
be  treated,  Lord  Dillon  remarked  "Mr.  Emmet,  you  have  stated  the  views  of  the  execu- 
tive to  be  very  liberal  and  very  enlightened,  and  I  believe  yours  were  so."  Mr.  Emmet  and 
some  other  prisoners  were  afterwards  conveyed  to  Fort  George,  in  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland ;  while  confined  there,  repeated  applications  were  made  for  months  to  the  Irish 
ministry  that  Mrs.  Emmet  might  be  permitted  to  visit  her  husband,  but  in  vain — the  re- 
quest was  made  at  length  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  who  granted  it  upon  condition,  that 


508 


Mr.  Emmet  as  a  Lawyer 


she  should  see  him  in  the  presence  of  a  person  in  the  service  of  the  Government,  and 
that  care  should  be  taken  that  no  letters  or  papers  were  carried  by  her  into,  or  out  of  the 
Fort.  The  favour  with  such  a  condition  annexed  to  it,  was  properly  declined.  Mrs. 
Emmet  and  her  children,  were  afterwards,  however,  permitted  to  reside  with  him.  One 
little  circumstance  will  serve  to  show  the  respect  which  was  felt  for  Mr.  Emmet,  even  by 
those  whose  political  opinions  were  diametrically  opposed  to  his,  and  who  discharged  in 
fact,  the  ungracious  office  of  his  gaolers.  A  fire  broke  out  in  one  of  the  apartments  of 
the  Fort;  as  its  magazine  contained  a  quantity  of  gunpowder,  the  fire,  as  well  may  be 
supposed,  occasioned  no  inconsiderable  degree  of  alarm  and  apprehension  among  the 
imprisoned — it  was  extinguished,  however,  with  little  difficulty,  and  without  having  done 
any  material  damage,  but  a  polite  note  to  the  following  effect  was  sent  to  Mr.  Emmet, 
that  as  the  fear  of  a  like  accident  must  be  peculiarly  distressing  to  a  lady,  circumstanced  as 
Mrs.  Emmet  was,  the  doors  leading  from  Mr.  Emmet's  room  shall  in  future  be  left  un- 
locked. 

After  lingering  out  a  tedious  confinement  of  five  or  six  years,  the  light  of  happier 
days  shone  around  him;  the  portals  of  his  prison  were  opened,  and  he  was  allowed  to 
depart  and  reside  in  any  country  at  peace  with  Great  Britain. 

Mr.  Emmet  went  to  France ;  while  there  the  tidings  of  the  unsuccessful  insurrection, 
and  the  execution  of  his  younger  brother  Robert,  reached  him — in  deep  affliction  for  the 
melancholy  fate  of  an  only  and  beloved  brother,  whose  talents  and  noble  feelings  had 
commanded  the  admiration  even  of  his  enemies;  ruined  in  fortune,  and  an  exile  from 
his  native  land,  Mr.  Emmet  set  sail  for  America. 

When  he  arrived  here  he  had  prejudices  to  struggle  against,  and  difficulties  to  con- 
tend with — for  though  his  misfortunes  had  fallen  upon  him  in  consequence  of  his  ardent 
attachment  to  republicanism,  and  though  the  two  great  parties  that  divided  the  country 
both  claimed  the  appellation  of  republican,  yet  such  was  the  abhorrence  which  was  felt 
by  one  of  them  for  everything  that  savoured  of  what  were  termed  French  principles,  that 
many  had  not  only  beheld  with  complacency  the  war  which  was  waged  by  Britain  against 
the  French  republic,  but  had  very  nearly  approved  of  those  arbitrary  measures  of  the 
former  to  repress  all  internal  disaffection,  discussion  and  attempts  at  reformation  which 
called  forth  the  bold  and  unqualified  condemnation  of  the  opposition  members  of  the 
British  Parliament.  Mr.  Emmet  therefore  as  one  who  had  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to 
the  British  Government  for  his  designs  of  revolutionizing  Ireland,  who  had  looked  to 
France  for  assistance  in  the  undertaking,  they  were  little  inclined  to  countenance.  Another 
circumstance  added  to  the  gloom  which  hung  over  his  professional  prospects;  consulting 
his  feelings  more  than  his  interests,  Mr.  Emmet  addressed  a  letter  to  Rufus  King  in  which 
he  charged  that  gentleman  with  having  unfeelingly  and  unwarrantably  interfered  as 
American  Minister  to  prevent  his  coming  to  America,  and  thereby  occasioned  an  addition 
of  some  years  to  his  imprisonment,  and  the  loss  of  his  brother  who  had  intended  to  ac- 
company him.  This  letter  kindled  a  flame  of  resentment  in  the  breasts  of  the  friends  and 
partisans  of  Mr.  King,  who  were  then  very  numerous  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
among  whom  were  some  of  the  most  eminent  members  of  the  legal  profession.  Mr. 
Emmet  was  attacked  and  abused  in  the  public  prints — and  those  in  whom  political  hostil- 
ity had  stifled  every  liberal  feeling,  exerted  themselves  to  shut  him  out  from  all  participa- 
tion in  their  professional  business* — the  consequence  was,  that  the  man  who  had  refused 
the  Solicitor-Generalship  of  Ireland,  as  the  price  of  political  apostasy,  and  who  was  des- 
tined to  become  the  head  of  the  bar  of  the  State  of  New  York,  commenced  his  legal 
career  in  America  by  conducting  a  cause  before  a  justice's  court  in  the  city  of  New 
York. — It  was  not  long,  however,  before  Mr.  Emmet  had  an  opportunity  of  displaying 
his  powers  before  a  more  fitting  tribunal,  where  his  mental  resources  and  commanding 
eloquence  called  forth  the  admiration  and  applause  which  they  deserved — his  gentlemanly 
deportment,  and  the  conciliatory  urbanity  of  his  manners,  disarmed  the  violence  of  polit- 


*The  writer  is  clearly  confused  as  to  the  post  hoc  and  the  propter  hoc.  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  de- 
feated Mr.  King  in  his  election  and  brought  him  so  many  friends  that  he  had  no  difficulty  afterwards. 


Characteristics  of  His  Eloquence 


ical  animosity;  his  business  increased  and  at  length  there  was  hardly  a  case  of  importance 
brought  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  in  which  he  was  not  retained  as  counsel ; 
and  he  took  his  stand  among  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States — great  and  varied  as  was  his  practice,  his  industry  enabled 
him  to  make  each  case  the  subject  of  minute  examination. 

When  turned  of  sixty  he  exhibited  all  the  mental  vigour  and  activity  of  a  man  in  the 
prime  of  life — he  was  Attorney  General  of  the  State  of  New  York  from  the  12th  of 
August,  1812,  until  the  13th  of  February,  1813,  from  which  time  until  his  death  he  de- 
voted himself  exclusively  and  assiduously  to  his  profession,  without  seeking  or  desiring 
any  official  station.  His  address  to  the  jury  in  the  great  ejectment  suit  of  Astor,  which 
was  the  last  he  ever  delivered,  was  one  of  his  most  powerful  argumentative  efforts — 
he  spoke  for  four  hours,  and  it  was  observed  that  his  exertions  were  peculiarly  great. 

When  he  came  into  court  the  next  day  to  discharge  his  duty  as  counsel  in  the  case 
of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbour,  he  felt  as  well  as  ordinary.  In  the  course  of  this  trial  he 
turned  to  the  lawyer  who  sat  next  to  him,  and  made  an  observation  to  him,  but  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  be  altogether  unintelligible — he  then  put  his  hands  to  his  eyes,  and  laid 
his  head  upon  a  book  which  stood  upon  the  table  at  which  he  sat.  He  shortly  afterwards 
raised  his  face  and  there  was  something  so  deathlike  in  the  expression  of  his  countenance, 
that  the  immediate  impulse  of  the  gentlemen  near  him,  was  to  take  him  in  their  arms.  As 
he  had  now  become  insensible,  he  was  extended  upon  the  carpet  of  the  court-room  and  the 
most  eminent  of  the  medical  faculty  were  immediately  sent  for — he  was  bled  in  the  tem- 
ple and  in  the  arm  and  every  endeavour  was  made  to  revive  him;  but  in  vain — he  died  at 
12  o'clock  in  the  night  of  the  same  day,  November  the  14th,  1827. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  in  what  department  of  legal  learning  Mr.  Emmet  was  the 
greatest  proficient ;  he  studied  so  faithfully  and  investigated  so  thoroughly  every  case 
which  came  before  him  that  he  completely  mastered  all  its  points,  and  was  perfectly  at 
home  upon  every  question  that  arose — he  was  well  versed  in  general  science  and  scholas- 
tic learning,  and  had  stored  his  mind  with  the  choicest  products  of  ancient  and  modern 
literature.  His  perception  was  quick,  and  his  knowledge  of  mankind  was  very  great. 
Few  were  better  calculated  to  tear  the  visor  from  hypocrisy,  to  bring  to  light  a  hidden 
fraud,  or  to  trace  their  course  through  the  labyrinth  of  a  complicated  case. 

The  eloquence  of  Mr.  Emmet  was  energetic  and  impassioned — he  always  spoke  like 
a  man  in  earnest  and  anxious  to  convince — his  fancy  was  often  vivid  but  always  con- 
trolled by  a  clear  and  discriminating  judgment — he  sometimes  appealed  and  most  effect- 
ively to  the  feelings — he  could  excel  in  the  pathetic,  and  his  powers  of  wit  and  sarcasm 
were  considerable ;  but  he  was  peculiarly  remarkable  for  his  argumentative  ability — his 
command  of  language  was  great,  and  his  expressions  were  often  refined  and  eloquent — 
but  his  style  was  in  general  more  conspicuous  for  its  strength  than  its  floridity.  His 
speeches  are  those  of  a  powerful  advocate  and  skillful  logician,  who  is  more  desirous  of 
gaining  his  cause  than  of  amusing  his  audience.  The  manner  of  Mr.  Emmet  was  forcible 
and  impressive,  his  gestures  were  sometimes  vehement  and  rapid,  but  often  graceful  and 
generally  appropriate.  Mr.  Emmet  was  a  man  of  an  amiable  and  benevolent  disposition, 
of  warm  and  liberal  feelings,  and  of  high,  honorable  principles.  In  him  his  unfortunate 
and  indigent  countrymen  ever  found  a  friend  and  benefactor;  he  was  ready  to  assist  them 
with  his  advice  and  his  purse  was  open  to  their  wants.  The  rising  members  of  the  bar 
he  incited  and  encouraged,  and  the  elder  members  found  him  a  brother  upon  whose  faith 
and  honour  they  could  implicitly  rely.  No  professional  man  was  more  generally  esteemed 
and  respected,  and  those  who  had  the  pleasure  of  a  personal  acquaintance  with  him,  will 
long  cherish  the  memory  of  one  who  was  endeared  to  them  by  so  many  virtues. 

J.  B.  S. 

The  name  of  the  writer  of  this  article  is  unknown,  but  it  contains  certain 
statements  which  are  not  strictly  correct.  These,  however,  are  of  minor  im- 
portance, but  their  existence  shows  that  the  writer  had  not  an  intimate  per- 


Rejection  of  Solicitor-Generalship 


sonal  knowledge  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life  abroad,  and  possibly  he  had  but  little  in 
this  country  beyond  that  pertaining  to  his  professional  and  general  standing. 
He  was  in  all  probability  of  the  legal  profession  and  from  certain  peculiarities 
in  spelling  and  punctuation,  which  were  more  characteristic  at  the  time  this 
was  written  than  at  the  present,  was  most  likely  an  American  by  birth.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  he  was  in  the  court  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Emmet's  seizure, 
for  his  description  deals  more  with  details,  as  if  from  personal  observation. 
It  is  also  a  somewhat  different  version  from  any  other  to  which  access  was 
obtained  among  the  accounts  found  in  the  newspapers. 

Until  this  work  was  written  the  public  was  unaware  that  Mr.  Emmet  had 
ever  declined  to  accept  the  position  of  Solicitor-Generalship  of  Ireland,  offered 
by  the  British  Government  as  what  "J-  B.  S."  of  Philadelphia  has  aptly  termed 
"a  bribe  for  his  political  apostasy".  It  is  the  writer's  belief  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  present  an  instance  of  any  political  prisoner  suffering  to  a  greater 
degree,  or  surviving  what  was  inflicted  on  Mr.  Emmet  while  at  Kilmainham 
for  refusing  this  bribe.  Mr.  Emmet  never  regarded  the  Government's  effort 
to  silence  him  as  an  honor  or  even  a  matter  of  importance,  consequently  it 
was  soon  forgotten,  and  but  for  this  casual  mention  in  the  sketch  quoted  above 
the  world  would  have  never  learned  anything  in  relation  to  it. 

It  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  place  on  record  that  had  Mr.  Emmet  accepted 
the  office  he  would  have  been  the  successor  of  Toler,  the  Solicitor-General  and 
a  member  of  the  Beresford  faction  which  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  on  becoming 
Viceroy,  insisted  should  be  removed.  On  Camden's  becoming  Viceroy,  Pitt 
promoted  Toler  to  a  judgeship  with  a  title,  and  he  became  the  infamous  Lord 
Norbury. 

During  a  conversation  having  little  bearing  on  Irish  affairs,  Judge  Robert 
Emmet,  about  a  year  before  his  death  in  1872,  referred  casually  to  this  incident 
which  the  writer  then  learned  for  the  first  time.  The  judge  was  rather 
annoyed  at  being  closely  questioned  on  a  subject  which  he  had  long  for- 
gotten and  had  never  regarded  as  of  importance.  He  clearly  stated  that  it 
was  only  after  the  death  of  his  father  that  he  himself  had  been  informed  of 
the  affair  by  Dr.  Macneven,  to  whom  also  it  had  only  been  accidentally  re- 
called, after  having  been  for  many  years  overlooked  as  a  matter  of  trivial 
importance.  It  was  not  till  more  than  a  century  had  passed  and  the  author, 
who  had  free  access  to  the  correspondence  of  many  then  in  public  life  and  had 
completed  his  work  that  the  consequences  of  Mr.  Emmet's  refusal  to  become 
an  English  partisan  became  manifest  to  him. 

During  Mr.  Emmet's  imprisonment  at  Kilmainham  he  was  made  to  suffer 
to  the  utmost  under  the  care  of  Trevor,  one  of  Castlereagh's  tools.  Mr. 
Emmet  was  just  the  kind  of  subject  on  whom  Trevor  would  have  gloried  in 
administering  every  form  of  cruelty  his  brutal  nature  could  devise,  asserting, 
as  usual,  that  he  was  acting  directly  under  orders  from  Government.  Mr. 
Emmet  had  no  proof  that  he  was  peculiarly  a  victim  of  Castlereagh's  cruelty, 
and  if  he  had  he  would  never  have  given  the  Irish  Secretary  any  intimation 
of  his  suffering. 


Enmity  of  Castlereagh 


511 


Castlereagh  was  in  full  power  while  Robert  Emmet  and  St.  John  Mason 
were  prisoners  at  Kilmainham,  and  Mr.  Emmet  having  been  released  and  in 
Paris,  obtained  accurate  information  of  the  treatment  they  received  from 
Trevor  as  Castlereagh's  representative  and  this  he  resented  bitterly.  Dr.  Mac- 
neven  on  several  occasions  stated  that  he  believed,  that  with  the  exception  of 
Castlereagh,  there  was  no  man  in  Ireland  at  whose  hands  Mr.  Emmet 
had  suffered  towards  whom  his  enmity  did  not  soften  in  time,  giving  place  to 
a  feeling  of  charity,  but  his  hatred  of  Castlereagh  seemed  to  increase  in  bitter- 
ness to  the  hour  of  his  death. 

Dr.  Macneven  also  informed  Judge  Emmet  that  so  little  had  Mr.  Emmet 
given  thought  to  the  attempt  made  by  the  Irish  Government  to  bribe  him  that 
he  had  never  made  any  reference  to  the  circumstances  in  after  life  and  must 
have  soon  forgotten  it ;  and  the  Doctor  expressed  the  belief  that  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Emmet's  death  there  was  probably  no  one  living  who  had  ever  heard 
of  the  incident.  The  mystery  then  becomes  the  greater  as  to  the  time  and 
manner  whereby  "J-  B.  S."  could  have  gained  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  Pitt 
offered  the  position  of  Solicitor-General  of  Ireland,  to  Thomas  Addis  Emmet 
before  he  had  reached  his  twenty-ninth  year,  and  that  Emmet  had  rejected 
with  contempt  the  offer  to  gain  his  political  apostasy. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  that  either  Mr.  Emmet  or  Dr.  Macneven,  who  were 
the  only  persons  in  this  country  who  knew  anything  of  the  circumstances, 
would  have  mentioned  to  another  something  the  importance  of  which  was 
never  appreciated  and  had,  in  fact,  been  forgotten.  It  had  certainly  never 
been  mentioned  in  Ireland,  where  it  could  only  have  been  heard  of  from 
officials  of  Dublin  Castle.  But  these  officials  were  silenced,  as  Pitt  had  no  desire 
to  make  a  martyr  of  Mr.  Emmet,  whose  influence  among  the  Irish  people  was 
already  too  great.  Pitt's  enmity  towards  Mr.  Emmet  to  the  last  was  an  un- 
fortunate barrier  to  justice  ever  being  done  to  his  political  course  in  Ireland. 
As  shown  by  the  official  press  of  the  day  and  by  every  public  record,  every 
means  was  taken  to  underrate  or  falsify  the  importance  of  each  incident  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Emmet's  course.  The  result  is  that  the  Irish  people 
themselves,  unless  from  personal  experience,  know  less  of  Mr.  Emmet's  work 
than  of  that  of  any  other  leader.  He  has  been  represented  as  an  honest, 
simple-minded  man  of  no  force  of  character,  and  the  task  of  presenting 
evidence  to  the  contrary  is  thus  rendered  more  difficult. 

In  his  letter  accompanying  the  material  sent  to  Dr.  Madden  to  assist  him 
in  the  memoir  of  his  father,  Mr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.,  wrote: 

With  all  the  qualities  that  distinguish  a  humane,  just,  and  generous  mind,  he  had  a 
bold,  enterprising,  active,  and  sanguine  disposition.  He  knew  his  country's  history  too 
well  to  be  in  doubt  as  to  the  true  causes  of  her  misery,  and  he  could  not  in  silence  brood 
over  wrongs  which  by  his  exertions  might  possibly  be  redressed.  In  this  he  had  no  am- 
bition to  gratify,  or  individual  benefits  to  obtain,  but  everything  to  risk  on  the  troubled 
water  of  revolution,  uncertainty  and  danger.  He  wrote  many  political  essays,  which  can 
probably  be  better  obtained  in  Ireland  than  here ;  there  are  none  among  his  papers.  The 
details  of  the  part  he  took  in  the  rebellion  can  also  be  better  obtained  from  persons  in 


512 


Tributes  of  His  Friends 


Ireland.  It  was  a  subject  upon  which  he  never  conversed  with  his  family,  nor  has  he 
left  any  papers  whatever  relating  to  it.* 

A  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet's  career  cannot  be  given  in  more  truthful  terms 
than  has  been  expressed  by  Dr.  Madden  in  the  following  words : 

The  man  who  was  deemed  a  traitor  in  his  own  land— who  had  been  engaged  in  what 
was  termed  an  unnatural  rebellion,  and  is  thought  in  England,  even  by  men  of  great 
intellect,  detestable  treason ;  whom  it  was  proposed  in  parliament  to  hand  over,  with  his 
associates,  to  a  drum-head  court-martial,  and  to  hang  or  shoot  in  a  summary  manner, 
for  the  benefit  of  society  and  the  sake  of  the  British  constitution  in  Ireland,  as  the  insti- 
tution of  Orangeism  was  then  interpreted — thus  died  in  America  in  such  honour  and  re- 
nown as  no  language  can  exaggerate.  It  was  not  in  one  city  or  in  one  state,  at  his  death, 
where  expression  was  given  to  feelings  of  admiration  for  his  great  worth  and  virtues 
and  noble  intellectual  gifts — of  respect  for  the  consistency  of  his  patriotism  and  the 
solidity  of  his  opinions  on  all  public  subjects — and  of  veneration  for  the  memory  of  this 
great,  good  man — but  throughout  the  whole  Union  these  feelings  prevailed;  and  this 
tribute  was  unanimously  accorded  to  the  departed  worth  and  excellence  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet. 

In  the  "Memoir"  of  Peter  Burrowes,  a  life-long  friend  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  it  is  stated : 

Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  a  man  of  uncommon  promise.  Possessed  of  a  most  power- 
ful and  comprehensive  mind,  his  talents  were  of  an  order  to  "command  notice  anywhere. 
Warm  in  his  affections,  unflinching  in  his  adherence  to  his  principles,  he  richly  deserved 
the  admiration  of  his  friends.  United  by  college  and  professional  ties,  they  contributed  a 
glorious  celebrity  to  the  proceedings  of  the  College  Historical  Society.  His  splendid  ca- 
reer at  the  American  Bar  reflects  a  lustre  on  his  native  land.  Surrounded  by  a  host  of 
envious  rivals,  he  soon  eclipsed  them  all  by  the  sole  effect  of  his  commanding  genius. 
The  labour  of  his  intellect  pressed  forward  to  distinction,  and  men  of  high  endowments 
and  rare  acquirements  were  forced  back  to  make  room  for  his  reputation.  He  rose  to  the 
highest  rank  in  his  profession,  and  would  have  been  elected  to  Congress  had  he  so  am- 
bitioned.  The  honours  paid  to  his  memory  are  too  notorious  to  require  repetition  here ; 
suffice  it  to  say  that  his  funeral  obsequies  were  as  distinguished  as  those  of  either  Wash- 
ington or  Franklin. 

Charles  Hamilton  Teeling,  a  United  Irishman,  in  his  "Personal  Narra- 
tive of  the  Irish  Rebellion  of  1798"  (London,  1828)  wrote: 

Even  now  while  my  hand  traces  this  page,  I  hear  the  death  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet 
announced.  The  mournful  intelligence  has  been  conveyed  to  his  country  through  the  jour- 
nals of  the  United  States.  Full  of  years  and  full  of  virtues,  he  has  terminated  an  event- 
ful but  honourable  life,  and,  in  his  death,  one  of  the  brightest  links  that  united  the  suffer- 
ing friends  of  benevolence,  has  been  broken.  If  sentiments  purely  disinterested  and  un- 
ambitious ever  influenced  the  breast  of  man,  it  was  the  breast  of  Emmet. 

High-minded,  generous,  and  sincere,  he  was  a  self-devoted  victim  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  others.  Unrivalled  in  talent  and  unbending  in  misfortune,  he  won  the  admira- 
tion of  a  generous  people,  who  were  proud  to  estimate  the  qualities  of  the  man  whose 
virtues  shed  a  lustre  on  the  land  of  his  adoption ;  and  while  the  friends  of  freedom,  in 
the  old  and  the  new  world,  shall  mourn  his  loss,  the  life  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  will 
be  regarded  as  a  model  for  the  patriots  of  future  years. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  Geneva  College,  held  on  the 


*Mr.  Emmet  had  evidently  forgotten  what  Dr.  Macneven  had  published  in  "Pieces  of  Irish 
History"  forty  years  before,  and  not  a  member  of  the  family  knew  that  there  existed  in  the  family 
possession  at  that  time  what  has  been  published  in  this  volume. 


From  an  original  pen  drawing  of  Dr.  Sam'l  Mitchell,  made  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Emmet  in  1819 

while  the  Professor  was  lecturing 


Portrait  of  Dr.  Mitchell 


513 


1st  of  March,  1828,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  that  Professor  Hosack  and 
Doctor  Macneven  be  a  committee  to  wait  upon  Dr.  Mitchell  and  request  a 
copy  of  his  Biographical  Discourse,  delievered  on  the  late  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  for  publication. 

The  Discourse*  was  printed  and  from  its  pages  we  have  been  obliged  to 
quote  as  from  the  only  authority  concerning  Mr.  Emmet's  course  while  study- 
ing medicine  at  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  and  Dr.  Mitchell  were 
fellow-students.  The  delivery  of  this  memoir  was  a  notable  event.  Dr. 
Mitchell  had  been  called  on  by  the  city  authorities,  and  the  request  streng- 
thened by  the  petition  of  many  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the  city.  It 
was  at  first  intended  that  the  delivery  should  take  place  in  the  court-room 
where  Mr.  Emmet  was  stricken,  but  this  project  was  abandoned,  as  the  room 
was  too  small  for  the  purpose,  and  the  Governor's  room,  on  the  same  floor 
and  extending  nearly  the  length  of  the  front  of  the  building,  was  selected. 
The  court-room  was  situated  on  the  north'east  corner  and  directly  across  the 
entry  from  the  Governor's  Room.  Mr.  Emmet  had  fallen  about  ten  feet  to 
the  west  of  the  court  entrance,  with  his  back  directly  to  the  dividing  entry 
wall;  a  mural  tablet  just  above  marked  the  spot  for  many  years.  At  the  time 
of  the  delivery  of  the  address,  every  available  space  in  which  a  chair  could  be 
placed,  was  occupied  throughout  the  long  and  wide  entry,  the  court-room  and 
Governor's  room,  while  the  stair-way  was  crowded  by  others  standing  as  far 
as  the  voice  of  the  speaker  could  be  heard.  Such  a  dense  throng  of  people 
has  at  no  other  time  been  collected  in  the  building,  nor  was  there  an  equal 
space  under  any  roof  in  the  city  where  so  many  could  have  been  assembled. 

The  reader's  attention  is  called  to  the  sketch  of  Dr.  Mitchell,  probably  as 
perfect  a  likeness  as  could  be  obtained  at  the  time  without  the  aid  of  photog- 
raphy; in  fact  it  may  be  said  to  be  better  than  a  photograph,  as  the  artist 
has  caught  a  characteristic  expression  which  the  matter-of-fact  camera 
often  misses.  It  was  drawn  with  a  pen  by  the  father  of  the  writer,  Dr.  John 
Patten  Emmet,  who  was  at  the  time  a  student  of  medicine,  and  the  sketch  was 
made  while  the  professor  was  lecturing,  clearly  showing  the  natural  artistic 
talent  of  the  Emmet  family,  which  has  been  exhibited  by  some  member  in 
each  generation  for  several  centuries.  Many  years  ago  this  drawing  was 
borrowed  and  privately  reproduced  and  the  authorship  attributed  to  another. 
The  original  drawing,  with  the  inscription,  which  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
writer,  was  vouched  for  by  the  older  members  of  the  family,  who  were 
familiar  with  its  history. 

In  his  address  Dr.  Mitchell  confirms  to  a  remarkable  degree  every  state- 
ment made  by  others  as  to  Mr.  Emmet's  character ;  his  uniform  kindness  to 
the  younger  members  of  the  profession,  his  remarkable  literary  attainments, 
natural  talents,  which  reached  a  phenomenal  degree  of  development,  to  repeat 
which  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation. 


*A  Discourse  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  pronounced,  by  request  in  the 
City  Hall,  on  the  First  Day  of  March,  1828,  by  Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  New  York:  Printed  by  E. 
Conrad,  11  Frankfort  Street  (New  York)  1828. 


514 


Dr.  Mitchell's  Discourse 


He,  however,  stated : 

It  has  been  considered  remarkable  that  a  man  who  spoke  so  much,  and  fre- 
quently so  well,  should  have  written  and  printed  so  little;  differing  in  this  respect 
so  materially  from  his  countrymen,  Curran  and  Phillips.  I  never  heard  any  special 
reason  assigned  for  such  omission  to  publish.  Every  gentleman,  however,  who  has 
been  accustomed  to  speak  in  public  knows  that  the  labour  of  writing  out  a  speech, 
is  very  considerable,  whether  the  orator  reduces  it  to  manuscript  before  delivery,  or 
performs  that  task  afterwards.    It  is  often  a  piece  of  heavy  drudgery. 

There  are  nevertheless  several  tracts,  besides  the  medical  essays  before  men- 
tioned, which  ought  now  to  be  noticed.  He  has  left  for  example  a  composition  which  is 
entitled,  "Part  of  an  Essay  towards  the  History  of  Ireland".  It  was  published  in  a 
collection  made  by  his  friend  and  fellow-sufferer,  the  learned  and  accomplished 
James  Macneven,  at  New  York,  in  1807,  under  the  title  of  "Pieces  of  Irish  History, 
illustrative  of  the  Condition  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  of  the  origin  and  progress 
of  the  political  system  of  the  United  Irishmen,  and  of  their  transactions  with  the 
Anglo-Irish  Government". 

It  commences  with  the  ridiculous  and  contemptible  character,  as  he  terms  it, 
of  the  Irish  Parliament  in  1789  and  1790,  and  terminates  with  the  execution  for  high 
treason  of  Messrs.  Weldon,  Hart,  Kennedy  and  others,  1795. 

He  states  the  condition  of  the  religious  sects  consisting  of  Protestants  and 
Catholics,  the  former  divided  into  members  of  the  Anglican  Church  and  the  Dis- 
senters. The  latter  were  the  descendants  of  the  primitive  Irish,  of  those  early  set- 
tlers whom  the  Reformation  had  identified  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  while 
both  the  former  had  been  in  their  origin,  foreign  colonists,  introduced  and  enriched 
in  consequence  of  long-continued  massacres  and  warfare  and  various  tyrannical  and 
oppressive  acts,  by  which  the  native  Irish  had  been  systematically  dispossessed  or 
extirpated,  and  the  dependence  of  their  country  on  another  state,  permanently  se- 
cured. The  inquirer,  who  seeks  information  concerning  the  associations  called  United 
Irishmen;  the  proceedings  in  Dublin  and  Belfast,  their  failure,  and  the  exhibition  of 
the  grievances  in  London;  the  Peep-of-Day  Boys,  the  Defenders,  and  the  history 
of  the  various  factions,  clubs  and  conventions,  up  to  1803,  when  the  French  sent  a 
confidential  agent  to  Ireland,  with  the  offers  of  succour,  if  it  would  attempt  to  liberate 
itself  from  the  enemy,  will  find  the  proceedings  very  well  sketched  here.  With  the 
account  of  these  matters  is  interwoven  much  of  individual  occurrence,  and  local  de- 
tail. After  relating  the  capital  execution  of  Jackson  and  O'Connor,  and  proceeding 
to  the  point  already  noticed  he  seems  to  have  become  weary  with  the  task,  to  have 
placed  his  pen  in  the  ink-horn  and  never  to  have  marked  paper  with  it  again,  on  that 
subject. 

In  the  same  volume  is  contained  Mr.  Emmet's  letter  to  Rufus  King,  the  late 
minister  resident  of  the  United  States  in  London.  This  performance  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  specimen  of  his  polemic  writing.  It  was  mentioned  before  that  the  state 
prisoners  of  whom  he  was  one  were  negotiating  with  the  Government  for  a  dis- 
charge on  condition  of  departing  for  this  country,  and  that  leave  was  refused, 
in  consequence  of  the  interference  of  that  public  functionary.  In  1807  Mr.  King  was 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  Assembly  of  the  State  Legislature.  Mr. 
Emmet  considered  Mr.  King  as  being  the  author  of  so  much  injury  to  him  that  he 
felt  a  strong  desire  to  defeat  Mr.  King's  election.  Accordingly  the  former  wrote 
the  latter  a  note  asking  an  explanation  of  his  interference  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment, respecting  the  Irish  State  Prisoners  in  1798.  To  this  no  answer  was  given; 
on  which  Mr.  Emmet  wrote  a  formal  letter  to  that  gentleman,  which  was  intended 
for  public  consideration.  It  was  printed  in  the  newspapers  and  was  the  subject  of 
much  notice  at  the  time.  It  disclosed  various  events  and  occurrences  relative  to  the 
suffering  of  himself  and  his  friends,  well  worthy  of  perusal  by  the  historian.   And  it 


Reasons  for  Small  Literary  Output 


is  replete  with  the  indignant  feeling  which  a  person*  of  sensibility  might  be  expected 
to  express,  who  had  thereby  been  forced  to  waste  four  of  the  best  years  of  his  life 
in  prison. 

A  fair  example  of  his  forensic  eloquence  is  contained  in  the  reported  trial  of  William 
S.  Smith,  for  an  alleged  misdemeanor  in  1806  before  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  New  York  District.  The  stenographer  was  Thomas  Lloyd;  and  as  the  pub- 
lication was  made,  and  no  contradictions  of  its  correctness  offered  by  Mr.  Emmet,  the 
words  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  correctly  stated. 

It  has  seemed  good  to  give  the  reader  Dr.  Mitchell's  view  of  the  difficulty 
between  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Emmet,  as  he  was  socially  a  friend  of  each  and 
was  familiar  with  every  circumstance.  His  remarks  relating  to  the  "Mi- 
randa" case  and  the  trial  of  William  S.  Smith  need  not  be  given,  as  these 
matters  have  already  been  dealt  with  in  as  much  detail  as  would  be  of  in- 
terest to-day. 

Dr.  Mitchell  continues  with  this  theme : 

It  has  been  observed  that  Mr.  Emmet  has  not  made  material  addition  to  literature, 
nor  important  contributions  to  science.  Had  he  adhered  to  medicine,  it  is  very  probable 
he  would  have  been  conspicuous  as  an  author.  But  after  abandoning  his  original  pur- 
suits and  performing  the  labour  of  acquiring  a  new  profession  of  a  very  different  cast 
and  character  he  almost  necessarily  separated  himself  from  natural  and  physical  science. 
When  afterwards  he  became  entangled  in  Irish  politics  and  prosecutions,  it  could  not  be 
expected  his  mind  should  engage  in  philosophical  investigation  or  learned  research. 
Then  again,  the  migration  to  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  the  exertions  necessary  for  an  establishment  in  a  foreign  land  must  neces- 
sarily have  occupied  a  large  portion  of  his  attention.  The  serious  duties  of  his  profes- 
sion seem  to  have  superseded  to  a  considerable  degree,  the  cultivation  of  ornamental 
literature.  Yet  he  may  be  commended  for  his  general  love  of  learning;  for  unceasing 
diligence;  for  his  capacity  to  acquire  in  succession  two  arduous  professions;  for  the 
firmness  with  which  he  bore  political  prosecutions ;  for  his  ability  to  establish  quickly  and 
firmly  in  the  country  of  his  adoption ;  for  his  amiable  disposition ;  for  his  fidelity  to  his 
clients;  and  for  his  private  and  domestic  virtues. 

The  manner  in  which  distinguished  men  depart  this  life  naturally  attracts  attention. 
As  he  was  engaged  in  professional  business  in  one  of  the  courts  of  judicature,  held  in 
the  City  Hall,  in  apparently  his  usual  state  of  health,  he  suddenly  became  apoplectic,  and 
was  carried  home  in  a  state  of  insensibility.  The  stroke  was  received  in  the  afternoon; 
and  he  expired  during  the  ensuing  night,  without  having  been  roused  from  the  stupor. 
He  departed  in  a  way  which  some  persons  think  desirable,  at  that  notice,  and  in  the 
entire  possession  of  mental  and  corporal  power. 

I  must  now  relate  to  you  a  most  singular  occurrence  in  which  my  deceased  friend 
made  his  appearance  a  short  time  since  in  a  dream.  This  interview  was  distinguished 
by  all  the  wildness  and  peculiarity  of  the  somnial  state.  I  will  give  the  question  I  put 
to  him,  and  his  answer. 

Why  comest  thou,  visionary  shade, 

Invading  quiet  night, 
In  natural  form  and  garb  array'd, 

Before  my  wond'ring  sight? 

I  have  learn'd,  quoth  he,  where  I  repose, 

That  through  a  firm  decree, 
Thou  dost  respectfully  propose 

An  Eulogy  on  me. 


516 


Verses  of  Dr.  Mitchell 


Of  time,  th'e  dead  no  measure  take 

From  which  it  well  appears 
One  moment  equal  sum  must  make 

To  fifty  thousand  years. 

And  mark  my  words,  it's  just  as  true, 
They're  wholly  deaf  to  Fame, 

So  chang'd  they  are,  they  can  not  view, 
'Tis  but  an  empty  name. 

Though  friendship  give  the  song  of  praise, 

Which  every  heart  endears, 
In  them  no  notice  can  it  raise, 

Nor  penetrate  their  ears. 

Remember  then  in  what  is  said 
I'm  quite  beyond  thy  reach, 
And  no  attention  will  be  paid 
To  thy  intended  speech. 

Yet  men  alive,  as  once  I  was, 
The  words  perhaps  may  strike, 

And  teach  by  well-bestow'd  applause, 
To  emulate  the  like. 

Then  give  to  thy  discourse  a  plan 

Intelligent  and  plain, 
And  try  how  far  thy  efforts  can 

Instruct  and  entertain. 


By  the  memorable  Act  6th.  Geo.  1.  the  Parliament  of  England,  with  imperious  despotism, 
sanctified  all  its  past  usurpations  and  recorded  the  high  prerogative  of  strength  to 
tyrannize  over  'weakness. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


Where  a  people  is  constantly  bound  to  the  <will,  subservient  to  the  interests  and  attached 
to  the  fortunes  of  another  State,  its  character  and  conduct  tuill  invariably  betray  the 
vileness  of  its  condition.  T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXV 

Mr.  Haines'  reminiscences  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  published  only  a  short 
time  before  the  death  of  the  author — Mr.  Haines'  statement  of  particular  value  owing  to 
intimacy  which  existed  between  the  two  men — Mr.  Field's  tribute — Letter  of  Justice 
Story. 


HARLES  G.  HAINES  was  a  young  lawyer  of  promise 
practising  in  New  York,  and  was  also  a  Counselor  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Washington,  where  he  had  a  good 
practice  at  the  unusually  early  age  of  thirty  years.  Mr. 
Emmet  formed  a  warm  friendship  for  Mr.  Haines,  which 
of  itself  is  a  voucher  for  his  worth  and  reliability.    As  a 
remarkable  circumstance  in  connection  with  their  friend- 
ship, Mr.  Haines  so  far  gained  Mr.  Emmet's  confidence  as 
to  become  the  recipient  of  a  personal  narrative  relative  to 
Mr.  Emmet's  political  connection  with   Ireland,  a  subject  upon  which  he 
maintained  absolute  silence  with  all  others.    Mr.  Haines  at  the  beginning  of 
his  memoir  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  states : 

As  the  name  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  will  hereafter  be  found  in  history,  as 
he  was  intimately  and  very  efficiently  connected  with  the  contemplated  revolution 
of  Ireland,  and  as  he  had  told  me  many  things  of  his  life  during  our  residence  in 
Washington  in  the  same  house,  while  attending  the  Supreme  Court,  I  will  reduce 
some  things  thus  told  to  form  and  shape,  apprehensive  that  time  and  the  pressure 
of  other  recollections  of  a  more  recent  date  may  destroy  them  in  my  memory. 

The  narrative  continues : 

I  have  given  a  brief  sketch  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life,  or  rather  of  its  most  leading 
incidents,  so  far  as  I  have  learned  them  from  him  and  otherwise.  I  must  now  per- 
form a  more  difficult  task  and  speak  of  him  as  one  of  the  great  pillars  and  ornaments 
of  the  American  bar. 

Helvetius  remarks  that  the  sun  of  glory  only  shines  upon  the  tomb  of  greatness. 
His  observation  is  too  often  true,  but  facts  and  living  proofs  sometimes  contradict 
it.  Mr.  Emmet  walks  on  in  life  amid  the  eulogiums,  the  admiration  and  the  en- 
thusiastic regards  of  a  great  and  enlightened  community.  Without  the  glare  and 
influence  of  public  office,  without  titles  and  dignities,  who  fills  a  wider  space,  who 
commands  more  respect  than  Thomas  Addis  Emmet?  Like  a  noble  and  simple 
column,  he  stands  among  us  proudly  pre-eminent,  destitute  of  pretensions,  destitute 
of  vanity  and  destitute  of  envy.  In  a  letter  which  I  recently  received  from  a  friend 
who  resides  in  the  western  part  of  the  Union,  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  he  speaks  of 

517 


518 


Mr.  Haines'  Reminiscences 


the  New  York  bar — Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  says  he,  is  the  great  luminary  whose 
light  even  crosses  the  western  mountains.  His  name  rings  down  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  we  hail  his  efforts  with  a  kind  of  local  pride. 

If  to  draw  the  character  of  Homer  needs  the  genius  of  the  immortal  bard  him- 
self; if  to  portray  the  power  of  Demosthenes  requires  the  gigantic  intellect  of  the 
great  Athenian  orator,  Mr.  Emmet  has  nothing  to  expect  from  me.  In  presenting 
the  features  of  his  mind,  I  shall  describe  them  from  the  impressions  they  make  on 
me.  I  paint  from  the  original.  I  catch  the  lineaments  of  the  subject  as  living  nature 
presents  them. 

The  mind  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  is  of  the  highest  order.  His  penetration 
is  deep,  his  views  comprehensive,  his  distinctions  are  remarkably  nice.  His  powers 
of  investigation  are  vigorous  and  irresistible.  If  there  be  anything  in  a  subject  he 
will  go  to  the  bottom.  He  probes  boldly,  reaches  the  lowest  depth  of  his  re- 
searches, analyzes  everything,  and  embraces  the  whole  ground.  He  may  be  said 
to  have  a  mind  well  adapted  to  profound  and  powerful  investigation.  In  the  next 
place  he  has  great  comprehension.  He  sees  a  subject  in  all  its  various  bearings  and 
relations.  He  traces  out  all  its  various  operations.  He  begins  at  the  centre  and 
diverges,  until  it  becomes  necessary  again  to  return  to  the  centre.  As  a  reasoner, 
a  bare,  strict  reasoner,  Mr.  Emmet  would  always  be  placed  in  an  elevated  rank. 
No  matter  how  dry,  how  difficult,  how  repulsive  the  topic;  no  matter  what  may  be 
its  intricacies  and  perplexities,  if  any  man  can  unfold  and  amplify  it,  he  is  equal 
to  the  task.  The  investigating  talent  is  not,  in  my  apprehension,  peculiar  to  the 
Irish  character;  and  among  that  constellation  of  talent  exhibited  by  Ireland,  but 
few  men  have  appeared  who  were  endowed  with  a  strong  reasoning  power.  Genius, 
fancy,  fertility,  variety,  wit,  enthusiasm, — these  appear,  and  fall  to  the  province  of 
a  long  list  of  illustrious  and  celebrated  Irishmen;  the  attribute  first  spoken  of 
is  rare  and  marked.  Without  wandering  too  far,  I  must  here  mention  a  fact  relating 
to  Mr.  Curran,  that  has  given  me  some  surprise.  Mr.  Emmet  informed  me  that 
Curran,  with  whom  the  former  was  on  intimate  terms,  possessed  a  logical  head. 
This  I  never  before  conceived.  His  printed  speeches  do  not  show  it.  However,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  his  every-day  business,  his  contests  in  the  king's  bench 
of  Ireland  and  his  arguments  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  do  not  reach  us.  We  only 
see  him  before  a  jury  (except  in  one  instance)  moving  the  feelings,  appealing  to  the 
sympathies  and  kindling  all  the  better  emotions  of  the  human  breast. 

But  to  return  to  Mr.  Emmet.  I  have  spoken  of  his  talent  for  deep  and  rigid 
investigation.  I  will  now  again  recur  to  another  feature  of  his  mind,  his  talent  for 
reasoning  on  whatever  data  or  premises  he  relies  on.  All  the  illustrations  and  all 
the  analogies  which  can  well  occur  to  the  mind  are  readily  and  adroitly  arranged  in 
his  arguments.  He  makes  the  most  of  his  cause,  and  often  makes  too  much,  giving 
a  front  that  is  so  palpably  over  formidable  that  men  of  the  plainest  sense  perceive 
the  fruits  of  a  powerful  mind,  without  being  at  all  convinced. 

Mr.  Emmet  is  a  lawyer  of  great  and  faithful  legal  research.  He  has  consulted 
books  with  as  much  fidelity  and  perseverance  as  any  man  at  the  American  bar. 
Perhaps  he  has  not  done  this  with  so  much  system  as  appears  in  the  study  of  many 
others;  a  constant  pressure  of  business  may  have  prevented  study  upon  abstract 
principles,  with  bare  views  of  gaining  knowledge;  but  in  his  day  he  has  spared  noth- 
ing in  the  compass  of  his  reading.  He  has  gone  back  to  the  black  letter  and  come 
down  to  all  the  modern  works  that  weigh  down  the  shelves  of  our  libraries  in  the 
shape  of  reports  and  elementary  treatises.  In  his  arguments  he  calls  up  all  the 
authorities  applicable  to  his  case;  and  that  is  of  great  consequence  in  the  character 
of  a  finished  lawyer.  These  authorities  shed  light  on  the  subject  matter  of  discus- 
sion. There  are  many  advocates,  and  too  many  judges  among  us  who  now  make 
a  parade  of  their  learning;  who  quote  decisions  without  an  accurate  discrimination 
of  what  they  tend  to  prove.    .    .    .    The  law  deals  in  general  rules,  all  its  axioms 


Classical  Learning 


519 


are  general.  All  its  maxims  are  intended  to  be  universal.  Hence,  when  a  principle 
of  law  is  laid  down  in  a  case  of  collateral  nature  to  the  one  under  a  particular  dis- 
cussion, it  needs  some  judgment  to  ascertain  its  strict  applicability  to  a  given  case. 
Mr.  Emmet  cites  with  accuracy,  and  courts  very  much  rely  on  his  discernment — a 
character,  by  the  way,  of  immense  importance  to  an  advocate.  Courts  soon  measure 
a  lawyer's  understanding.  .  .  .  Mr.  Emmet  is  not  fond  of  resorting  to  the  civil 
law,  the  corpus  juris  civitis.  He  occasionally  draws  from  this  fountain,  but  reposes 
generally  on  the  common  law.  The  text  of  the  civil  law  is  in  his  library,  and  the 
work  of  most  of  the  commentators  on  this  text.  But  my  apprehension  is  that  he 
has  only  consulted  this  grand  body  of  jurisprudence  in  extraordinary  cases. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  is  not  less  distinguished  for  his  knowledge  of  the 
theory  of  the  law,  than  he  is  of  the  practice.  As  a  special  pleader,  he  has  great 
experience  and  precision.  And  who  ever  looks  through  the  decisions  of  cases  in  the 
New  York  reports,  and  those  argued  in  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington,  where 
he  had  been  concerned,  will  be  convinced  of  the  fact  here  asserted.  As  has  been 
said,  that  while  Erskine  dazzled,  charmed  and  astonished  all  who  heard  him  in 
Westminster  Hall,  the  hard  head  and  watchful  skill  of  the  nisi  prius  lawyer  was 
always  perceptible.  Mr.  Emmet,  while  he  displays  wonderful  powers  of  eloquence 
and  indulges  in  bursts  of  lofty  and  noble  sentiment,  and  appeals  to  the  great  moral 
maxims  that  must  govern  men  in  this  world  while  we  have  laws,  morals  and  obe- 
dience to  order,  never  forgets  the  landmarks  of  professional  watchfulness;  he  is 
sjill  the  well-disciplined  lawyer  contending  for  his  client. 

I  must  now  mention  another  advantage  that  distinguishes  Mr.  Emmet  in  his 
professional  career.  His  historical  illustrations  are  numerous,  pertinent,  and  happy. 
In  this  he  excels  any  man  whom  I  have  ever  heard.  He  was  educated  in  Europe 
and  was  for  many  years  not  only  a  political  man,  but  associated  on  intimate  terms 
with  the  first  men  of  the  age.  He  not  only  read,  but  he  heard  and  saw.  In  addition 
to  what  we  find  in  the  volumes  of  history,  he  collected  many  things  which  floated 
in  the  atmosphere  of  the  times,  well  calculated  to  give  a  clue  to  the  character  of 
men  and  of  transactions  lost  to  the  ordinary  historian.  Besides  this,  he  collected 
a  vast  fund  of  anecdote  from  personal  intercourse  with  great  and  knowing  men. 
In  the  various  changes  of  the  British  ministry,  and  during  a  great  number  of  party 
conflicts,  many  interesting  circumstances  transpired,  worthy  to  be  treasured  up 
by  the  moralist  or  to  be  lashed  by  the  satirist.  In  arguing  and  in  trying  great 
causes,  I  have  heard  Mr.  Emmet  draw  on  his  memory  with  great  effect — calling  up 
parallels  and  presenting  striking  contrasts. 

As  a  classical  scholar,  but  few  men  can  stand  before  Mr.  Emmet  in  point  of 
attainments.  He  is  familiar  with  the  great  writers  of  antiquity — the  master  spirits 
who  have  infused  their  genius  and  their  sentiments  into  the  popular  feelings  of  ages 
which  have  rolled  on  long  after  the  poet  and  the  orator,  the  statesman  and  the 
historian  have  ceased  to  glow,  to  speak,  to  guide  or  to  write.  He  has  closely  con- 
sulted those  oracles  of  wisdom,  those  disciples  of  philosophy,  those  sons  of  the 
Muses,  whose  opinions,  sentiments  and  effusions  lighten  the  sorrows  of  human 
existence,  inspire  the  mind  with  noble  ideas,  and  cheer  the  ardent  and  persevering 
devotions  of  the  student.  The  man  of  whom  I  speak  is  more  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  poets  of  Greece  and  Rome  than  with  the  prose  writers;  at  least,  such  is 
the  fact  evinced  in  his  speeches  and  conversation.  Virgil  and  Horace  are  always 
on  his  tongue,  and  Juvenal  is  sometimes  called  to  his  aid.  .  .  .  The  writings  of 
British  classics  he  has  also  consulted  with  a  delight  and  advantage  which  often 
appear  in  his  arguments.    Shakespeare  in  particular,  he  often  quotes. 

One  of  the  greatest  charms  of  Mr.  Emmet's  eloquence  is  the  fancy  which  he 
continually  displays.  He  possesses  an  imagination  boundless  as  the  world  of  light, 
grandeur  and  beauty.  Its  flights  are  bold — its  pictures  soft,  magnificent,  or  awful, 
as  the  subject  may  require.    This  power  is  greater  in  Mr.  Emmet  than  in  any  other 


520 


Reply  to  William  Pinkney 


lawyer  whom  I  have  ever  heard.  It  enables  him  to  shed  a  charm  over  every  subject 
which  he  touches.  To  the  most  dry  and  meagre  topic,  he  can  impart  interest  and 
attraction.  All  his  figures  indicate  taste  and  propriety.  They  are  often  bold  and 
daring,  and  frequently  show  very  great  accuracy  and  precision  of  language.  It  falls 
to  his  province  to  impress  on  the  mind  of  every  hearer  a  recollection  as  lasting  as 
life.  No  man  who  ever  heard  him  for  an  hour  can  forget  his  figure,  his  face,  his 
manner,  and  a  great  part  of  his  very  language.  Some  of  his  peculiar  figures  of 
speech  would  be  well  remembered. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  Mr.  Emmet's  readiness  at  retort.  Whoever  rouses 
his  energies  by  a  rude  assault  or  a  stroke  of  satire  is  sure  to  hear  of  it  again,  and 
generally  has  good  reason  to  regret  the  ill-timed  provocation.  In  1815  he  made  his 
first  appearance  at  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  U.  S.  at  Washington.  He  and  Mr. 
Pinkney*  were  brought  in  contact.  The  latter  closed  the  argument  in  an  important 
case  in  which  they  were  both  engaged,  and  with  his  characteristic  arrogance  alluded 
to  the  fact  of  Mr.  Emmet's  migration  to  the  United  States.  When  he  had  concluded 
his  argument,  Mr.  Emmet,  being  for  the  respondent  in  error,  had  no  right  to  reply; 
but  he  nevertheless  rose,  and  after  correcting  a  trifling  error  in  some  of  Mr.  Pinkney's 
statements,  he  took  up  the  mode  and  manner  in  which  his  opponent  had  treated 
him.  He  said  he  was  Mr.  Pinkney's  equal  in  birth,  in  rank,  in  his  connections, 
and  he  was  not  his  enemy.  It  was  true  that  he  was  an  Irishman.  It  was  true  that 
in  attempting  to  rescue  an  oppressed,  brave  and  generous-hearted  people  he  had 
been  driven  from  the  forum  and  senate-hall  of  his  own  native  land;  it  was  true  that 
he  had  come  to  America  for  refuge,  and  sought  protection  beneath  her  constitu- 
tion and  her  laws;  and  it  was  also  true  that  his  learned  antagonist  would  never 
gather  a  fresh  wreath  of  laurel,  or  add  lustre  to  his  well-earned  fame,  by  alluding 
to  these  facts  in  a  tone  of  malicious  triumph.  He  knew  not  by  what  name  arro- 
gance and  presumption  might  be  called  on  this  side  of  the  ocean;  but  sure  he  was 
that  Mr.  Pinkney  never  accquired  these  manners  in  the  polite  circles  of  Europe, 
which  he  had  long  frequented  as  a  public  minister.  Mr.  Pinkney  was  not  ready 
to  retort,  and  he  made  no  reply;  but  a  few  days  afterward  it  so  happened  that  he 
and  Mr.  Emmet  were  again  opposed  to  each  other  in  a  cause  of  magnitude,  and  it 
fell  to  Mr.  Emmet's  part  to  close  the  argument,  who  was  determined  that  his 
antagonist  should  be  put  in  mind  of  his  former  deportment  and  expressions.  Mr. 
Pinkney  was  aware  of  the  thunderbolt  in  store,  and  took  the  opportunity  of  paying 
to  Mr.  Emmet's  genius,  fame,  and  private  worth  the  highest  tribute  of  respect. 
This  respect  was  never  afterwards  violated.  When  Mr.  Emmet  rose  out  of  his 
place,  as  before  stated,  Chief  Justice  Marshall  indicated  great  uneasiness,  thinking 
that  something  unpleasant  might  be  the  result.  Mr.  Justice  Livingston  reached 
forward  his  head  and  remarked  in  a  whisper,  "Let  him  go  on;  I  will  answer  that 
he  says  nothing  rude  or  improper".  With  this,  as  well  as  with  the  result,  the  Chief 
Justice  was  satisfied.  Some  years  previous  to  this  Mr.  Emmet  repaired  to  the  county 
of  Chenango  to  try  an  indictment  for  an  attempt  to  procure  the  vote  of  a  member 
of  the  legislature  by  bribery  and  corruption.  He  was  then  Attorney-General,  and 
the  proceeding  excited  strong  party  feelings.  Elisha  Williams  and  Mr.  Foot, 
formerly  an  eminent  counselor  and  advocate  residing  in  Albany,  were  opposed  to 
him.  The  latter  had  his  task  assigned  him — he  was  to  browbeat  Mr.  Emmet.  In 
the  discharge  of  his  duty,  he  stated,  among  other  things,  that  Mr.  Emmet's  promo- 
tion to  the  office  of  Attorney-General  was  the  reward  of  party  efforts,  and  that  in 
conducting  this  prosecution,  he  was  doing  homage  to  that  office.  He  gained  nothing 
by  his  assaults.  When  Mr.  Emmet  came  to  this  part  of  his  speech,  he  stated  the 
accusation  as  it  had  been  stated  by  his  opponent,  and  replied  "it  is  false,  and  he 
knew  it.    The  office  which  I  have  the  honor  to  hold  is  the  reward  of  useful  days 


*Mr.  William  Pinkney  of  Maryland. 


Simplicity  of  Manner 


52  i 


and  sleepless  nights,  devoted  to  the  acquisition  and  exercise  of  my  profession, 
and  of  a  life  of  unspotted  integrity — claims  and  qualifications  which  that  gentleman 
can  never  put  forth  for  any  office,  humble  or  exalted". 

In  1822  Mr.  Emmet  was  employed  in  a  very  interesting  case  in  the  Court  of 
Errors  in  the  State  of  New  York.  A  man  had  died  leaving  a  large  estate,  and  a 
pretended  wife  claimed  it  by  virtue  of  a  nuncupative  will.  The  estate  was  claimed 
by  Irish  heirs,  and  the  legality  of  the  will  was  disputed.  Mr.  Emmet  appeared  for 
the  heirs,  and  it  occurred  that  most  or  all  the  witnesses  who  sustained  the  illegality 
of  the  instrument  in  question  were  Irishmen.  Mr.  Henry  of  Albany,  an  able  and 
sagacious  advocate,  attempted  to  invalidate  the  testimony  of  these  witnesses,  and 
indulged  many  rude  hits  on  account  of  their  national  character.  Mr.  Henry  being 
himself  of  direct  Irish  descent,  and  having  made  almost  a  direct  attack  on  Mr. 
Emmet,  roused  all  his  fire.  The  arguments  of  the  different  counsel  consumed 
several  days,  and  when  the  great  Irish  orator  drew  to  the  close  of  his  extraordinary 
efforts,  which  had  consumed  two  entire  days  of  the  court,  he  broke  forth  into  one 
of  his  master  exertions.  The  nature  of  the  testimony  alluded  to  he  had  already 
examined;  he  now  took  up  the  reflection  on  Irish  character.  He  carried  the  eye 
of  the  court  over  the  land  of  his  birth — the  graves  of  her  illustrious  men — the 
monuments  of  her  heroes,  her  orators,  her  statesmen,  her  poets,  her  philosophers ; 
he  then  pictured  her  green  fields,  her  beautiful  shores,  the  genius  of  her  people,  the 
simplicity  of  her  peasantry,  and  the  dark  and  horrid  gulf  in  which  her  liberties  and 
her  happiness  were  buried;  he  came  down  to  himself,  the  scenes  through  which 
he  had  passed,  and  the  honesty,  the  zeal  and  the  integrity  which  he  had  found 
among  his  countrymen.  And  lastly  he  pointed  to  Mr.  Henry.  If  he  had  a  drop  of 
good  blood  in  his  veins,  it  was  Irish  blood.  When  he  beheld  the  successful  efforts 
in  that  forum  on  the  part  of  his  learned  antagonist,  he  felt  that  he  was  an  Irishman! 
The  whole  scene  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  that  I  ever  witnessed. 

Mr.  Emmet's  deportment  at  the  bar  is  mild,  urbane,  dignified  and  conciliating. 
To  the  junior  members  of  the  profession,  in  particular,  he  is  a  model  of  obliging 
civility— always  speaking  favorably  of  their  efforts  and  kindly  of  their  exertions, 
however  meagre  and  discouraging.  To  me  he  has  given  many  sound  lessons  of 
advice.  Let  me  see  you  do  that  again,  has  been  his  language  of  reprehension  when 
condemning  some  particular  habit  or  fault. 

Mr.  Emmet's  appearance  and  manners  are  plain  and  simple  in  the  extreme. 
His  dress  is  wholly  unstudied.  Everything,  however,  shows  the  most  pertect  deli- 
cacy of  feeling.  Modest,  unassuming,  unobtrusive,  and  perfectly  polite,  he  would 
alone  attract  the  attention  of  a  stranger  by  that  amiable  temper  and  obliging  dis- 
position that  manifested  themselves  on  all  occasions.  I  do  not  consider  him  an 
eloquent  or  a  powerful  man  in  ordinary  conversation.  His  remarks  are  generally 
appropriate,  and  well  adapted  to  passing  colloquial  scenes.  He  speaks  with  sense 
and  intelligence;  but  he  discovers  nothing  of  the  man  he  is,  unless  called  out  by  an 
occasion  sufficient  to  awaken  his  mind  and  create  excitement.  In  the  circles  of 
Washington,  with  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  John  Randolph,  William  Wirt,  and 
others  of  an  equal  rank  in  talents,  I  have  heard  him  converse  with  uncommon 
interest  on  English  history  and  the  policy  of  European  governments.  I  once  heard 
him  contrast  and  describe  the  characters  of  the  most  distinguished  British  states- 
men who  had  shared  in  the  confidence  of  the  Government,  from  the  days  of  Robert 
Walpole  to  those  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  a  man  whose  heart  he  abhorred  and  detested; 
but  how  much  more  powerful  and  interesting  would  he.  have  appeared  on  the  same 
topics  in  the  senate  house! 

Having  never  heard  the  speeches  and  arguments  of  Erskine  and  Curran,  I  am 
incompetent  to  compare  Mr.  Emmet  with  these  great  orators.  Manner  is  one  of 
the  principal  attributes  of  a  great  speaker;  and  Mr.  Emmet's  is  excellent,  and  in 
many  respects  unrivalled.    But  if  I  might  be  permitted  to  compare  Mr.  Emmet's 


522 


Rowan's  Rescue 


speeches,  as  I  know  they  would  read  if  written  out  with  Erskine's  and  Curran's, 
as  they  are  reported,  he  would  not  fall  behind  his  illustrious  competitors.  To  Mr. 
Curran,  I  think  Mr.  Emmet  superior — superior  as  a  mere  lawyer  and  superior  as  a 
logician;  and  exquisitely  beautiful  and  truly  eloquent  as  Curran  really  was  in  the 
defense  of  Rowan,  I  think  Emmet  would  have  made  a  more  powerful  and  overwhelm- 
ing speech  in  that  great  case.  As  a  lawyer  and  an  orator,  I  am  not  to  say  that  he 
is  superior  to  what  Erskine  was  in  the  days  of  his  glory;  for  I  view  that  orator  with 
a  veneration  that  is  never  invaded  or  diminished.  Mr.  Emmet  would  not  have 
excelled  him  in  the  case  of  Stockdale,  in  the  case  of  the  publisher  of  the  Rights  of 
Man,  nor  in  any  of  the  splendid  efforts  that  marked  the  unrivalled  career  of  the 
prince  of  English  orators  in  the  forum;  but  he  would  have  been  the  competitor 
of  Erskine  in  such  cases,  had  he  met  him  on  equal  terms  at  the  English  bar;  and  I 
might  safely  challenge  the  whole  list  of  Irish  orators  for  the  superior  of 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet.  Mr.  Emmet's  style  is  always  pure,  vigorous  and  appro- 
priate. 

In  his  private  character,  the  object  of  this  memoir  is  without  blemish.  Gener- 
ous, humane,  obliging,  and  strictly  honest;  a  heart  open,  frank  and  ardent;  upright 
in  all  his  dealings;  rigid  and  austere  in  his  habits;  temperate  and  rational  in  all  his 
enjoyments;  liberal  and  free  from  prejudice  upon  every  subject;  kind  and  affection- 
ate as  a  husband,  a  father  and  a  friend;  anxious  to  do  good  and  diminish  evil.  Such 
a  man  is  Mr.  Emmet. 

With  all  these  qualities  of  intellect  and  of  heart,  Mr.  Emmet  has  some  defects; 
I  mean  defects  of  a  professional  description.  His  zeal  sometimes  clouds  his  judg- 
ment and  obscures  the  perceptions  of  his  mind.  In  the  worst  of  causes — in  cases 
where  the  merits  were  palpably  against  him,  I  have  known  him  struggle  with  the 
same  ardor  and  assurance  as  though  he  was  perfectly  persuaded  of  the  justice  of  his 
suit.  This  has  diminished  his  influence  in  our  courts.  They  have  imbibed  a  habit 
of  listening  to  his  legal  doctrines  with  suspicion.  I  once  heard  him  argue  a  point 
of  law  under  Judge  Thompson  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  with  a 
great  deal  of  animation  and  apparent  conviction  of  the  correctness  of  his  grounds. 
When  he  had  finished,  Ju^?e  Thompson  put  a  case  to  him  to  test  the  soundness  of 
the  counselor's  position.  He  began  by  saying— suppose  Mr.  Emmet  that  ten  years 
hence  this  case  occurs,  &c,  describing  the  premises  from  which  he  wished  Mr. 
Emmet  to  draw  the  conclusion.  Mr.  Emmet  found  himself  in  difficulty,  and  merely 
replied,  that  ten  years  hence  his  client  might  have  other  counsel,  whom  he  would 
leave  to  answer  the  question.  Perhaps  the  question  was  not  altogether  proper, 
for  a  lawyer  must  take  cases  as  they  come  into  his  hands;  he  can  not  make  them  to 
conform  to  his  inclinations.  Still,  he  would  be  a  little  guarded  how  he  commits  his 
reputation  for  sound  legal  learning  in  sustaining  doubtful  or  more  than  doubtful 
points. 

I  cannot  follow  my  inclination  in  closing  this  little  notice,  without  committing 
to  writing  some  anecdotes  which  Mr.  Emmet  has  related  to  me.  I  will  mention  two 
or  three  which  reflect  great  credit  on  the  fidelity  of  the  Irish  people.  The  first  has 
a  relation  to  the  celebrated  Mr.  Rowan,  already  spoken  of.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  he  was  convicted  in  that  celebrated  trial  where  he  was  defended  by  Mr.  Curran. 
He  was  cast  into  prison,  and  his  sentence  was  hard  and  severe.  While  incarcerated 
in  the  cells  of  one  of  the  dungeons  of  Dublin,  Mr.  Emmet  and  two  or  three  others 
contrived  a  plan  for  his  escape.  It  was  successfully  executed.  A  small  vessel  was 
to  take  him  to  France.  It  was  an  Irish  schooner,  manned  by  Irish  sailors,  who 
knew  nothing  of  the  person  whom  they  were  to  transport  to  the  Continent.  His 
name,  character,  and  everything  were  concealed.  They  agreed  to  take  a  person  to 
Havre  for  a  certain  sum,  and  to  go  with  all  possible  expedition.  In  the  night  time 
Mr.  Rowan  boarded  the  little  vessel,  directly  from  his  jail.  The  wind  changed 
and  instead  of  sailing  the  next  morning  as  it  was  expected,  she  was  detained  some 


.  Loyalty  of  United  Irishmen 


523 


5  or  6  days  in  port.  The  Government  discovered  Mr.  Rowan's  escape  the  next 
morning  subsequent  to  his  deliverance  from  captivity.  A  proclamation  was  in- 
stantly issued  and  three  thousand  pounds  sterling  were  offered  as  a  reward 
for  his  detection.  There  were  but  4  or  5  seamen  in  the  whole  crew  of  the  Irish 
vessel.  Mr.  Rowan's  situation  may  now  be  well  imagined.  All  Dublin  rang  with 
the  news  of  his  breaking  from  prison.  The  sailors  were  daily  on  shore.  The 
proclamations  were  posted  up  on  the  market  cross  and  everywhere  else,  and  scat- 
tered in  the  streets.  The  seamen  picked  up  several  copies  and  brought  them  on 
board  their  vessel,  and  read  them  aloud  in  Mr.  Rowan's  presence;  for  he  had  never 
left  his  place  of  concealment.  At  length  one  of  the  crew  cast  his  eyes  on  Mr. 
Rowan,  and  quick  as  lightning  comparing  him  with  the  description  contained  in  the 
proclamation  exclaimed:  "You  are  the  man!  This  is  Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan!" 
Mr.  Rowan,  with  that  firmness  incident  to  his  character,  replied,  "I  am  the  man; 
I  am  Rowan — and  I  am  in  your  hands;  act  as  you  think  proper".  Instantly  every  one 
of  the  crew  answered,  "Mr.  Rowan,  you  are  safe.  By  us  you  shall  never  be  given 
up.  We  have  agreed  to  carry  you  to  France,  and  there  you  shall  be  landed".  The 
next  day  the  schooner  sailed  and  there  Mr.  Rowan  was  landed  by  these  poor  sailors. 
Let  the  annals  of  the  world  be  consulted,  let  the  noblest  traits  of  human  nature 
which  ages  have  unfolded  be  displayed  in  their  most  comprehensive  form,  and 
where  would  a  nobler  instance  of  disinterestedness  be  found?  The  reward  was 
great;  to  Mr.  Rowan  these  poor  men  were  allied  by  no  political  sympathy,  nor 
by  any  other  peculiar  tie;  they  had  never  seen  nor  known  him  before.  Their  com- 
pensation to  carry  him  to  France  was  a  mere  trifle;  he  had  made  them  no  splendid 
offers  of  money,  and  yet  he  was  protected  by  their  generous  feelings — their  sense 
of  humanity,  honor  and  justice. 

On  one  of  the  northern  circuits,  Mr.  Emmet  was  retained  to  defend  one  of  the 
United  Irishmen  indicted  for  treason.  He  entered  the  prison  where  his  client  was 
confined,  and  talked  over  his  case.  His  defence  consisted  in  the  weakness  of  the 
prosecution.  The  prisoner  said  he  must  be  acquitted,  because  the  Government  could 
produce  no  testimony  against  him.  He  said  he  was  guilty  enough,  but  it  could 
not  be  proved.  "But,"  said  Mr.  Emmet,  "surely  the  United  Irishmen  in  this  quarter 
of  the  country  are  familiar  with  the  overt  acts  of  your  treason;  how  do  you- know 
that  you  are  not  betrayed?"  "God  forbid,"  said  the  prisoner,  "that  such  a  suspicion 
should  cross  your  mind.  If  United  Irishmen  are  to  prove  treacherous,  my  life  is 
in  the  hands  of  forty  thousand  men.  Yes,  Mr.  Emmet,  this  day  forty  thousand 
witnesses  know  that  I  have  committed  treason ;  but  mark  my  words,  my  life  is  safe". 
The  trial  ensued  and  the  prisoner  was  restored  to  his  family  and  to  his  country. 
Tacitus,  the  illustrious  historian,  I  think,  in  his  commencement  of  the  life  of 
Agricola,  speaking  of  the  dark  and  horrid  scenes  of  tyranny  and  blood  through 
which  the  Roman  people  had  passed  during  his  days,  remarks  with  great  sensibility 
and  pathos,  that  amid  all  these  trials  and  cruelties,  many  noble  instances  appeared 
honorable  to  the  human  heart.  Fidelity  often  triumphed  over  all  temptations  and 
suffering;  friends  protected  friends;  and  the  most  virtuous  sympathies  of  the  human 
soul  were  cultivated  with  unshaken  constancy.  There  are  facts  in  Irish  history 
deserving  the  pencil  of  Tacitus. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  mention  more  than  Mr.  Emmet's  case,  who  was  for  several 
years  devoted  in  organizing  the  local  societies  of  the  United  Irishmen  all  over  the 
country.  He  must  have  administered  the  oath  of  initiation  to  thousands  after  it 
became  a  secret  body.  The  Government  resorted  to  every  means  of  cruelty,  as  was 
her  custom,  to  force  prisoners  through  terror  or  bribery  to  obtain  some  evidence 
of  Mr.  Emmet's  treason  without  the  slightest  success.  He  was  held  fully  four  years 
a  prisoner  simply  on  suspicion  and  there  was  no  man  connected  with  the  move- 
ment the  Government  feared  more  or  was  more  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  way  than 
Emmet,  but  dared  not  bring  him  to  trial. 


524 


The  Fulness  of  Years 


The  manuscript  of  Mr.  Haines  seems  to  have  been  brought  to  an  abrupt 
end,  in  consequence  of  his  last  illness  and  sudden  death,  with  the  account  of 
the  trouble  of  the  New  York  Irishmen  and  the  Orangemen  referred  to  in  a 
previous  chapter  as  described  by  Mr.  O'Conor,  and  the  following  incident 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  last  detailed  by  Mr.  Emmet. 

In  one  of  the  northern  counties,  a  poor  but  respectable  man  was  condemned  to  be  hung 
for  being  concerned  in  the  contemplated  rebellion  concerted  by  the  United  Irishmen. 
When  the  court  sentenced  him  for  execution,  one  of  the  judges  read  him  a  long  moral 
lecture  upon  the  enormity  of  his  offence,  the  wickedness  of  opposing  the  British  Govern- 
ment. After  exhausting  all  the  sources  of  his  pathetic  eloquence,  he  asked  "and  have 
you  no  wife  and  children  to  leave  behind  you?"  "Yes,  My  Lord,"  said  the  poor  man,  "I 
have  a  wife  and  children;  but  I  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  they  are  willing 
to  trust  to  Him  after  I  am  gone  and  buried.  They  rejoice  in  the  glorious  cause  for 
which  I  perish." 

The  editor  of  Mr.  Haines'  Memoir  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  entered 
upon  his  work  of  publishing  two  years  and  more  after  Mr.  Emmet  had  passed 
away  and  he  offers  the  following  encomium  to  his  memory : 

Mr.  Emmet  was  a  diligent  student.  He  confined  himself  to  study  and  business  more 
than  twelve  hours  a  day.  After  returning  home  in  the  evening,  he  would  retire  to  his  own 
apartment,  and  continue  the  investigation  of  any  subject  in  which  he  was  engaged  till 
twelve  or  one  at  night.  His  constitution  was  vigorous,  and  his  habits  uniformly  tempe- 
rate, so  that  his  devotion  to  study  never  seemed  to  injure  his  health.  It  was  one  conse- 
quence of  this  intense  application  that  he  was  remarkable  among  his  brethren  at  the  bar 
for  his  perfect  knowledge  of  the  cases  in  which  he  was  concerned.  When  Mr.  Emmet 
came  into  Court  he  was  sure  to  be  familiar  with  every  point  of  the  testimony,  and  could 
not  be  taken  by  surprise.  When  not  employed  in  solving  some  legal  question,  his  reading 
was  often  discursive.  He  would  sometimes  amuse  himself  with  mathematical  calculations. 
He  found  leisure  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  all  current  news  of  the  day.  Yet  he 
spent  no  time  for  the  diversions  of  society,  went  into  little  company,  and  rarely  appeared 
at  public  dinners.  At  home  he  was  always  gay  and  cheerful.  He  was  utterly  devoid  of 
ceremony.  His  dress  was  good  but  he  was  very  careless  of  it;  if  it  rained,  he  was  as 
likely  to  be  seen  without  as  with  an  umbrella.  The  furniture  of  his  office  was  plain  and 
ordinary.  But  while  he  was  totally  neglectful  of  these  trifles,  he  was  never  inattentive 
to  the  feelings  of  others.  High  and  low  were  sure  of  meeting  from  him  a  kind  and 
courteous  reception.  Yet  his  was  no  studied  politeness;  it  was  the  natural  offspring  of  a 
good  heart;  and  the  full  energies  of  his  mind  were  devoted  to  the  great  and  interesting 
topics  which  agitated  individuals  and  nations.  His  appropriate  sphere  was  active  life; 
and  he  may  well  be  pronounced  fortunate  since  he  filled  the  station  for  which  nature  and 
education  peculiarly  qualified  him.  Although  the  prime  of  his  life  was  darkened  by  mis- 
fortune; although  he  was  severely  disciplined  by  the  hardships  of  imprisonment  and  the 
bitterness  of  exile,  yet  he  was  trusted  and  revered  in  the  land  where  he  was  persecuted 
as  a  rebel,  and  in  the  country  of  his  adoption,  where  he  arrived  in  the  vigor  of  his  manly 
strength,  and  held  the  erect  attitude  of  an  unbroken  and  unbending  spirit,  he  readily 
obtained  the  confidence  of  all  those  who  became  acquainted  with  him,  mingled  largely  in 
the  transactions  of  important  affairs,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  profession  without 
leaving  one  blot  on  his  escutcheon  for  envy  to  point  its  finger  at,  and  acquired  a  brilliant 
reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  an  orator.  That  nothing  might  be  wanting  to  complete  the 
happy  fortune  which  Providence  seemed  to  bestow  upon  his  mature  life,  in  some  sort  of 
compensation  for  the  suffering  of  his  early  manhood,  he  did  not  waste  away  in  the 
gradual  decay  of  imbecile  old  age,  but  died  in  the  fulness  of  his  years,  cut  off  in  the 


Mr.  Field's  Testimony 


525 


very  field  of  his  honorable  triumphs.  His  remains  were  consigned  to  the  dust  by 
affectionate  children,  whom  he  had  been  permitted  to  see  already  filling  a  space  in  the 
public  eye;  and  the  community  in  which  he  had  lived,  paid  a  willing  tribute  of  love  and 
honor  to  his  memory. 

Mr.  Henry  M.  Field  of  New  York  issued  in  1851  "The  Irish  Confederates 
and  the  Rebellion  of  1798,"  a  remarkably  well-written  and  complete  rendering 
of  the  subject,  especially  by  one  who,  from  his  name  and  social  surroundings, 
must  have  been  associated  chiefly  with  those  of  English  interests.  At  the  same 
time  he  knew  all  the  Irish  leaders  and  their  descendants  who  were  his  co- 
temporaries  and  living  in  New  York.  His  book  is  therefore  based  upon  hear- 
say and  a  good  knowledge  of  that  portion  of  Irish  history. 

We  learn  from  Mr.  Field  that: 

Mr.  Emmet  had  every  qualification  for  a  great  lawyer.  His  mind  was  quick.  He 
saw  the  points  of  a  case  at  a  glance.  And  once  entered  upon  it,  his  temperament  led 
him  to  investigating  the  facts  of  a  case.  He  was  a  hard  student  to  the  close  of  his  life. 
Often  after  returning  from  a  day  of  exhausting  labor  in  the  courts,  he  would  retire  to 
his  room  and  continue  the  investigation  of  a  cause  until  after  midnight.  Hence  he  came 
into  court  thoroughly  prepared,  and  not  to  be  taken  off  his  guard.  When  necessary,  he 
could  make  nice  distinctions  with  the  subtilty  of  a  metaphysician.  Yet  the  general 
character  of  his  mind  was  comprehensive.  He  could  enlarge  or  contract  the  lens  of  his 
mind  so  as  to  make  it  either  a  microscope  or  a  telescope. 

He  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the  details  of  statutes,  yet  he  preferred  to  rest  his 
cause  on  the  broad  principles  of  the  common  law.  Clear  in  the  statement  of  a  case, 
lucid  in  the  arrangement  of  the  facts,  it  was  in  bringing  forward  the  principles  of  justice 
which  lie  in  the  foundation  of  all  law,  that  his  power  chiefly  lay.  His  feelings  became 
excited,  and  his  countenance  betrayed  his  emotions.  At  such  moments  he  used  much 
action,  often  gesturing  with  great  violence.  It  was  then  in  giving  utterance  to  his 
indignation  against  wrong,  and  in  his  plea  for  right  between  man  and  man  that  he  awed 
the  assembly  and  made  their  blood  run  cold. 

In  common  with  the  Irish  orators  he  possessed  a  rich  and  exuberant  imagination. 
But  this  faculty  was  perfectly  under  control.  He  knew  when  to  use  it,  to  enliven  the 
dull  details  of  law  or  to  revive  the  attention  of  the  jury.  But  it  was  never  suffered  to 
overload  or  obscure  the  subject.  As  was  said  of  Erskine,  that  "while  he  dazzled, 
charmed  and  astonished  all  who  heard  him  in  Westminster  Hall,  the  hard  head  and 
watchful  skill  of  the  lawyer  were  always  perceptible",  so  Emmet,  in  the  wide  sweep  of 
his  imagination  and  the  rush  of  his  emotions  never  suffered  the  point  of  the  verdict  to 
escape  him. 

The  speeches  of  Mr.  Emmet  abounded  in  illustrations,  which  were  generally  very 
happy.  His  life  had  been  spent  in  the  old  world.  He  was  familiar  with  its  history.  He 
had  acted  history.  References  to  the  actors  of  his  own  and  other  times  were  often 
introduced  pertinently  and  with  very  striking  effect.  Especially  in  allusions  to  his 
country  his  voice  swelled  with  indignation  at  her  wrongs,  and  subsided  into  pathos,  as 
he  pictured  her  wretchedness  which  moved  all  who  heard  him. 

The  courage  of  Emmet,  which  had  borne  him  through  a  stormy  period  of  Revolution, 
was  conspicious  at  the  bar.  He  had  an  undaunted  spirit.  He  was  never  cowed  by  an 
overbearing  opponent.  He  indulged  in  no  personalities,  manifesting  the  utmost  courtesy 
in  debate.  But  if  attacked,  as  was  sometimes  the  case,  his  retort  was  always  ready. 
Perhaps  his  most  extraordinary  power  was  that  of  instant  and  overwhelming  reply. 
Attack  aroused  him  on  such  occasions,  his  eye  flashed  fire,  and  pointing  with  his  quivering 
finger  to  his  assailant,  he  poured  forth  a  vehemence  of  invective  which  taught  his  pre- 
sumptuous adversary  not  to  repeat  the  offense. 


526 


Letter  of  Judge  Story 


In  other  words  the  character  of  Emmet  was  apparent  in  all  his  speeches.  He  had  the 
keenest  sensibility  for  others  who  had  suffered  injustice.  Hence  he  was  led  to  take 
sides  ardently  with  one  who  was  wronged.  This  warmth  of  feeling  sometimes  betrayed 
him  into  error,  as  he  was  easily  persuaded  into  a  conviction  of  the  justice  of  his  cause. 

Mr.  Haines  has  been  quoted  in  relation  to  the  clash  between  Mr.  Emmet 
and  Mr.  Pinkney  of  Maryland  in  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  Soon 
after  Mr.  Emmet's  death  Mr.  William  Sampson  wrote  to  Associate  Justice  of 
the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  Joseph  Story  and  he  received  the  following  reply 
which  is  printed  in  the  "Life  and  Letters  of  Joseph  Story,"  edited  by  his  son, 
William  W.  Story.    (Boston,  1851,  Vol.  I,  p.  555.) 

Washington,  February  27th,  1829. 

To  William  Sampson,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  letter  yesterday.  I  should  long  since 
have  complied  with  your  request  in  regard  to  Mr.  Emmet,  if  I  could  have  found  suitable 
leisure  to  sit  down  and  make  even  a  sketch  of  him,  such  as  I  thought  him  to  be  in 
character  and  attainments.   Hitherto  I  have  sought  such  leisure  in  vain. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  1815  that  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Emmet.  He  was 
then  for  the  first  time  in  attendance  upon  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington,  being 
engaged  in  some  important  prize  cases  then  pending  in  the  Court.  Although  at  that 
period  he  could  have  been  but  little,  if  any,  turned  of  50  years  of  age,  the  deep  lines  of 
care  were  marked  upon  his  face;  the  sad  remembrance,  as  I  could  conjecture,  of  past 
sufferings,  and  of  those  anxieties  which  wear  themselves  into  the  heart  and  corrode  the 
very  elements  of  life.  There  was  an  air  of  subdued  thoughtfulness  about  him,  that  read 
to  me  the  lessons  of  other  interests  than  those  which  belonged  to  mere  professional  life. 
He  was  cheerful,  but  rarely  if  ever  gay;  frank  and  courts  jus,  but  he  soon  relapsed  into 
gravity  when  not  excited  by  the  conversation  of  others. 

Such,  I  remember,  were  my  early  impressions;  and  his  high  professional  character, 
as  well  as  some  passages  in  his  life,  gave  me  a  strong  interest  in  all  that  concerned  him 
at  that  time.  There  were  too  some  accidental  circumstances  connected  with  his 
arguments  on  that  occasion,  which  left  a  vivid  recollection  upon  all  who  had  the  pleasure 
of  hearing  him. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Pinkney  of  Baltimore,  one  of  the  proudest  names  in  the 
annals  of  the  American  Bar,  was  in  the  meridian  of  his  glory.  He  had  been  often 
tried  in  the  combats  of  the  forum  of  the  nation,  and  if  he  did  not  stand  quite  alone,  the 
undisputed  victor  of  the  field  (and  it  might  be  deemed  invidious  for  me  to  point  out 
any  one  as  primus  inter  pares)  he  was,  nevertheless,  admitted  by  the  general  voice  not 
to  be  surpassed  by  any  of  the  noble  minds  with  whom  he  was  accustomed  to  wrestle  in 
forensic  contests.  Mr.  Emmet  was  a  new  and  untried  opponent,  and  brought  with  him 
the  ample  honors,  gained  at  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Bars  in  the  Union.  In  the 
only  cause  in  which  Mr.  Emmet  was  engaged,  Mr.  Pinkney  was  retained  on  the  other 
side;  and  each  of  these  causes  were  full  of  important  matter,  bearing  upon  the  public 
policy  and  prize  law  of  the  country.  Curiosity  was  awakened ;  their  mutual  friends  waited 
for  the  struggle  with  impatient  eagerness;  and  a  generous  rivalry,  roused  by  the  public 
expectation,  imparted  itself  to  their  own  bosoms.  A  laige  and  truly  intelligent  audience 
was  present  at  the  argument  of  the  first  cause.  It  was  not  one  which  gave  much  scope 
to  Mr.  Emmet's  peculiar  powers.  The  topic  was  one  with  which  he  was  not  very  familiar. 
He  was  new  to  the  scene  and  somewhat  embarrassed  by  its  novelty.  His  argument  was 
clear  and  forcible,  but  he  was  conscious  that  it  was  not  one  of  his  happiest  efforts.  On 
the  other  hand,  his  rival  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the  whole  range  of  prize  law,  he 
was  at  home,  both  in  the  topic  and  in  the  scene.  He  won  an  easy  victory  and  pressed 
his  advantages  with  vast  dexterity,  and  as  Mr.  Emmet  thought  with  somewhat  of  the 
display  of  triumph. 


Prize  Cases 


527 


The  case  of  the  "Nereide,"  so  well  known  in  our  prize  history,  was  soon  after  called 
on  for  trial.  In  this  second  effort  Mr.  Emmet  was  far  more  successful.  His  speech  was 
greatly  admired  for  its  force  and  fervor,  its  variety  of  research,  and  its  touching  eloquence. 
It  placed  him  at  once  by  universal  consent  in  the  first  rank  of  American  advocates.  I 
do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  it  placed  him.  before  Mr.  Pinkney,  who  was  again  his  noble 
rival  for  victory.  But  it  settled  henceforth  and  forever  his  claims  to  very  high  dis- 
tinction in  the  profession.  In  the  course  of  the  exordium  of  his  speech  he  took  occasion 
to  mention  the  embarrassment  of  his  own  situation,  the  novelty  of  the  forum,  and  the 
public  expectations,  which  accompanied  the  cause.  He  spoke  with  generous  praise  of  the 
talents  and  acquirements  of  his  opponent,  whom  fame  and  fortune  had  followed  both  in 
Europe  and  America.  And  then,  in  the  most  delicate  and  affecting  manner,  he  alluded 
to  the  events  of  his  own  life,  in  which  misfortune  and  sorrow  had  left  many  deep  traces 
of  their  ravages.  "My  ambition,"  said  he,  "was  extinguished  in  my  youth ;  and  I  am 
admonished  by  the  premature  advance  of  age,  not  now  to  attempt  the  dangerous  paths 
of  fame."  At  the  moment  when  he  spoke,  the  recollection  of  his  suffering  melted  the 
hearts  of  the  audience,  and  many  of  them  were  dissolved  in  tears.  Let  me  add  that  the 
argument  of  Mr.  Pinkney  was  also  a  most  splendid  effort,  and  fully  sustained  his  reputa- 
tion. From  that  period,  I  was  accustomed  to  hear  Mr.  Emmet  at  the  Bar  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  almost  every  variety  of  causes;  and  my  respect  for  his  talents  constantly  in- 
creased with  the  close  of  his  life.  I  take  pleasure  in  adding  that  his  affability,  his  modesty 
and  unassuming  manner,  his  warm  feelings  and  his  private  virtues  gave  a  charm  to  his 
character,  which  made  it  at  once  my  study  and  delight. 

It  would  ill  become  me  to  attempt  a  sketch  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Emmet.  That  is 
the  privilege,  and  will  be  (as  it  ought)  the  melancholy  pleasure  of  those  who  were 
familiar  with  him  in  every  walk  of  life,  to  whom  he  unbosomed  himself  in  the  freedom 
of  intimacy,  and  who  have  caught  the  light  plays  of  his  fancy,  as  well  as  the  more  pro- 
found working  of  his  soul. 

That  he  had  great  qualities  as  an  orator  can  not  be  doubted  by  anyone  who  had  heard 
him.  His  mind  possessed  a  good  deal  of  fervor,  which  characterizes  his  countrymen. 
He  was  quick,  vigorous,  searching  and  buoyant.  He  kindled  as  he  spoke.  There  was  a 
spontaneous  combustion,  as  it  were,  not  sparkling,  but  clear  and  glowing.  His  rhetoric 
was  never  florid;  and  his  diction,  though  select  and  pure,  seemed  the  common  dress  of  his 
thoughts,  as  they  arose,  rather  than  any  studied  effort  at  ornament.  Without  being 
deficient  in  imagination,  he  seldom  drew  upon  it  for  resources  to  aid  the  effect  of  his 
arguments  or  to  illustrate  his  thoughts.  His  object  seemed  to  be  not  to  excite  wonder 
or  surprise,  to  captivate  by  bright  pictures  and  varied  images  and  graceful  groups  and 
startling  apparitions,  but  by  earnest  and  close  reasoning  to  invoke  the  judgment  or  to 
overwhelm  the  heart  by  awakening  its  most  profound  emotions.  His  own  feelings  were 
warm  and  easily  touched.  His  sensibility  was  keen,  and  refined  itself  almost  into  a 
melting  tenderness.  His  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  was  various  and  exact.  He 
was  easily  captivated  by  the  belief  that  his  own  cause  was  just.  Hence  his  eloquence 
was  most  striking  for  its  persuasiveness.  He  said  what  he  felt,  and  he  felt  what  he  said. 
His  command  over  the  passions  of  others  was  instantaneous  and  sympathetic.  The 
tones  of  his  voice,  when  he  touched  topics  calling  for  deep  feelings,  were  themselves  in- 
stinct with  meaning.  They  were  utterances  of  the  soul  as  well  as  of  the  lips. 

Yours  affectionately, 

Joseph  Story. 

Terror  and  coercion  being  introduced  as  the  principles  of  government,  every  part  of 
society  is  filled  tvith  danger  and  suspicion;  the  insulation  of  thought  is  destroyed; 
the  intercourse  of  life  is  poisoned;  all  expression  of  the  public  tvish,  the  surest  guar- 
antee against  secret  conspiracy,  is  un<wisely  prohibited. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Suppose  the  trade  of  England  curtailed  or  annihilated,  her  resources  'wasted,  her  p&wer 
and  influence  deprest;  you  must  sink  in  her  doivnfall.  .  .  .  What  shall  Ireland  then 
become?  A  nursery,  a  draiv-faem  of  men  and  beasts,  for  the  use  and  accommoda- 
tion of  England;  an  immense  pasturage,  an  universal  barrack. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXVI 

Letter  from  William  Sampson  to  Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan — Reference  to  the  death 
of  Emmet — Meeting  of  writer  with  Abram  S.  Hewitt  in  1897-98 — His  recollections  of 
Mr.  Emmet — Burial  place  of  Mr.  Emmet — Finding  of  his  remains — Canon  O'Hanlon's 
introduction  to  Mason's  "Antiquity  and  Constitution  of  Parliament" — Castlereagh  "his 
own  executioner" — Funerals  of  Castlereagh,  Clare  and  Emmet  compared  by  Madden — 
The  high  appreciation  of  Emmet — Driven  from  his  native  land  by  its  alien  rulers  as  a 
traitor — Death  in  honor  in  the  land  of  his  exile — Monument  to  his  memory  raised  by 
his  Catholic  fellow-countrymen — A  "barrister  rebel"  become  an  "honored  citizen" — 
Victim  of  Orange  malignity — Reflections  raised  by  contemplation  of  his  monument — 
"His  inflexible  integrity  commanded  the  respect  even  of  his  enemies". 

OWAN'S  Memoir  contains  in  the  Appendix  a  copy  of  a 
letter  received  by  him  in  1827  from  William  Sampson, 
the  well-known  Irish  exile,  in  which  after  expatiating  on 
Mr.  Rowan's  "honorable  principles",  on  Mrs.  Rowan's 
kindness  to  Mrs.  Sampson  and  on  the  state  of  Irish 
politics,  he  continues  thus : 

You  have,  I  persume,  heard  of  the  death  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  and  probably  of  the  extraordinary  honors  paid  his 
memory;  how  a  monument  was  voted  by  the  Bar  of  New  York 
which  has  since  been  established  in  the  Court-room  where  he  fell. 
A  eulogy  was  also  voted  which  DeWitt  Clinton,  Governor  of  this  State,  had  under- 
taken to  deliver,  and  by  the  same  resolution  I  was  requested,  as  an  incentive  to 
the  younger  members  of  the  profession,  and  as  a  model  for  their  imitation,  to 
write  a  history  of  his  life.  I  could  not  refuse  a  task  so  honorable,  and  I  accepted  of  it. 
But  I  was  soon  after  seized  with  an  aguish  complaint,  which  returned  from  time  to 
time,  and  so  far  debilitated  me  that  I  was  unable  to  make  any  strenuous  exertion.  I  had 
besides  the  affliction  of  losing  my  son-in-law,  Captain  Tone,  son  of  one  that  you  knew 
well,  and  husband  of  my  daughter,  now  my  only  surviving  child.  This  obliged  me  to  lay 
aside  the  work,  but  with  returning  health  I  have  now  resumed  it.  I  was  greatly  disap- 
pointed also  in  applying  to  the  family  of  my  deceased  friend,  in  finding  that  I  could  not 
have  the  least  assistance  from  any  of  them.  Mrs.  Emmet,  who  loved  her  husband  most 
tenderly,  and  did  him  honor  whilst  he  lived,  was  affected  by  his  death  in  such  a  manner 
that  she  cannot  speak  upon  the  subject  of  his  early  life,  and  his  children  were  too  young 
to  know  anything  of  it ;  several  of  them,  indeed,  were  born  here.  That  portion  of  Emmet's 
life  passed  in  this  city,  affords  little  incident.  It  was  entirely  absorbed  in  the  duties  of  his 
profession  and  in  a  course  of  unexampled  industry.   He  was  looked  upon  with  admiration 

528 


Sampson's  Projected  Biography 


529 


for  his  abilities,  learning,  and  eloquence,  and  universally  beloved  for  his  virtues  and  his 
manner  of  living,  and  great  as  was  the  tribute  paid  to  him,  he  deserved  it  all.  He  was  a 
shining  honor  to  his  country.  There  exists  amongst  all  here  the  greatest  curiosity  to 
know  the  particulars  of  his  former  life,  and  indeed,  everything  concerning  him.  I  have 
been  trying  to  make  arrangements  for  the  publication  of  the  work  in  London.  You  were 
one  of  the  men  Emmet  most  esteemed,  and  now  that  the  events  of  those  days  are  matters 
of  past  and  useful  history,  I  should  request  of  you  to  assist  me  with  some  account  of  him 
and  his  family,  his  father,  his  brother  Temple,  his  early  studies,  travels,  first  entry  into 
public  life,  and  to  point  me  out  where  such  details  are  to  be  looked  for.  You,  it  is  true, 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  rebellion  in  Ireland,  nor  do  I  expect  anything  of  that  kind 
from  you;  but  any  letter  of  his,  however  trivial  or  familiar  the  subject,  may  go  to  satisfy 
the  friends  under  whose  commission  I  act.  I  shall,  if  I  can  find  one,  send  you  a  copy 
of  the  eulogy  upon  him  by  Dr.  Mitchell,  whose  name,  probably  whose  person,  you  must 
know.  Mr.  DeWitt  Clinton,  late  Governor  of  this  State,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  our  statesmen  had  undertaken  to  fulfil  the  vote  of  the  bar,  and  would  have  delivered 
a  eulogy  upon  him,  but  he  was  called  upon  to  pay  his  great  debt  before  the  day  appointed ; 
and  it  is  urgent  with  me  to  discharge  this  duty  before  a  similar  casualty  should  put  a 
bar  to  my  performance  forever.  I  owe  much  on  my  own  account  to  my  professional 
brethren  here,  as  you  will  see  by  an  article  which  I  forward  to  you,  containing  their 
kind  and  affectionate  adieus,  when  some  years  ago,  after  the  marriage  of  my  daughter, 
I  went  to  reside  in  Georgetown,  D.  C.  Since  my  son-in-law's  death  I  have  again  fixed 
my  residence  in  this  city.  I  have  seen  a  book  advertised,  called  the  history  of  the  leaders 
of  the  rebellion  in  1798.  Is  there  anything  in  it  that  could  help  me  in  the  biography  of 
Emmet?  There  never  yet  was  fair  play  nor  justice  shown  to  the  sufferers  in  that  un- 
happy struggle.  I  often  wonder  how  I  myself,  and  other  men  given  to  peace  entirely, 
should  have  been  driven  from  less  to  more,  by  mere  feeling  for  others,  to  desperation, 
and  almost  to  self-devotion,  for  I  was  always  among  the  least  sanguine  and  backward, 
till  no  neutrality  was  left,  and  then,  even  then,  there  was  nothing  to  warrant  any  part 
of  what  was  done  to  me  latterly. 

I  had,  indeed,  taken  my  ground,  but  if  law  was  to  be  had,  and  I  was  willing  to 
chicane,  I  should  have  as  good  actions  of  false  imprisonment  as  ever  man  had.  But  now 
I  am  for  truth,  and  no  other  revenge.  It  is  so  long  since  I  have  encountered  any  hostility 
or  ill  office,  or  envious  or  angry  words  from  any  man,  that  I  may  truly  say  I  live  in 
charity  with  all  mankind,  in  which  blessed  spirit,  etc.,  as  they  say  at  the  end  of  all 
sermons,  may  we  all  live. 

Your  sincere  and  obliged  friend,  W.  Sampson. 

New  York,  April  29th,  1820. 

Mr.  Sampson  was  never  able  to  undertake  the  writing  of  Mr.  Emmet's 
life,  for  from  about  the  period  of  writing  the  above  letter  his  health  began  to 
decline,  and  after  passing  several  years  as  an  invalid  he  died  December  28, 
1836,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age. 

In  placing  on  record  the  testimony  of  different  individuals,  for  this  story 
would  be  but  partly  told  if  a  different  course  were  followed,  some  repetition  is 
unavoidable. 

During  the  winter  of  1897-98  the  writer  met  the  late  Mr.  Abram  S.  Hewitt, 
ex-Mayor  and  for  many  years  a  member  of  Congress  from  New  York  City,  at 
a  dinner,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  placed  alongside  of  him. 
The  writer  is  able  to  fix  the  date  as  he  was  passing  his  book,  "The  Emmet 
Family",  through  the  press  at  the  time.  A  mention  of  the  work  led  Mr.  Hewitt 
to  speak  of  the  writer's  grandfather,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  of  whom  he  had 
a  clear  recollection,  and  of  the  day  of  his  death  and  funeral.   Mr.  Emmet  then 


530 


Mr.  Hewitt's  Recollections 


lived  at  No.  30  Beach  Street,  facing  St.  John's  Square,  near  the  southeast 
corner.  The  Hewitt  family  lived  in  the  neighborhood  where  Mr.  Emmet 
passed  on  his  way  to  and  from  his  office,  always  carrying  a  green  baize 
bag  filled  with  his  law  papers.  As  he  passed  the  house  of  Mr.  Hewitt,  who 
was  a  very  intelligent  man,  Mr.  Emmet  always  stopped  to  speak  a  few  words 
with  him,  while  he  sat  at  the  window  of  his  shop  at  work.  He  was  a  dealer 
in  hard  woods  and  probably  was  in  addition  a  wood  carver  of  newel-posts  for 
staircases,  of  mantel-pieces,  and  the  trimmings  of  doors  and  window-frames. 
Without  being  able  to  recall  his  authority  the  writer  is  of  the  impression  that 
Mr.  Hewitt's  father  was  an  Irishman  whom  Mr.  Emmet  had  known  in  Ireland. 
Hewitt  stated  that  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Emmet  died  was  impressed  on  his 
memory,  for,  noticing  the  quiet  of  the  street  and  the  absence  of  people,  he 
managed  to  slip  out  to  learn  the  cause.  Thereupon  his  mother  opened  the  door 
and  called  him  in,  and  as  he  passed  her,  she  said:  "Be  careful  and  make  no 
noise,  for  Mr.  Emmet  is  dead".  From  what  he  told  of  having  heard  his  father 
describe  at  the  time,  a  description  which  the  writer  has  corroborated  by  con- 
temporary newspaper  accounts,  he  is  led  to  believe  there  has  never  been  a 
similar  private  funeral  in  New  York,,  nor  one  in  which  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  inhabitants  took  part,  while  the  whole  business  of  the  city  was  suspended 
for  several  hours.  It  was  thought  that  every  one  in  the  town  knew  Mr.  Emmet 
at  least  by  sight,  and  probably  no  other  citizen  ever  commanded  the  love, 
veneration  and  respect  of  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  people. 

The  Board  of  Aldermen  (then  composed  only  of  gentlemen  and  men  of 
position)  met,  passed  a  resolution  of  condolence,  and  resolved  that  all  the 
affairs  connected  with  the  city  should  be  suspended  during  the  time  of  the 
funeral  and  that  the  city  officials  should  attend  in  a  body.  The  same  action  was 
taken  at  a  meeting  of  all  the  United  States  officials  in  the  city.  The  courts  all 
adjourned  after  the  judges  had  eulogized  the  dead,  and  the  Bar  met  to  arrange 
for  attending  the  funeral.  The  officials,  professors  and  students  of  Columbia 
College  took  action  to  attend  in  a  body.  As  Mr.  Emmet  had  at  one  time  been 
a  physician  in  practice,  all  the  physicians  of  the  city  and  all  the  professors  and 
students  of  the  two  medical  schools  were  in  attendance.  The  flags  on  every 
vessel  in  the  harbor  were  at  half  mast  and  the  bells  on  every  church  were  tolled 
during  the  progress  of  the  funeral.  It  took  place  from  Grace  Church,  then  on 
the  block  above  Trinity,  and  the  procession  proceeded  to  St.  Mark's  Church 
in  the  "Bowerie,"  now  at  Ninth  Street  and  Second  Avenue,  where  the  body 
was  to  be  deposited.  It  appears  as  if  every  able-bodied  man  in  the  city,  rich 
and  poor,  and  many  with  their  well-grown  sons,  showed  their  respect  by  taking 
part  in  the  obsequies.  At  the  time  the  head  of  the  procession  with  the  body 
reached  St.  Mark's  Church  the  people  were  still  falling  in  line  below  Grace 
Church  about  Wall  Street,  and  the  whole  procession  was  several  hours  in 
passing  the  front  of  the  church,  after  the  body  had  been  laid  to  rest  and  each 
individual  passed  with  uncovered  head.* 


•After  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Emmet  his  remains  were  temporarily  deposited  in  the  vault  of  his  friend, 
Chancellor  Jones,  in  St.  Mark's  Churchyard,  and  from  a  series  of  circumstances  they  have  been  left 


Clare  and  Castlereagh 


The  noted  Irish  scholar,  the  late  Very  Rev.  John  Canon  O'Hanlon  of 
Dublin  (in  the  Introduction  to  his  "Essay  on  the  Antiquity  and  Constitution 
of  Parliament"  by  Henry  Joseph  Monck  Mason,  etc.),  wrote: 

Castlereagh,  the  curse  of  his  own  country  and  the  enemy  of  every  other,  who  like 
another  Judas,  despairing  of  forgiveness  for  his  multiplied  transgressions,  became  his 
own  executioner  in  the  midst  of  his  pride  and  power. 

Of  whom  Byron  wrote: 

So  Castlereagh  has  cut  his  throat!  The  worst 
Of  this  is — that  his  own  was  not  the  first! 
So  he  has  cut  his  throat  at  last!  He!  Who? 
The  man  who  cut  his  country's  long  ago ! 

Shelley,  in  his  "Masque  of  Anarchy,"  wrote : 

I  met  murder  on  his  way, 

He  had  a  mask  like  Castlereagh. 

The  name  of  Castlereagh  was  the  only  one  connected  with  the  Irish  politics 
of  his  day  which  Mr.  Emmet  could  never  refer  to  without  showing  the  utmost 
loathing  and  disgust. 

The  Very  Rev.  O'Hanlon,  in  the  same  work,  wrote  of  Clare : 

Clare,  the  unfortunate  Clare,  who  broke  his  heart  for  having  bartered  the  independ- 
ence of  his  country  to  please  the  deceitful  statesmen  of  England. 


undisturbed  until  recently.  After  some  difficulty  in  finding  the  minutes  of  the  vestry  meeting,  at 
which  the  permission  for  burial  was  obtained,  the  vault  could  not  be  located,  as  the  writer  wished  to 
do  for  a  special  object.  At  length  every  difficulty  was  overcome  through  the  effort  of  the  writer's 
eldest  son  who  ascertained  that  ten  was  the  number  of  the  vault.  All  the  remains  of  the  Jones  family 
were  found  together  on  one  side  of  the  vault,  and  on  the  other  those  of  Mr.  Emmet  alone.  Everything 
but  the  bones  and  a  few  screws  had  disappeared.  There  was  nothing  to  identify  the  remains,  but  the 
official  record  of  their  being  placed  there,  and  the  appearance  of  the  skull,  which  yet  retained  every 
feature  which  gave  so  pronounced  an  individuality  to  his  head  while  living,  and  which  no  one 
else  ever  possessed.  The  condition  of  the  teeth  sockets  showed  that  he  must  have  lost  all  his  teeth 
some  years  before  his  death. 

No  anatomical  fact  is  now  better  understood  than  that  the  prolongation  of  life  depends  more  on 
the  condition  of  the  teeth  than  on  any  other  single  circumstance.  The  writer  had  well  approached 
his  eighty-seventh  birthday  before  this  book  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  printer,  and  he  is  yet  the 
happy  possessor  of  some  portion  of  nearly  every  tooth  he  had  the  use  of  in  his  youth.  The  only 
bodily  defect  from  which  Mr.  Emmet  ever  suffered  was  apparently  due  to  the  condition  of  his  teeth, 
and  this  was  doubtless  owing  to  some  remedial  cause.  The  luxury  or  necessity  of  a  tooth  brush  was 
unknown  or  not  fully  appreciated  during  the  greater  portion  of  Mr.  Emmet's  life.  From  infancy  the 
writer  was  taught  the  importance  of  taking  care  of  the  teeth,  yet  he  recalls  at  least  one  school  of  his 
childhood  where  he  was  the  sole  possessor  of  a  tooth  brush,  and  was  laughed  at  to  the  end  for  his 
perseverance  in  its  regular  use. 

With  Mr.  Emmet's  otherwise  perfect  bodily  condition,  the  knowledge  of  the  dental  surgery  of  the 
precent  day  could  have  prolonged  his  life  beyond  the  span  of  one  hundred  years.  Considering  the 
frugal  life  he  had  led  from  his  youth  he  would  never  have  lost  his  life  from  apoplexy,  which  is  caused 
by  a  degeneration  of  the  arteries  from  want  of  proper  nutrition  and  circulation  in  the  small  vessels. 
Before  closing  this  diversion,  the  writer  will  place  on  record  the  fact  that  Mr.  Emmet's  remains  were 
carefully  boxed  and  marked.  This  was  done  with  the  hope  that  at  some  future  time  they  may  receive 
the  honor  justly  due  to  his  memory  for  services  to  his  native  land,  and  not  lie  hereafter  neglected  in 
what  to  the  world  at  large  will  prove  an  unknown  grave. 

The  remains  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  with  those  of  his  devoted  wife  should  be  placed  under  his 
monument  in  St.  Paul's  Church.  The  same  should  be  done  with  the  remains  of  Dr.  Macneven,  that 
they  may  lie  under  the  monument  erected  by  his  grateful  countrymen  in  recognition  of  his  services  to 
his  native  land.  But  the  recognition  is  incomplete  to  the  credit  of  either  of  these  illustrious  men. 
The  remains  of  Dr.  Macneven  and  the  writer  believes  of  Mr.  Sampson  lie  in  the  old  Riker  family 
burial  ground  on  Bowery  Bay,  which  in  all  probability  has  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  original 
owners,  and  must  inevitably  in  a  few  years  be  built  over  and  its  site  forgotten.  This  work  can  only 
be  fittingly  done  by  the  United  Irish  Society  of  the  country  as  a  national  action.  The  occasion  should  be 
made  a  commemorative  one,  in  full  accord  and  recognition  of  the  unappreciated  services  rendered 
by  many  of  the  Irish  people  in  every  walk  of  life,  for  the  mental  and  physical  development  of  the 
country,  which  is  greater  in  the  aggregate  than  that  rendered  by  all  other  races  collectively.  Stupid 
bigotry  and  unpardonable  ignorance  have  from  the  beginning  overshadowed  the  truth.  A  tolerated 
existence  unknown  to  the  law  of  the  land,  is  no  longer  the  condition  even  in  Ireland,  and  the  Irish- 
man has  but  to  step  to  the  fore  and  take  what  has  become  his  birth-right  throughout  the  world.  No 
other  race  possesses  more  brains  or  brawn.  As  this  word  is  written  the  writer  recalls  the  fact  that 
the  original  meaning  of  the  word  brawn  was  the  flesh  or  muscle  of  the  wild  boar,  the  strongest  animal 
in  the  world  in  proportion  to  its  size.  The  term  "wild  Irish"  was  also  at  one  time  a  common  one,  but 
like  the  word  brawn  its  application  has  changed,  though  so  strong  is  prejudice  that  with  many  the 
most  accomplished  Irishman  will  always  seem  a  bore. 


Highest  Honors  Well  Bestowed 


Dr.  Madden  in  his  "Lives  of  the  United  Irishmen"  describes  the  remark- 
able demonstration  made  at  the  funeral  of  the  "rebel"  Thomas  Addis  Emmet 
in  New  York  and  throughout  the  United  States;  and  also  incidentally  refers 

in  contrast  to  the  funeral  of  the  most  "loyal"  of  Irishmen — Clare  and  Castle- 
reagh : 

When  the  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  Ireland — the  celebrated  Lord  Clare — went  to 
the  other  world,  the  28th  of  January,  1802  (within  less  than  one  year  and  a  month  of 
the  achievement  of  the  Union — of  that  measure  to  which  all  his  efforts  had  been  de- 
voted for  many  years),  no  such  honor  was  paid  to  his  memory.  We  read  indeed,  on 
the  day  of  his  funeral,  of  seven  hundred  lawyers  and  legal  functionaries,  and  seventy 
lords  and  other  notabilities  of  the  country,  walking  after  his  hearse  to  the  graveyard  of 
St.  Peter's  Church ;  and  in  the  face  of  the  seven  hundred  lawyers  and  legal  functionaries, 
we  are  informed,  no  sooner  was  the  coffin  of  the  late  lord  chancellor  deposited  in  the 
place  prepared  for  it,  than  the  grave  was  desecrated,  and  dead  cats  were  thrown  on  the 
coffin  by  the  assembled  populace. 

When  Lord  Castlereagh  paid  the  debt  to  nature  in  August,  1822,  the  State  indeed 
and  its  functionaries  did  honor  to  his  memory.  His  remains  were  buried  in  West- 
minster Abbey.  Great  personages  walked  after  his  coffin,  in  procession,  holding  the 
pall;  but  the  people  shouted  at  the  porch.  A  witness  of  that  terrible  manifestation 
of  popular  feeling,  I  can  answer  for  it  there  was  no  expression  of  sorrow  or  respect 
in  that  shout.  Most  assuredly  the  feelings  it  indicated  were  in  unison  with  those  of 
the  great  mass  of  people  of  England  and  Scotland,  as  well  as  those  of  Ireland,  on 
that  occasion. 

When  George  IV,  the  sovereign  of  the  largest  dominions  of  any  empire  in  Christen- 
dom, and,  in  the  language  of  his  panegyrists,  "the  first  gentleman  in  Europe,"  departed 
this  life,  there  were  funeral  pageants  on  a  grand  scale  of  regal  magnificence,  and  the 
horses  that  bore  the  hearse  from  Windsor  Castle,  and  the  solemn  mutes  who  walked  be- 
side it,  wore  "the  trappings  and  the  suits  of  woe";  but  there  was  no  mourning  for  the 
deceased  monarch,  we  are  truly  told  by  Lord  Brougham,  and  no  attempt  to  mimic  sor- 
row, for  there  were  no  hearts  saddened  by  his  death. 

It  was  reserved  for  the  people  of  America,  by  their  conduct  on  the  occasion  of 
Emmet's  death,  to  teach  a  great  lesson  to  the  nations  of  the  old  world — namely,  that  the 
highest  honors  that  a  State  can  afford  to  departed  greatness  are  well  bestowed  when  they 
are  given  to  the  memory  of  a  citizen  eminently  good  and  virtuous. 

In  all  probability,  in  modern  times,  in  the  whole  range  of  European  history,  there 
is  no  instance  on  record  of  private  worth,  honor,  and  integrity — of  professional  talents 
not  devoted  to  military  pursuits  or  to  party  purposes,  and  rendered  illustrious  by  signal 
triumphs  and  successes — receiving  such  honors  at  the  hands  and  from  the  hearts  of  a 
whole  people,  as  were  paid  to  the  memory  of  T.  A.  Emmet  throughout  the  United  States 
of  America. 

The  last  chapter  of  this  memoir  will  afford  ample  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the 
above  assertion. 

Thus  died,  in  a  distant  land,  in  honor  and  renown  on  the  14th  of  November,  1827, 
the  Irish  exile,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  in  the  64th  year  of  his  age. 

The  man  who  was  deemed  a  traitor  in  his  own  land — who  had  been  engaged  in 
what  was  termed  an  unnatural  rebellion,  and  is  thought  in  England,  even  by  men  of 
great  intellect,  detestable  treason;  whom  it  was  proposed  in  Parliament  to  hand  over 
with  his  associates  to  a  drum-head  court  martial,  and  to  hang  or  shoot  in  a  summary 
manner  for  the  benefit  of  society  and  the  sake  of  the  British  constitution  in  Ireland,  as 
the  institution  of  Orangeism  was  then  interpreted — thus  died  in  America  in  such  honor 
and  renown  as  no  language  can  exaggerate.  It  was  not  in  one  State  or  in  one  city,  at 
his  death,  where  expression  was  given  to  feelings  of  admiration  for  his  great  worth 


Let  Erin  Remember! 


533 


and  virtues  and  noble  intellectual  gifts — of  respect  for  the  consistency  of  his  patriotism 
and  the  solidity  of  his  opinions  on  all  public  subjects — and  of  veneration  for  this  great 
good  man — but  throughout  the  whole  Union  these  feelings  prevailed ;  and  this 
was  unanimously  accorded  to  the  departed  worth  and  excellence  of  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet. 

The  monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Emmet  is  worthy  of  it.  It  stands  in  view 
of  Broadway,  the  great  thoroughfare  of  the  city,  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul's  Church. 
It  is  a  marble  monolith  of  thirty  feet  elevation.  .  .  .  The  expense  of  this  monument 
was  partly  defrayed  by  the  contributions  of  his  countrymen  in  the  United  States,  and 
partly  by  the  application  of  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of  the  American 
Catholic  Association.  When  the  Relief  Bill  of  1829  was  carried,  the  receipt  of  money 
under  the  name  of  Catholic  Rent  was  prohibited  by  that  statute.  The  American  society 
then  thought  the  best  application  of  the  remaining  funds,  namely  $1,006  raised  for 
Catholic  purposes,  would  be  to  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the 
early  advocates  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  who  devoted  his  splendid  talents  to  its  cause 
and  sacrificed  for  its  interests  the  brightest  prospects.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
promised  land  of  toleration,  but  he  did  more,  with  the  exception  of  Tone,  than  any  of 
his  cotemporaries  towards  the  consummation  so  devoutly  to  be  wished  for. 

That  monument  was  never  looked  on  by  the  author  without  feeling  that  its  existence 
in  America  was  a  subject  for  meditation  of  strange  and  melancholy  interest.  And  often 
as  he  gazed  on  that  splendid  sepulchre — which  his  countrymen  in  the  new  world  had 
raised  to  the  memory  of  "the  banished  rebel,"  who  had  become  in  another  land  an  hon- 
ored citizen,  "whose  private  life  was  beautiful  as  his  public  course  was  brilliant" — he 
could  not  help  asking,  was  justice  never  to  be  done  in  his  own  land  to  the  memory 
of  one  who  had  been  held  up  in  his  own  country,  by  the  unmitigated  malignity  of  Orange- 
ism,  to  obloquy  and  odium?  To  what  generation  yet  to  come  were  the  memories  of 
such  men  as  Macneven,  Sampson,  and  Neilson  to  be  consigned?  Did  they,  like  the 
younger  enthusiast  in  his  cause,  when  the  "lamp  of  life  was  nearly  extinguished,"  when 
the  grave  was  opening  to  receive  him  and  he  was  ready  to  sink  into  its  bosom,  bid  no 
man  dare  to  write  their  epitaphs,  but  left  the  charge  to  other  men  and  to  later  times 
to  do  justice  to  their  memories?  When  was  that  era  to  arrive?  Where  were  the  men 
to  be  looked  for  to  inscribe  their  tombs?  Was  the  marble  to  be  sought  in  the  quarries 
of  America  that  was  to  perpetuate  their  name,  their  devotion  to  their  country,  and  their 
unhappy  fate? 

Was  the  writer  of  the  biographies  of  these  men  to  seek  amongst  strangers  respect 
for  the  talents  or  sympathy  for  the  suffering  of  his  countrymen?  Must  he  be  reminded 
elsewhere  that  their  enterprise  was  unsuccessful,  and  must  therefore  have  failed  from 
their  faults  or  that  it  had  originated  in  their  crimes?  If  their  impatience  of  their  coun- 
try's wrongs,  their  hatred  of  oppression  was  "too  rash,  too  unadvised,  too  sudden,"  shall 
we  be  told  that  their  patriotism  was  but  the  brilliant  flash  of  a  transitory  passion — "too 
like  the  lightning  that  doth  cease  to  be  ere  one  can  say  it  lightens"?  Are  the  trails  of 
heroism  or  the  traces  of  love  of  country  displayed  in  their  struggle  so  easily  to  be  for- 
gotten, that  there  is  no  fame  for  them  with  whom  fortune  was  not?  Is  the  need  of  a 
generous  sympathy  so  narrowly  confined,  that  there  is  no  pity  for  the  faults  which  render 
the  very  intensity  of  the  love  of  liberty  and  enthusiasm  in  its  cause  unpropitious  to  the 
fate  of  those,  who  feel  perhaps  more  than  they  reason  at  the  outset  of  the  struggle; 
and  as  they  become  deeper  and  deeper  engaged  in  it,  overlook  the  difficulties  by  which 
it  is  beset  and  overrate  the  strength  and  nature  of  their  own  resources?  But  is  no 
patriot  to  be  honored  but  the  successful  rebel?  Has  liberty  no  champion  to  proclaim 
but  those  who  have  escaped  exile  or  the  scaffold?  Has  Ireland  no  victims  to  lament, 
no  lost  defenders  to  bewail,  but  those  whose  bones  are  laid  under  the  sands  at  Clontarf, 
or  the  green  sod  at  Aughrim,  or  the  Boyne?  Has  Ireland  no  devoted  children  to  boast 
of  among  those  who  died  in  exile  or  who  retrieved  the  errors  of  a  lofty  enthusiasm  on 
the  scaffold  and  poured  out  their  young  blood  in  defence  of  their  opinion  of  her  rights; 


534 


Here  Freedom  has  a  Home 


no  sons  of  whom  the  memory  is  dear  except  those  who  adopted  other  and  happier  modes 
of  seeking  the  same  objects  which  were  sought,  in  vain,  by  their  predecessors? 

Great  as  were  the  talents  of  the  men  who  stood  beside  him  in  the  early  struggle 
for  reform  and  rational  liberty,  the  pre-eminence  may  be  claimed  for  him;  for,  while 
the  profoundness  of  his  judgment  and  the  justice  of  his  views  entitled  him  to  the  re- 
spect of  his  associates,  his  inflexible  integrity  commanded  the  respect  even  of  his  enemies. 

Savage  in  his  "Ninety-eight  and  Forty-eight"  (New  York,  1856),  says: 

How  well  his  [Emmet's]  various  attainments  were  appreciated  by  this  country  to 
which  he  came  as  an  exile,  contributing  to  her  the  richness  of  his  manhood  in  return 
for  the  shelter  insured  him,  may  be  seen  by  the  testimony  raised  to  his  memory  and 
his  merits  in  the  judicial  halls  of  the  chief  city  of  these  American  States;  and  by  the 
monument  which,  near  that  raised  to  the  valor  of  his  illustrious  countryman  and  defender 
of  American  liberty,  General  Richard  Montgomery,  under  the  portico  of  Saint  Paul's, 
first  meets  the  eye  of  the  stranger  as  he  wanders  from  the  Battery  up  one  of  the  most 
populous  and  opulent  thoroughfares  in  the  world.  It  is  at  once  a  high  testimony  of 
American  recognition  to  the  European  outcast  and  a  guide  to  all  worthy  of  American 
citizenship.  A  voice  speaks  from  the  cold  marble.  There  is  a  sermon  in  that  stone,  a 
sermon  that  preaches  straight  to  the  hearts  of  men.  It  says:  Here  Freedom  has  a  home 
— here  truth  and  genius  are  the  only  divine  rights  acknowledged  under  God.  Come  and 
do  likewise  as  this  dust  has  done,  and  make  yourself  immortal. 


Such  mere  the  reflections  <which  the  tomb  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  catted  forth,  and 
<ivhich  even  merged  for  a  time  the  recollection  of  his  sufferings  in  those  of  the  still 
"deeper  calamities  of  his  kindred",  though  no  remembrance  of  his  brother's  noble 
qualities  could  supersede,  for  an  instant,  the  conviction  of  the  superior  powers  which 
pre-eminently  qualified  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  lead  the  people,  and,  had  the 
qualities  of  any  one  man  sufficed  for  the  attainment  of  that  object,  to  conduct  their 
cause  to  a  successful  issue. 

New  York  "Truth  Teller",  July  15,  J 843. 


- 

<D 


What  are  fifty,  nay,  a  thousand  staves,  to  the  nerve  of  a  single  arm  that  strikes  for  liberty. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXVII 

Mural  tablet  erected  by  the  New  York  Bar  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Emmet — The  bust 
copied  from  a  plaster  bust  taken  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Emmet— A  movement  of  the  Irish  people  for 
erecting  a  monument  to  Mr.  Emmet's  memory — Macneven's  address  at  the  meeting — 
Inscriptions  in  Latin,  English  and  Irish. 


HORTLY  after  Mr.  Emmet's  death  the  Bar  Association  of 
the  City  of  New  York  erected  to  his  memory  a  mural 
tablet  with  an  appropriate  inscription.  This,  together 
with  Mr.  Emmet's  bust,  was  placed  on  the  wall  of  the 
court-room  in  the  City  Hall,  close  to  the  spot  where  he 
was  stricken.  This  room  was  subsequently  altered  to  be 
the  place  of  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  for 
Greater  New  York.    The  mural  tablet  was  then  removed 


and  erected  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  Court  House,  on 
the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Chambers  Street.  The  bust,  furnished  by 
Browere,  and  used  with  some  slight  alteration,  by  the  artist  Giovanozza  for  his 
monument,  was  a  copy  of  the  one  mentioned  in  Chapter  XXVI,  which  was 
taken  a  little  more  than  a  year  before  his  father's  death  by  his  son,  Dr.  John 
Patten  Emmet,  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  University  of  Virginia.  The 
family  of  the  late  Judge  Robert  Emmet,  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  Emmet,  possesses 
a  marble  replica  of  the  bust  placed  on  this  tablet. 

This  white  marble  bust  and  mural  tablet  are  now  on  the  west  wall  of  Part 
15,  Supreme  Court,  in  the  west  centre  room  on  the  third  floor  of  the  County 
Court  House.  The  bust  is  placed  in  a  niche  with  a  hood  four  feet  in  width, 
with  the  effect  of  the  bust  resting  on  the  top  of  the  mural  tablet,  which  is  six 
feet  in  width  and  three  feet  high.  The  lettering  on  this  slab  is  given  with 
bronze  letters  in  Roman  text,  each  separately  secured  to  the  face  of  the  tablet. 
The  inscription  is  as  follows: 

Thdmas  Addis  Emmet 
Viro 

Doctrina  Juris  Scientia  Eloquentia 

Prestantissimo 

Inter  Hmc,  Subsellia  et  Officii  Munera 

Subita  Morte  Correpto 

socii  forenses  posuerunt 
535 


536 


Mural  Memorial  Tablet 


Translation:  To  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  a  man  most  Eminent  For  Learning  and 
knowledge  of  Law,  and  for  Eloquence,  seized  by  Sudden  Death  while  seated  in  this 
Place  and  Exercising  the  Duties  of  His  Profession  His  Legal  Associates  have  erected 
this  Memorial. 

Before  either  the  bust  with  the  mural  tablet  or  the  monument  had  been 
erected,  the  following  letter  was  published  in  the  New  York  "American,"  Fri- 
day evening,  March  20th,  1829: 

To  the  Editor  of  the  American: 

It  is  probably  not  unknown  to  you  that  many  of  the  friends  and  admirers  of  the  late 
Mr.  Emmet,  are  exceedingly  dissatisfied  with  the  inscription  for  his  monument,  which  a 
few  weeks  since  was  published  in  your  paper,  and  which  the  committee  of  the  bar,  it 
is  understood,  have  adopted.  That  the  style  of  this  inscription  is  classical,  and  the  latinity 
faultless,  is  not  to  be  disputed;  but  its  brevity,  considering  the  occasion  and  the  subject, 
is  deemed  a  fatal  objection.  When  an  individual  to  whom  a  monument  is  erected  is 
illustrious  by  actions  which  History  is  sure  to  consecrate,  or  by  literary  productions  that 
have  the  stamp  of  immortality,  it  is  proper  that  the  inscription  should  be  simple  and  brief. 
In  such  cases  brevity  is  the  truest,  the  most  effective  eloquence,  and  elaborate  praise  fails 
of  its  object,  and  is  even  felt  to  be  impertinent.  The  name  alone  of  Washington,  or 
Milton,  inscribed  on  a  monument,  revives,  in  the  mind  of  the  spectator,  a  train  of  delight- 
ful associations,  and  excites  emotions  more  varied  and  vivid  than  the  poet  or  orator 
could  hope  to  raise ;  and  he  who  has  the  truest  sense  of  the  powers  and  limits  of  his  art, 
on  such  an  occasion,  would  refuse  to  exercise  it.  It  is  plain,  however,  that  these  con- 
siderations do  not  apply  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Emmet.  It  is  only  a  small  and  comparatively 
unimportant  portion  of  his  life  that  belongs  to  history,  and  he  has  left  no  writings  by 
which  the  evidence  of  his  extraordinary  genius  and  attainments  can  be  transmitted  to 
posterity.  It  is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  it  is  by  the  very  memorial  which  the  Bar 
proposes  to  raise  that  the  fame  of  Mr.  Emmet  will  be  chiefly  perpetuated.  It  is  this  which 
ought  to  be  the  witness  to  future  ages  of  the  estimation  in  which  his  paramount  talents 
were  held  by  his  contemporaries.  It  is  due,  therefore,  to  the  reputation  of  Mr.  Emmet,  to 
the  honor  of  the  bar,  to  truth  and  justice,  that  the  inscription  should  be  ample  in  the 
delineation  of  his  character,  the  qualities  of  his  mind,  the  extent  of  his  attainments, 
and  the  powers  of  his  eloquence,  and  should  thus  assign  to  him,  distinctly  and  fearlessly 
the  rank  to  which  his  genius  and  learning  entitle  him.  Without  such  an  inscription,  the 
monument  is  useless.  It  is  neither  honoris  signum  nor  incitamentum  glories.  It  can 
neither  honor  Mr.  Emmet,  nor  provoke  others  to  emulate  his  example.  It  is  a  mere  mass 
of  chiselled  marble,  producing  no  regrets,  exciting  no  hopes,  connected  with  no  associa- 
tions, intellectual  or  moral. 

Were  I  a  son  of  Mr.  Emmet,  I  would  much  prefer  that  the  monument,  beautiful  as 
it  is  as  a  specimen  of  art,  should  be  broken  to  pieces,  than  that,  when  erected,  it  should 
bear  the  inscription,  which  in  letters  of  brass,  we  are  told  is  now  engraved.  What  is  the 
impression  that  this  inscription  will  make  even  a  few  years  hence,  when  those  who  knew 
and  heard  Mr.  Emmet  (qui  ipsam  audivere)  shall  have  passed  from  the  stage?  Barely 
this — that  he  was  a  man  of  considerable  eminence  at  the  bar  who,  happening  to  die  in 
the  court-room  (inter  hwc  subsollis),  while  engaged  in  some  professional  duty  (officii 
munera),  arguing  a  motion  perhaps,  or  disputing  a  bill  of  costs,  his  associates  of  the  bar 
(Socii  Forenses)  had  thought  it  decent  to  commemorate  his  death  by  a  suitable  monu- 
ment, and  as  a  matter  of  course,  had  bestowed  upon  him  that  vague  and  customary  praise 
(ingenii,  juris  scienticc  cloqucnticr)  which,  in  an  inscription,  no  matter  to  whose  memory, 
everybody  expects  to  find,  and  nobody  is  fool  enough  to  believe.  I  may  seem  to  have 
spoken  with  levity,  but  it  is  my  serious  belief  that  this,  or  something  very  like  it,  is  the 
impression  that  will  be  produced,  if  the  inscription  is  suffered  to  remain,  and  if  this  be 
so,  I  ask  of  you,  the  bar,  and  the  public,  is  it  right  that  it  should  remain  ? 


Suggested  Change  in  Inscription 


Whatever  others  may  think,  I  do  not  imagine  that  to  you,  the  opinion  which  I  have 
formed,  and  am  about  to  express,  of  the  character  and  abilities  of  Mr.  Emmet,  will 
appear  extravagant.  It  was  my  fortune  to  know  him  from  his  first  arrival  in  this  city, 
and  to  hear  him  I  think,  in  a  majority  of  the  important  cases  in  which  his  talents  were 
most  successfully  exerted.  I  know  too  that  my  opinion  is  unbiased,  since,  from  peculiar 
causes,  there  were  no  relations  between  us  beyond  those  of  mere  civility.  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  in  head,  and  in  heart,  and  in  no  vulgar  sense  of  the  term,  was  a  great  man;  and 
as  an  orator  with  the  single  exception  of  Burke,  not  surpassed  by  any  that  his  country 
has  produced.  Superior  in  judgment,  in  taste,  in  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  learning, 
in  argumentative  power,  in  persuasive  skill,  in  chastened  fervor,  and  in  true  pathos,  I  do 
not  say  to  Phillips  (whose  effusions  are  the  scorn  of  every  man  of  sense),  but  to  Curran, 
to  whom,  notwithstanding  his  innumerable  sins  against  good  sense  and  good  taste,  the 
praise  of  eloquence  of  a  very  high  order  cannot  certainly  be  denied.  I  add,  on  reflection, 
and  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  hazard  to  which  I  expose  myself,  superior  to  Grattan, 
if  our  judgment  of  him  must  be  formed  from  his  speeches,  as  published.  The  abilities 
of  Mr.  Emmet  were  never  displayed  on  their  proper  theatre.  His  large  and  philosophic 
views  of  society,  government,  and  law;  his  ample  stores  of  knowledge,  his  unrivalled 
promptitude  and  invariable  self-command;  his  eloquence,  flowing,  copious,  rapid,  unlimited 
in  the  range,  most  fortunate  in  the  choice  of  language ;  his  brilliant  imagination  and 
ardent  feelings,  when  most  excited,  disciplined  to  obey  the  suggestion  of  his  reason,  but 
when  put  forth,  resistless;  and  above  all,  that  imperatorial  tone  (if  the  phrase  be  allowed), 
which  his  superior  genius  enabled  him,  without  affectation,  to  assume,  in  a  deliberative  and 
popular  assembly,  would  have  combined  to  invest  him  with  a  controlling  sway.  Had  his 
country  known  him,  or  had  his  own  political  opinions  taken  a  different  direction,  it  is 
in  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  that  Emmet  would  have  contended  for  the  mastery 
with  Pitt  and  Fox,  Channing  and  Brougham. 

The  lines  now  enclosed  for  publication  will,  at  least,  serve  to  show  what  the  inscription 
on  the  monument  of  Emmet,  in  the  judgment  of  his  friends,  and  I  should  think  of  the 
impartial  public,  ought  to  contain.  They  are  not  offered  to  the  immediate  adoption  of 
the  committee  of  the  bar.  Possibly  they  may  be  unworthy  to  be  received  at  all,  but, 
at  any  rate,  they  are  doubtless  susceptible  of  amendment,  and  may  probably  be  subjected 
with  much  advantage  to  a  process  of  compression.  Some  care  and  labor  have,  however, 
been  bestowed  on  their  composition,  and  they  are  in  fact  the  result  of  repeated  efforts, 
some  of  which  have  passed,  not  unscathed,  through  the  ordeal  of  criticism.  This  is 
mentioned  for  the  sake  of  some  who  may  be  tempted  to  criticise  what  they  will  not  study 
or  can  not  understand,  and  who,  deceived  by  their  usual  helps  of  grammars  and  diction- 
aries, while  condemning  the  ignorance  and  blunders  of  the  writer,  may  find  themselves 
engaged  in  an  unconscious  warfare  with  Virgil  or  Horace,  Cicero  or  Livy. 

To  real  scholars  the  attempt  is  submitted  with  unfeigned  diffidence;  and  their  objec- 
tions and  even  doubts  will  be  listened  to  with  great  respect. 

I  will  only  add,  that  the  inscription  it  is  understood  is  to  be  placed  immediately  below 
the  bust;  and  the  whole  monument,  in  the  room  where  Emmet  fell,  according  to  his  own 
prediction,  "with  his  harness  on  his  back."  U.  S.  F. 

As  the  proposed  changes  to  be  made  in  the  inscription  were  not  accepted 
by  the  committee  they  have  not  been  given. 

The  New  York  "American"  for  August  13th,  1828,  contained  the  following : 

Monument  to  Mr.  Emmet: — It  will  be  seen  by  the  report  of  the  proceeding  of  the 
Common  Council,  that  the  Bowling  Green  is  recommended  as  a  proper  spot  on  which 
to  erect  the  monument,  which  the  countrymen  and  the  descendants  of  the  countrymen 
amongst  us,  of  the  late  Mr.  Emmet  have  subscribed  for. 

The  communication  of  "A  New  Yorker"  which  we  publish  this  evening,  objects  to 
this  appropriation  of  that  piece  of  ground,  and  for,  as  it  appears  to  us,  the  very  decisive 
reason  that  it  should  be  reserved  for  a  memorial  of  some  distinguished  public  event,  or 
public  man  of  our  own  country.    Mr.  Emmet  was  a  private  man,  a  very  eminent  and 


538 


Dimensions  of  Monument 


estimable  one  indeed,  but  still  a  private  man,  and  therefore  not  entitled  to  the  public 
distinction,  contemplated  and  implied  by  such  a  step,  as  that  of  yielding  up  for  a  monu- 
ment to  him  what  a  New  Yorker  justly  calls  "the  finest  site  in  this  city  for  a  public 

monument". 

We  regret  that  the  proposition  has  been  made,  but  having  been,  and  objections,  if 
any,  being  invited,  we  have  felt  it  right  to  say  this  much,  and  must  throw  ourselves  upon 
the  candor  of  our  readers,  that  we  may  not  be  misunderstood. 

We  have  just  received  two  other  communications  on  the  same  subject  as  that  of  "a 
New  Yorker"  and  taking  the  same  objection  to  the  proposed  appropriation  of  the  Bowling 
Green.   This  notice  of  them  will,  we  presume,  be  sufficient. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  American: 

Sir: — It  is  with  some  surprise  as  well  as  regret  I  observe  that  the  Committee  of  the 
Corporation  to  whom  was  referred  the  somewhat  singular  application  of  the  gentlemen 
charged  with  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  late  Mr.  Emmet,  have  reported  in  favor 
of  granting  the  Bowling  Green  for  that  purpose. 

No  man  has  a  higher  respect  for  the  talents  and  amiable  domestic  qualities  of  the 
person  in  question  than  myself,  and  none  is  more  ready  to  do  them  ample  justice.  He  was 
a  great  advocate,  and  an  honest  man,  and  as  such  deserves  the  respect  of  his  native  and 
adopted  country.  But,  I  doubt  his  claims  to  such  a  high  testimony  of  the  public  gratitude, 
as  the  one  recommended  by  the  committee.  General  Hamilton  was  certainly  Mr.  Emmet's 
equal  in  all  respects ;  add  to  which  he  was  a  conspicuous  actor  in  our  revolution,  as  well 
as  in  the  scenes  which  succeeded.  Yet  his  friends  and  admirers  were  content  with  a 
monument  in  Trinity  churchyard,  among  his  fellow  citizens.  The  Bowling  Green  is  the 
finest  site  in  the  city  for  a  public  monument,  it  should  be  consecrated  to  the  memory  of 
some  great  public  event,  or  public  benefactor,  and  not  to  one,  who,  whatever  may  have 
been  his  merit,  is  neither  identified  with  our  history  or  our  fame.  It  is  enough  that  his 
friends  and  countrymen  have  decreed  him  a  monument,  and  it  is  for  them  to  select  a  site 
for  its  erection.  The  Bowling  Green  belongs  to  Washington.  I  know  that  in  these 
wretched  party  times  my  motives  will  be  misrepresented  by  men  who  feel  that  I  am  right, 
but  I  appeal  to  the  sentiment  of  my  fellow-citizens.  A  New  Yorker. 

A  marble  obelisk  brought  from  Vermont  in  a  single  piece,  before  the  days 
of  railroads,  was  in  time  erected  to  Mr.  Emmet's  memory  in  St.  Paul's  church- 
yard, by  a  committee,  of  which  Dr.  Macneven  was  the  chairman.  The  money 
for  this  monument  was  raised  by  subscription  throughout  the  United  States. 
The  monument  is  three  feet  six  inches  square  at  the  base,  lessening  gradually 
upward  to  the  height  of  thirty  feet,  where  it  is  two  feet,  two  inches  square. 
From  thence  it  is  drawn  abruptly  to  a  point  and  forms  a  small  pyramid  at  the 
top.  It  stands  on  a  plinth  of  the  same  material,  almost  an  entire  block,  seven 
feet  square  and  eighteen  inches  deep.  On  the  face  of  the  obelisk,  toward 
Broadway,  near  the  top,  is  a  medallion  likeness  of  Emmet  in  bas-relief,  of 
colossal  size. 

Dr.  Macneven  called  a  public  meeting  and  made  the  following  remarks : 

Among  those  who  first  taught  how  to  overthrow  the  misrule  of  Ireland,  who  exposed 
its  cause  and  prepared  its  cure,  Emmet  is  distinguished.  He  had  great  influence  on  the 
adoption  of  those  measures  which  are  still  at  issue  between  Ireland  and  her  foes,  and 
which,  in  part  obtained,  in  part  withheld,  are  determinative  of  her  future  happiness,  as 
they  shall  finally  fail  or  be  signally  successful.  He  espoused  the  unqualified  emancipation 
of  the  Catholics  when  that  measure  had  but  few  supporters  out  of  their  own  body.  He 
brought  to  that  cause  virtue  and  talents,  and  he  and  a  few  more  influential  members  of 
the  Protestant  Church  redeemed  the  error  of  their  predecessors.    It  is  due  to  their 


Emmet  Monument  Unveiled 


539 


memory  to  record  that  their  vigorous  interference  broke  the  religious  bonds  which  the 
Protestants  of  a  former  period  had  bound.  They  were  accessible  among  the  first  in 
Ireland  to  the  liberality  of  the  age.  Emmet,  with  the  aid  of  his  standing  at  the  bar  and 
of  his  commanding  eloquence,  exerted  upon  every  befitting  occasion,  strenuously  advanced 
those  principles  and  policy  for  which  we  now  do  honor  to  his  name. 

The  New  York  "Courier,"  10th  December,  1832,  published  the  following 
report : 

Emmet's  Monument: — At  12  o'clock,  on  Friday  last,  Dr.  Macneven  made  a  public 
report  to  a  numerous  assembly  at  the  City  Hall,  in  relation  to  the  monument  of  the  late 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  now  nearly  completed,  at  the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul's  church. 
After  a  statement  of  such  particulars  as  were  proper  to  be  exhibited  to  the  contributors 
towards  the  work,  he  embraced  the  occasion  to  give  an  outline  of  Mr.  Emmet's  character 
and  genius,  and  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life,  as  connected  with  the  great  cause  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom  generally,  and  particularly  with  the  history,  principles,  and  objects 
of  the  Society  of  United  Irishmen.  The  enterprise  for  which  that  society  was  organized, 
though  unfortunate  in  its  immediate  results,  and  long  stigmatized  by  the  odious  term  of 
rebellion,  must  take  its  place  in  history,  as  it  already  has  in  the  estimation  of  the  world, 
as  a  struggle  in  one  of  the  holiest  causes  that  ever  animated  the  heart  of  man.  No  one 
living  could  do  greater  justice  to  such  a  theme  than  the  venerable  author  of  this  address, 
who  was  among  their  most  distinguished  leaders,  and  could  say  of  their  doings  and  suf- 
ferings, "Qua  ipse  miserrima  vidi,  et  quorum  pars  magna  fui." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Macneven 's  address  the  monument  was  uncov- 
ered by  him. 

Judge  Wm.  A.  Duer  said : 

It  was  my  fortune  to  have  known  him  [Mr.  Emmet]  from  his  first  arrival  in  this 
city,  and  to  hear  him,  I  think,  in  a  majority  of  the  important  cases  in  which  his  talents 
were  most  successfully  exerted.  I  know  too  that  my  opinion  is  unbiased,  since,  from 
peculiar  causes  there  were  no  relations  between  us  beyond  those  of  mere  civility.  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet,  in  head  and  in  heart  and  in  no  vulgar  sense  of  the  term,  was  a  great  man; 
as  an  orator,  with  the  single  exception  of  Burke,  unsurpassed  by  any  that  his  country 
has  produced.  Superior  in  judgment,  in  taste,  in  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  learning, 
in  argumentative  power,  in  persuasive  skill,  in  chastened  fervor,  in  true  pathos,  the 
abilities  of  Emmet  were  never  displayed  on  their  proper  theatre. 

As  but  a  small  portion  comparatively  of  Emmet's  life  belonged  to  history,  and  as  he 
left  no  writings*  by  which  the  evidence  of  his  extraordinary  genius  and  attainments  would 
be  transmitted  to  future  times,  it  was  the  more  necessary  for  his  reputation,  for  the 
honor  of  his  admirers,  for  truth  and  justice,  that  the  inscription  on  his  monument  should 
be  ample  in  the  delineation  of  his  character,  of  the  qualities  of  his  mind,  the  extent  of 
his  learning  and  the  powers  of  his  eloquence;  and  should  thus  assign  to  him  distinctly 
and  fearlessly  the  rank  to  which  his  compeers  and  judges  thought  him  entitled.  Without 
such  details  there  would  be  no  witness  of  the  estimation  in  which  his  paramount  talents 
were  held  by  his  contemporaries.  Without  them  there  would  be  neither  honoris  signum 
nor  incitamentum  gloria. 

Gulian  C.  Verplanck  was  selected  to  write  the  English  inscription  on  the 
monument,  which  is  as  follows : 

*At  this  period  it  was  unknown  or  had  been  forgotten  how  much  Mr.  Emmet  had  written  in  the  way 
of  historical  material.  This  volume,  it  is  believed,  contains  all  his  writings  that  are  obtainable,  and  these 
are  now  given  to  the  public  for  the  first  time  as  a  whole.  Mr.  Emmet  was  fond  of  contributing  from 
time  to  time  to  the  public  press  on  different  subjects  of  interest  to  him,  with  the  object  of  moulding 
public  opinion,  and  he  always  wrote  anonymously.  The  late  Charles  O'Conor  was  the  writer's 
authority  for  this  information,  which  he  probably  obtained  from  his  father,  who  was  a  very  warm 
friend  qf  Mr.  Emmet,  and  was  connected  with  some  newspaper  in  New  York  for  many  years.  How 
much  of  Mr.  Emmet's  work  in  this  line  has  been  lost  can  never  be  known. 


English  Inscription 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

THOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET, 

WHO 

EXEMPLIFIED  IN  HIS  CONDUCT, 
AND  ADORNED  BY  HIS 
INTEGRITY, 
THE  POLICY  AND  PRINCIPLES 
OF  THE  UNITED  IRISHMEN — 
"TO  FORWARD  A  BROTHERHOOD 
OF  AFFECTION, 
A  COMMUNITY  OF  RIGHTS, 
AN  IDENTITY  OF  INTERESTS, 
AND  A  UNION  OF  POWER 
AMONG  IRISHMEN 
OF  EVERY  RELIGIOUS  PERSUASION, 
AS  THE  ONLY  MEANS  OF  IRELAND'S 
CHIEF  GOOD, 
AN  IMPARTIAL  AND  ADEQUATE 
REPRESENTATION 
IN  AN  IRISH  PARLIAMENT". 
FOR  THIS 
(MYSTERIOUS  FATE  OF  VIRTUE!) 
EXILED  FROM  HIS  NATIVE  LAND. 
IN  AMERICA,  THE  LAND  OF  FREEDOM, 
HE  FOUND  A  SECOND  COUNTRY, 

WHICH  PAID  HIS  LOVE 
BY  REVERENCING  HIS  GENIUS. 

LEARNED  IN  OUR  LAWS, 
AND  IN  THE  LAWS  OF  EUROPE, 
IN  THE  LITERATURE  OF  OUR  TIMES 
AND  IN  THAT  OF  ANTIQUITY 
ALL  KNOWLEDGE 
SEEMED  SUBJECT  TO  HIS  USE. 
AN  ORATOR  OF  THE  FIRST  ORDER, 
CLEAR,  COPIOUS,  FERVID, 
ALIKE  POWERFUL 
TO  KINDLE  THE  IMAGINATION, 
TOUCH  THE  AFFECTIONS, 
AND  SWAY  THE  REASON  AND  THE  WILL. 
SIMPLE  IN  HIS  TASTES, 
UNASSUMING  IN  HIS  MANNERS, 
FRANK,  GENEROUS,  KIND-HEARTED, 

AND  HONORABLE, 
HIS  PRIVATE  LIFE  WAS  BEAUTIFUL 
AS  HIS  PUBLIC  COURSE  WAS 
BRILLIANT. 


ANXIOUS  TO  PERPETUATE 
THE  NAME  AND  EXAMPLE  OF  SUCH  A  MAN, 
ALIKE  ILLUSTRIOUS  BY  HIS 
GENIUS,  HIS  VIRTUES,  AND  HIS  FATE  ] 
CONSECRATED  TO  THEIR  AFFECTIONS 


Latin  Inscription 


BY  HIS  SACRIFICES,  HIS  PERILS, 
AND  THE  DEEPER  CALAMITIES 

OF  HIS  KINDRED, 
IN  A  JUST  AND  HOLY  CAUSE  : 
HIS  SYMPATHIZING  COUNTRYMEN 
ERECTED  THIS  MONUMENT  AND 
CENOTAPH. 

BORN  AT  CORK,  24th  OF  APRIL,  1764. 
HE  DIED  IN  THIS  CITY, 
14TH  NOVEMBER,  1827. 

The  Latin  inscription  was  the  composition  of  Mr.  John  Duer 

m.  s. 

THOMvE  ADDIS  EMMET. 

QUI 

INGENIO  ILLUSTRI,  STUDIIS  ALTIORIBUS 
MORIBUS  INTEGRIS, 
DIGNUM 
SE  PR^STABAT  LAUDIBUS  ILLIS, 
ILLA  REVERENTIA,  ILLO 
AMORE 

QVM  SEMPER  EUM  VIVENTEM 
PROSEQUEBANTUR ; 
ET  SUBITA  ILLO  EREPTO,  MORTE, 
UNIVERSE  IN  LUCTUM  CIVITATIS 
SE  EFFUDERUNT. 
QUUM  RARO  EXTITIT  VIR 
NATUR/EVE  DOTIBUS,  DOCTRIN^EVE  SUBSIDIIS 
OMNIBUS  ILLO  INSTRUCTOR  ; 
TUM  ELOQUENTIA,  ALTA  ILLA  ET  VERA 
QUALEM  OLIM  MIRABANTUR  ROMA 
ANTHEN^QUE, 
PR^CIPUE  ALIOS  ANTEIBAT  : 
GRAVIS,  VARIUS,  VEHEMENS,  FERVIDUS 
OMNES  ANIMI  MOTUS  SIC  REGERE  NOVIT. 
UTI  EOS  QUI  AUDIRENT,  QUO  VELLET 
ET  INVITOS  IMPELLERET. 
HIBERNIA  NATUS, 
DILECTAM  SIBI  PATRIAM  DIU  SUBJECTAM 
ALIENO,  SERV1S  TANTUM  FERENDO,  JUGO, 
AD  LIBERTATEM,  AD  SUA  JURA  VOCARE 
MAGNO  EST  AUSUS  ANIMO  ; 
AT  PR^ECLARA  ET  CONSILIA  ET  VOTA 
FEFELLERE  FATA. 
TUM  INFELICIS  LITTORA  IERN-E 
RELIQUIT, 
SPE,  NON  ANIMO,  DEJECTUS 
NOBILIS  EXSUL  : 
ET  HiEC  AMERICANA  LIBENS  RESPUBLICA 
ILLUM  EXCEPIT,  CIVEMQUE,  SIBI 

GRATULANS  ADSCIVIT ; 
DEIN  HiEC  CIVITAS  ILLI  DOMUS, 


Gaelic  Inscription 

HJEC  patria  fuit, 

HJEC  GLORIAM  ILLI  AUXIT,  HJEC 
SPIRITUS  ULTIMOS 
RECEPIT. 

MjCRENTIUM  civium  voluntas 
hoc  exegit  monumentum. 

Dr.  England,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Charleston,  wrote  the 

DO  MHIANNAICH  SE  ARDMATH 
CUM  TIR  A  BREITH 
DO  THUG  SE  CLU  a's  FUAIR  SE  MOLADH 
AN  DEIG  A  BAIS 

The  translation  of  the  Irish  inscription  is :  He  contemplated  invaluable 
benefits  for  the  land  of  his  birth ;  he  gave  eclat  to  the  land  of  his  death ;  and 
received  in  return  her  love  and  admiration. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  base,  just  above  the  ground,  is  an  inscription 
establishing  the  astronomical  position  of  the  monument  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 


542 


The  Right  Rev. 
Gaelic  inscription : 


A  steady  resolution  to  consume  only  the  manufactures  of  our  o<wn  country,  is  the  sole 
means  of  restoring  bread  and  industry  to  the  poor. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


REPRODUCTION  BY  ANNA  FRANCES  LEVINS 


EMMET  MONUMENT 
St.  Paul's  Churchyard.  New  York 


Emmet  Monument 


Reprint  of  a  small  pamphlet"] 
issued  for  the  occasion  J 


At  a  Meeting  of  the  Subscribers  to  the  Emmet 
Monument,  convened  by  public  advertisement 
at  the  Bowery  House,  the  29th  of  March,  1833, 
Thomas  O'Connor  being  called  to  the  chair,  and 
Michael  Burke  appointed  Secretary,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  accounts  of  William  Mac- 
neven,  Treasurer,  be  now  audited,  and  that  the 
same,  together  with  his  Report,  be  published. 


New  York 
Printed  for  the  Subscribers 
i833 


The  industry  of  man  arises  not  from  the  mere  impulse  of  instinct;  the  industry  of  man 
arises  from  instinct  and  reason,  from  feeling  and  from  experience,  from  a  sense  of 
duty  and  a  love  of  fame. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXVIII 

Report  of  Dr.  Macneven — Verses  by  Mrs.  Lenox-Conyngham — Despard  on  T.  A. 
Emmet. 


E  assemble  to  receive  the  report  of  the  measures  which  have  been 
adopted  for  completing  the  noble  monument  raised  within  view  of 
this  spot.  You  are  all  aware  that  we  had  lately  among  us  a  person 
of  extraordinary  endowments,  one  whom  we  knew  intimately, 
whom  we  loved  affectionately.  Nor  was  it  only  for  his  bland 
manners  and  firmness  in  principle;  his  character  had  also  an  ele- 
vating influence  on  the  fame  of  his  country.  He  ranked  among  the 
highest  of  its  gifted  sons  who  display  its  fertile  genius  and  its 
social  spirit,  who  introduced  the  name  of  Ireland  to  the  respect  of 
the  world.  Commensurate  with  his  value  to  relatives  and  friends, 
and  to  this  his  long  adopted  home,  was  the  appalling  sensation 
that  pervaded  our  city  on  the  sudden  occasion  of  his  lamented  death.  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet  fell  unadmonished  by  previous  illness  in  the  midst  of  his  forensic  achievements, 
in  this  hall,  in  this  field  of  his  renown.  It  happened  not  inaptly  to  the  tenor  of  his 
course,  that  he  began  his  advocation  at  the  bar  of  New  York  as  counsel  for  the  Manu- 
mission Society,  vindicating  the  rights  of  man  in  the  person  of  the  African;  and  that  he 
closed  his  brilliant  career  while  defending  a  most  humane  bequest  to  superannuated  sea- 
men; having  commenced  and  concluded  his  transatlantic  life  in  the  service  of  liberty  and 
charity.* 

Emmet  was  moulded  in  Nature's  happiest  combination  to  fit  him  for  his  destined 
service.  He  possessed  the  physical  qualities  necessary  to  an  accomplished  speaker,  with 
high  intellect  to  master  and  employ  knowledge;  with  imagination  and  feeling  to  sway 
the  passions  and  the  heart,  and  with  the  power  of  incessant  labor  to  collect,  discipline 
and  perfect  the  varied  materials  of  his  argumentative  and  impassioned  oratory.  When  we 
see  a  man  thus  favored  by  natural  talents,  and  thus  accomplished  by  education,  we  behold 
one  of  Nature's  rarest,  finest  works.  It  is  not  surprising  that  his  removal  in  one  unex- 
pected moment  from  his  busy  life's  vocations  to  the  oblivious  silence  of  the  tomb  should 
produce,  as  it  did,  a  general  burst  of  sorrow  and  a  common  sense  of  bereavement.  This 
feeling  speedily  showed  itself  in  a  meeting  of  citizens  convened  by  public  advertisement 
on  the  evening  of  the  21st  of  December,  1827.  It  was  there  resolved  "That  a  subscription 
be  opened  for  erecting  a  monument  to  the  late  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  commemorative  of 
his  virtues  and  genius". 

The  resolution  then  adopted  stands  accomplished  in  the  monument  close  by,  which 


*Mr.  Emmet  volunteered  his  gratuitous  service  to  the  trustees  in  defence  of  Mr.  Randall's  will  and 
probably  but  for  his  long-continued  efforts  the  "Sailors'  Snug  Harbor"  of  Staten  Island  would  never 
have  been  created.  He  died  in  this  special  service;  he  was  stricken  just  after  the  verdict  had  been 
gained,  and  yet,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  ever  been  able  to  ascertain,  this  now  wealthy  corporation  has 
never  shown  their  obligation  to  Mr.  Emmet,  either  by  resolution,  memorial  tablet,  or  any  other  ac- 
knowledgment.   It  is  supposed  that  it  was  not  even  represented  at  Mr.  Emmet's  funeral. 

543 


Doctor  Macneven's  Speech 


will  evermore  throw  a  melancholy  grandeur  on  the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul's  church.*  It  is 
a  marble  monolith  of  thirty  feet  elevation.  It  is  inscribed  on  three  sides  and  in  three 
languages.  That  part  of  the  English  inscription  beginning  with  the  words  "In 
America,"  and  ending  with  the  word  "Brilliant,"  was  written  by  Gulian  C.  Ver- 
planck,  a  representative  from  this  city  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  The  entire 
Latin  inscription  is  from  the  classic  pen  of  John  Duer,  counsellor  of  law;  and  the  few 
lines  of  Irish  were  furnished  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  England,  Bishop  of  Charleston.  These 
compositions,  so  chaste  and  beautiful  were  spontaneously  offered  by  gentlemen  not  inti- 
mately connected  in  friendship  with  the  deceased,  nor  liable  to  the  bad  taste  of  flattery; 
but  being  superior  themselves  in  genius  and  learning,  they  freely  gave  to  merit  the 
generous  applause  which  it  is  most  rare  of  receiving  from  kindred  desert. 

In  the  first  moment  of  enthusiasm,  the  subscription  was  injudiciously  limited  to  a 
small  sum  for  each  subscriber,  but  as  the  idea  of  a  more  noble  work  soon  suggested  itself 
to  persons  of  taste,  it  was  seen  that  more  ample  means  than  the  first  contributions  would 
be  necessary.  At  this  juncture  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  the  subscription  by  friends 
and  clients  of  the  deceased,  and  by  public-spirited  individuals  who  wished  to  encourage 
the  adoption  of  the  present  beautiful  and  costly  obelisk. 

While  inquiries  were  being  made  for  estimates  and  suitable  material,  news  arrived 
of  the  so-called  Catholic  Relief  Bill  having  passed  the  British  Parliament  with  spiteful 
prohibition  against  receiving  any  more  Catholic  rent  under  pain  of  forfeiture  to  the  crown. 
On  all  this  being  known  to  us  here,  the  Friends  of  Ireland  dissolved  their  association  and 
turned  over  to  the  monument  fund  the  sum  then  remaining  in  the  hands  of  their  treasurer. 

Mr.  Sampson,  who  moved  for  this  appropriation,  observed  that  "while  we  rejoiced 
in  the  triumph  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  paid  due  honours  to  the  living  patriots, 
it  might  be  well  to  remember  those  who  are  no  more.  In  doing  so  we  should  act  worthily, 
and  give  to  those  who  may  have  to  sustain  at  some  future  day,  the  same  great  cause  at 
the  peril  of  life  and  liberty,  in  defiance  of  the  tyrant's  vengeance,  to  feel  and  hope  that 
though  their  sufferings  may  be  great,  yet  that  they  will  not  be  forgotten ;  that  at  the  hour 
of  death,  or  in  the  dungeon's  silent  gloom,  when  no  friendly  voice  can  reach  their  ears, 
no  friendly  step  approach  them,  no  other  consolation  than  the  proud  consciousness  of 
virtue  bear  them  up ;  yet  that  if  they  live  and  die  faithful,  uncorrupted  and  unsubdued 
they  will  not  be  left  forgotten  in  a  neglected  grave.  It  may  be  difficult,"  continued  the 
eloquent  speaker,  "where  multitudes  have  devoted  themselves  with  equal  magnanimity,  to 
distinguish  or  select,  but  sometimes  occasions  will  present  themselves  when  the  honoring 
of  one  is  the  honoring  of  all,  and  where  for  the  sake  of  all,  the  opportunity  should  not 
be  lost". 

The  net  sum  in  the  treasurer's  hands  was  one  thousand  and  six  dollars  and  sixty-six 
cents;  the  Friends  of  Ireland  in  Brooklyn  added  to  it  all  that  accrued  with  them  since 
the  last  payment  of  rent,  twenty  dollars;  the  Friends  of  Ireland  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  sent  one  hundred  dollars,  and  those  in  Savannah  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  to  aid  the  same  patriotic  purpose. 

All  felt  that  these  moneys  originally  raised  to  subserve  religious  liberty  in  Ireland, 
though  they  could  not  any  longer  be  applied  to  that  particular  object,  remained  neverthe- 
less appropriated  to  the  cause  of  Ireland,  and  would  now  be  well  employed  in  doing 
honour  to  the  enlightened  policy  of  the  United  Irishmen,  and  to  the  national  character 
abroad.  So  conspicuous  a  memorial  of  what  this  is  capable  of  exhibiting  in  its  best  form, 
is  what  no  Irishman  can  behold  without  emulation,  and  no  American  can  look  on  without 
respect. 

Those  who  would  lightly  asperse  the  Irish,  or  without  due  allowance  for  their  un- 
happy position  at  home,  would  exaggerate  their  faults,  we  will  beckon  to  this  monument, 
and  it  will  disarm  their  censure,  perchance  it  will  touch  their  hearts  for  a  noble  people, 

*As  part  of  the  history  of  the  Emmet  monument  the  writer  will  place  on  record  that  the  first  site 
selected  by  the  committee  was  Bowling  Green  at  the  foot  of  Broadway,  where  before  the  Revolution 
the  equestrian  statue  of  George  III  stood,  which  was  melted  to  obtain  bullets  needed  for  the  defence 
of  New  York.    What  prompted  the  change  to  St.  Paul's  church-yard  is  given  elsewhere. 


Catholic  Disabilities  Reviewed 


545 


suffering  long  adversity,  without  debasement,  and  who  never  in  all  their  thraldom  had  the 
meanness  to  be  reconciled  to  their  oppressions. 

This  affecting  memorial  will  also  bestow  on  our  countrymen  a  universal  education; 
the  rapid  education  of  example,  the  happy  inspiration  of  what  is  just,  noble  and  beautiful 
in  morals  and  conduct,  which  transforms  the  character  at  a  glance,  and  which,  like  divine 
grace,  received  in  an  instant,  purifies  the  affections  and  actions  forever.  Of  the  thousands 
upon  thousands  who  have  emigrated,  and  who  will  emigrate,  to  this  blessed  land,  how 
many,  under  the  pressure  of  English  misrule,  have  lost  the  advantage  of  a  good  education? 
We  see  the  finest  materials  in  the  world,  the  best  heads  and  the  best  hearts  running  to 
wild  and  unprofitable  luxuriance,  like  our  own  rich  prairies  of  the  West,  for  want  of 
due  cultivation.  I  wish,  for  the  love  I  bear  my  native  country,  that  her  sons  would 
venerate  the  genius  of  their  ancient  land,  and  that  keeping  ever  present  in  their  thoughts 
the  noble  instances  it  affords  of  talent,  probity  and  honour,  they  would  so  revere  themselves 
as  never  to  swerve  from  the  dignity  of  their  origin.  It  is  not  to  our  commemorated 
countryman  alone  that  this  monument  is  devoted ;  it  is  not  his  excellence  alone  that  it 
records,  but  it  turns  the  mind  back  in  melancholy  contemplation  upon  those  national 
virtues  which  he  eminently  exhibited;  a  love  of  liberty  for  all  Irishmen,  a  love  of  inde- 
pendence for  all  Ireland,  that  neither  time  nor  exile  could  diminish,  that  violence  could 
not  intimidate,  and  disaster  could  not  subdue. 

It  is  the  historical  fate  of  patriotism,  when  exerted  in  advance  of  general  intelligence 
to  attract  the  vengeance  of  alarmed  power,  while  it  receives  only  the  timid  assent  of 
hesitating  friends.  Persecuted  on  one  side,  unsustained  on  the  other,  the  monumental 
fame  of  genius  alone  survives,  and  like  the  splendid  ruins  in  the  Palmyrene  desert,  gains 
a  solemn  sublimity  from  the  surrounding  desolation.  Must  prudence  then  hold  patriotism 
back  until  all  are  duly  prepared  for  the  exercise  of  their  rights?  Until  they  learn  with- 
out a  preceptor  to  remedy  their  wrongs,  and  to  use  their  strength  with  advantage,  unaided 
by  the  counsel  or  guidance  of  a  friend?  Tyranny  would  never  blush  at  redress  so  long 
deferred,  which  no  man  could  hope  to  see  in  his  own  day.  For  all  good  works  there 
must  be  found  fortitude  to  begin,  and  the  messenger  of  truth  has  to  preach  the  way  of 
salvation  though  martyrdom  were  in  its  train.  It  was  not  to  remain  forever  unemployed 
that  the  defensive  feeling  which  surges  against  oppression  was  planted  by  Providence  in 
the  human  heart.  We  are  the  instruments  in  its  hands  for  purposes  we  do  not  see ;  but 
this  much  we  know :  that  when  it  permitted  the  tyrant  it  ordained  the  patriot,  and  that 
the  antagonistic  powers  which  preserved  the  health  and  sympathy  of  our  physical  frame 
are  repeated  in  our  intellectual  nature,  and  given  to  repress  the  growth  of  moral  evil. 
Whether  we  fall  on  severe  or  stormy  days  imports  everything  to  our  individual  happiness ; 
but  even  in  our  sufferings  we  may  be  establishing  the  right  of  our  country. 

Forty  summers  have  closed  around  the  United  Irishmen  since  they  made  Catholic 
Emancipation  and  parliamentary  reform  the  leading  measures  of  their  policy.  They 
found  all  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  the  great  majority  of  its  population,  reduced  by  the 
operation  of  the  ferocious  penal  laws  to  the  condition  of  slaves,  in  all  things  but  being 
vendible,  to  the  very  meanest  of  their  Protestant  countrymen.  Not  only  did  the  British 
Government  embrace  every  severity  that  could  waste  the  vigour  of  the  nation,  but  all 
the  rights  of  humanity  and  every  duty  of  life  were  sacrificed  to  its  direction  or  convenience, 
so  this  would  promote  the  self-interest  or  gratify  the  rancour  of  the  favored  party. 

There  was  a  law  of  discovery  by  which  a  man  who  betrayed  the  confidence  of  his 
friend  if  he  was  a  Catholic,  possessed  himself  of  that  friend's  estate.  There  was  a  law 
which  disabled  the  Catholic  father  to  be  guardian  to  his  own  child,  or  to  educate  him. 
There  was  a  law  which  made  the  disobedience  and  apostasy  of  the  Catholic  child  the 
means  whereby  to  disinherit  his  father.  There  was  a  law  for  robbing  a  Catholic  of  his 
horse  on  the  highway,  if  when  interrogated  he  confessed  his  faith.  There  was  a  law 
to  prevent  the  education  of  Catholic  children,  and  to  punish  Catholic  teachers  as  convicts, 
to  banish  the  Catholic  clergy,  and  to  hang  them  if  they  returned.  To  prevent  Catholics 
from  purchasing  or  inheriting  landed  estates.    From  having  arms  for  their  defence.  To 


546 


Oath  of  the  United  Irishmen 


debar  them  from  the  profession  of  the  law.  To  prevent  them  from  holding  any  office 
of  trust,  honour,  or  emolument,  voting  at  elections,  or  sitting  in  parliament. 

The  United  Irishmen  found  their  country  under  the  government  of  these  laws,  and 
of  perhaps  a  hundred  more,  all  conceived  in  the  same  spirit,  and  all  elaborated  with  con- 
summate skill  to  rob,  harass,  and  insult  a  defenseless  people.  These  statutes,  without 
parallel,  for  their  inhumanity,  were  framed  against  Christians,  under  pretence  of  securing 
the  Protestant  religion.  They  were  enacted  by  Irish  Protestants,  political  Protestants, 
than  whom  no  sect  has  cried  more  loudly  against  persecution  when  Protestants  were 
the  martyrs.  For  all  this  the  Protestant  religion  is  not  persecuting  in  its  nature.  When 
true  to  its  origin  it  is  necessarily  tolerant  and  acts  against  its  proper  spirit  whenever  it 
coerces  conscience,  or  compels  uniformity  of  worship  through  means  of  disabilities,  or  sub- 
scription to  its'articles  of  faith  by  force  of  the  secular  arm.  What  indeed,  would  be  more 
inconsistent  than  to  profess  the  right  of  every  man  to  judge  of  Scripture  for  himself,  and 
then  to  punish  him  for  having  done  so?  The  crimes  of  the  dominant  party  are  not  justly 
chargeable  upon  the  Protestant  religion,  though  committed  in  its  name.  They  were 
bitterly  deplored  by  the  United  Irishmen  of  all  religions,  and  by  none  more  than  the 
patriot  whom  we  commemorate;  himself  a  member  of  the  Established  Church,  but  no 
abetter  of  its  injustice. 

Through  all  this  long  persecution  the  conduct  of  England  wore  a  visor  of  hypocrisy. 
It  was  not  the  conversion  of  the  Irish  it  desired,  but  their  spoliation,  division  and  sub- 
jection. If  united  in  religion,  they  might  unite  for  their  worldly  interests,  and  a  means 
of  weakening  them  by  dissension  would  be  lost.  The  English  mission  never  had  the  merit 
of  even  being  honestly  fanatical,  it  was  coldblooded  and  crafty.  Its  conduct  was  not 
feebly  palliated  by  the  mistaken  sincerity  of  blind  zeal,  which  time  might  soften  and 
philosophy  assuage.  It  had  the  more  terrestrial  motives  of  insatiable  rapacity,  the 
appetite  for  plunder  and  the  desire  of  fattening  on  the  green  pastures  of  Ireland.  This 
is  the  eating  canker  which  neither  time  nor  reason  ever  curbs  and  which  is  now  as  de- 
vouring as  in  the  beginning. 

After  the  laws  had  disfranchised  four-fifths  of  the  population,  all  the  emoluments 
of  office,  all  the  wealth  of  the  richest  church  in  the  world,  all  the  distinctions  of  power, 
all  the  pomp,  circumstances,  and  advantages  of  dominion  fell  into  the  lap  of  the  favoured 
few.  These  men  never  sought  the  conversion  of  their  helots  by  any  means  that  ever  made 
proselytes  to  any  cause. 

The  domestic  spoliation  of  the  Catholics  was  the  share  of  the  Irish  Protestants  in 
this  wholesale  robbery.  The  spoliation  of  the  Irish  nation  was  the  part  of  England  in  the 
boundless  plunder;  she  took  the  whole  trade,  prosperity  and  independence  of  Ireland, 
which  the  Irish  Protestants  fully  surrendered  for  the  license  of  pillage  and  tyrannizing 
at  home.  These  wrongs  inflicted  and  endured  begot  mutual  hatred  and  frequent  collision, 
and  will  account  for  the  little  union  among  Irishmen  and  the  ferocity  of  character  to  be 
found  in  those  districts  where  the  adverse  parties  came  oftenest  into  conflict. 

The  barter  of  a  nation's  rights  for  the  lucre  of  a  faction  is  what  was  called  the 
Protestant  ascendancy  in  church  and  State.  It  was  also  called  the  Blitish  constitution. 
Against  that  impious  combination  of  treachery  within  and  tyranny  from  without,  the 
United  Irishmen  pointed  their  oath  to  union — "To  forward  a  brotherhood  of  affection,  a 
community  of  rights,  an  identity  of  interests,  and  a  union  of  power  among  Irishmen  of 
every  religious  persuasion" ;  it  was  this  oath,  embracing  the  precept  of  "Love  one 
another",  that  the  British  Government  prosecuted  as  a  felony  of  death,  and  for  which 
it  sent  frequent  victims  to  the  scaffold.  It  was  made  treason  by  that  Government  for 
Irishmen  to  love  one  another,  to  bury  religious  feuds  in  charity,  and  to  promote  as 
brothers  the  welfare  of  their  native  land. 

Emmet  did  not  live  to  behold  the  triumph  of  the  Catholic  cause,  that  happy  accom- 
plishment of  one  of  the  great  measures  to  which  he  devoted  fortune  and  life.  It  was  in 
1829  that  various  circumstances,  domestic  and  foreign,  among  which  the  threatened  aspect 
of  the  Catholics,  their  perfect  union,  improved  knowledge  and  the  publicity  given  to  their 


Tone  and  Catholic  Emancipation 


case  throughout  the  civilized  world,  with  the  strong  sympathy  of  America  in  their  behalf, 
induced  that  Irish  Government  to  compel  the  church  party  in  Ireland  to  relinquish  its 
ascendancy  over  them,  rather  than  risk  the  loss  of  its  own  dominion  over  the  Irish  nation. 

But  the  subjection  of  conscience  to  those  cruel  inflictions  was  itself  only  incidental 
to  a  greater  evil,  and  this  one  the  United  Irishmen  aimed  above  all  things  to  remove.  It 
was  the  root  of  every  other  calamity,  and  until  corrected  no  good  could  be  permanent,  no 
security  could  be  lasting,  improvement  was  hardly  possible.  This  master  grievance  was 
partly  the  want,  partly  the  perversion  of  a  national  representation.  In  the  parliament  of 
a  people  adequately  represented,  its  interests  are  prosecuted  with  its  consent  and  con- 
fidence. A  knowledge  of  all  the  ameliorations  in  government,  in  the  science  of  politics, 
in  commerce,  arts,  trades,  and  manufactures,  in  everything  that  affects  a  nation's  welfare, 
is  concentrated  there  with  the  power  of  applying  it  to  the  public  good.  The  discordancy 
and  the  tumultuous  impulse  are  there  harmonized  into  peace  and  order,  and  commotion 
and  rebellion  are  unknown  where  voters  are  competent  to  decide  instead  of  swords.  It 
was  this  fruitful  blessing  which  the  United  Irishmen  sought  first  of  all  to  obtain  for  their 
country. 

Down  to  the  period  of  1782,  English  Acts  of  Parliament  were  suffered  to  bind 
Ireland.  Misgovernment  and  poverty,  the  neglect  of  agriculture,  the  prohibition  of  com- 
merce, the  abandonment  of  manufactures  were,  during  that  period,  the  portion  of  Ire- 
land. But  toward  the  end  of  the  American  war  the  Volunteers  emancipated  their  country 
from  this  bondage,  and  gave  it  the  means  of  being  independent.  The  example  of  America 
was  before  both  parties  with  all  its  omens;  hence  the  demands  of  the  Volunteers  were 
prudentially  conceded,  and  the  glorious  revolution  of  1782  was  accomplished  without  the 
loss  of  a  drop  of  blood.  The  happy  consequence  was  the  immediate  liberation  of  the 
commerce  of  Ireland  from  English  restrictions.  Her  ensuing  prosperity  seemed  miracu- 
lous— so  prompt,  so  general,  so  enriching;  and  her  aptitude  to  prosper  by  a  free  trade 
became  known  at  the  same  time  to  her  rival  and  herself. 

But  the  Volunteers  could  not  be  always  in  arms,  and  Ireland  had  no  representative 
assembly  to  foster  her  prosperity  during  peace.  Hers  was,  alas !  a  borough-parliament, 
composed  solely  of  the  dominant  faction,  representing  but  a  small  portion  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  not  feeling  as  the  nation,  nor  as  the  majority.  Every  one  perceived  that 
all  measures  for  relief  would  be  insecure,  nay  illusory,  unless  preceded  or  accompanied 
by  a  reform  in  this  parliament.  The  Volunteers  saw  it  and  endeavored  to  reform,  but 
they  excluded  the  Catholics  from  parliament,  and  did  not  see  (unhappy  effects  of  the 
ignorance  of  the  times!)  that  this  alone  would  defeat  their  plan,  that  they  could  not 
erect  an  edifice  of  freedom  on  a  foundation  of  monopoly.  Warned  by  these  errors,  the 
United  Irishmen  altered  the  system  of  reform  fundamentally.  They  extended  their  base, 
and  established  their  plan  upon  three  simple  principles  necessarily  dependent  on  each 
other,  and  containing  the  disease,  the  remedy,  and  the  mode  of  its  attainment*  The 
excess  of  English  influence  was  the  disease,  a  reform  in  parliament  the  remedy,  and  the 
inclusion  of  the  Catholics  the  mode  of  its  attainment. 

Theobald  Wolfe  Tone  had  of  all  others  the  greatest  part  in  effecting,  in  the  be- 
ginning, this  change  of  sentiment  among  the  Protestants,  to  whose  communion  he  be- 
longed. He  wrote  the  original  declaration  for  the  first  society  of  United  Irishmen  of 
Belfast,  and  his  powerful  writing  brought  the  Presbyterians  of  the  north  very  generally 
into  the  system.  I  was  among  the  earliest  of  the  Catholics  who  joined  in  Dublin,  and 
there  I  first  knew  Emmet,  and  there  I  often  heard  him  in  strains  of  pure  and  forcible 
eloquence  expand,  inculcate,  and  apply,  for  the  benefit  of  his  beloved  country,  the  political 
principles  of  the  United  Irishmen. 

Wherever  men  had  no  means  of  legitimate  redress,  we  have  seen  them  become  their 
own  avengers,  the  worst  government  being  always  marked  by  the  greatest  commotions.  If 
there  be  not  an  impartial  administration  of  justice,  the  stiletto  takes  the  place  of  jury, 
and  for  want  of  government  restricted  and  accountable  in  Ireland,  insurrection  and  civil 


•"Life  of  Tone",  Vol.  I,  p.  492. 


548  No  Effort  to  Secure  Loyalty 


war  were  the  resource  of  an  exasperated  people.  Left  without  the  protection  of  a 
national  parliament,  Ireland  was  always  tyrannically  ruled,  the  frame  of  society  dislocated 
and  broken,  and  her  numerous  insurrections  were  the  throes  of  an  agonized  nation. 

But  from  the  moment  Protestant  reformers  recognized  the  principle  that  no  reform 
was  practicable,  efficacious,  or  just,  which  should  not  equally  include  Irishmen  of  every 
religious  persuasion,  the  measure  was  feasible.  It  received  the  assent  of  the  whole 
nation,  save  only  the  Established  Church  and  the  other  dependents  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment. Its  principle  recommended  itself  to  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  and  the 
authority  of  America  proclaimed  its  benefits. 

In  a  short  time  its  way  was  so  far  prepared  by  public  opinion  that  even  its  interested 
opponents  anticipated  its  final  success.  They  determined,  therefore,  upon  the  desperate 
expedient  of  leaving  no  parliament  in  Ireland  for  reform  to  better.  They  hastened  to 
buy  from  the  borough-holders  that  which  a  truly  Irish  parliament  would  not  sell;  its 
own  existence,  and  the  nation's  independence.  They  hoped  to  extinguish  in  the  abolition 
of  the  parliament  every  chance  and  effort  to  peaceful  and  constitutional  improvement. 
They  conspired  to  transport  it  for  life,  mutilated  and  captive,  into  the  British  House;  to 
imprison  it  beyond  the  sea,  in  the  abyss  of  English  supremacy,  where  its  languishing, 
nerveless  remains,  doomed  to  live  in  a  perpetual  minority  could  nevermore  bring  to  its 
ill-fated  country  the  blessings  of  liberty,  good  government,  or  commerce. 

By  the  measure  of  a  legislative  union,  Ireland  reverts  again  to  the  same  wretched 
state  as  when  bound  by  acts  of  the  English  parliament.  On  the  misery  of  that  state  the 
ablest  men  who  ever  advocated  her  course,  even  other  than  United  Irishmen,  have  ex- 
hausted eloquence  and  invective,  and  the  brightest  page  in  her  history  is  the  one  which 
records  the  extorted  renunciation  of  that  usurped  power,  and  her  plenary  right  of  self- 
government.  The  pitiful  representation  of  Ireland  in  a  foreign  land  can  but  little  avail 
her  for  her  own  benefit.  She  is  there  in  a  minority  of  one  to  six.  The  six  give  the  law 
to  the  one,  and  with  that  one  they  have  nothing  in  common.  They  have  other  constituents 
who  are  a  different  people,  who  have  clashing  interests,  who  have  national  antipathies, 
and  who  may  well  feel  contempt  for  the  substitute  of  that  parliament  that  traitorously 
sold  its  country.   Such  are  the  legislators  who  now  bind  Ireland  in  iron  fetters. 

The  consequences  are  the  same  as  before;  discontent  and  remonstrance,  and  a  proc- 
lamation to  all  Europe,  showing  how  easy  it  would  be  to  dismember  the  United  King- 
dom. No  loyalty  will  reconcile  rational  beings  to  preserve  an  evil  which  they  can 
exchange  for  good ;  so  that  they  who  make  Ireland  poor  and  enslaved  set  before  her 
above  all  other  men  the  advantages  of  separation.  What  can  create  a  desire  for  this 
remedy  but  ill-treatment?  and  as  long  as  this  treatment  lasts,  how  shall  that  desire  dis- 
continue? They  stand  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  and  will  forever  go  on,  or  cease 
together. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Emmet  that  the  legislative  union  was  a  measure  more  suited 
to  facilitate  the  despotism  of  the  ministry  than  to  strengthen  the  dominion  of  England. 
Since  the  abuse  of  power  has  ever  followed  its  excess,  no  less  in  nations  than  individuals, 
a  restraint  upon  human  actions  is  salutary  for  all  parties,  and  the  impediment  that  shall 
stop  the  career  of  ministerial  tyranny  will  be  found  to  work  best  for  the  stability  of  the 
connection.  If  this  operate  to  the  good  of  Ireland,  she  will  observe  it  for  its  utility,  an 
Irish  parliament  being  then  its  best  preservative.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  be  made,  as  at 
present,  to  sacrifice  the  many  to  the  few,  it  will  be  viewed  as  a  curse  by  the  Irish  people, 
who  have  in  all  cases  most  power  and,  in  this,  will  have  least  reason  to  sustain  it. 

It  presents,  we  see,  these  reasons  why  they  deny  a  parliament  to  Ireland  on  which  to 
rest  her  peace  and  happiness,  self-poised  and  self-protected;  we  see  them  sedulous  to 
change  the  state  of  the  question,  and  to  misrepresent  the  repeal  of  the  legislative  union 
as  a  schism  in  the  government.  They  would  limit  us  entirely  to  England  for  benefits — 
whence  then  have  come  our  wrongs?  An  Irish  parliament,  on  the  contrary,  would  be  a 
bond  of  liberal  connection;  it  would  settle  every  question  of  domestic  policy  at  home, 
prevent  strife  and  recrimination  between  both  countries,  secure  to  the  affairs  of  Ireland 
a  degree  of  attention  which,  however  necessary,  they  do  not  and  cannot  obtain  among  the 


Irish  Tribute  to  Emmet 


549 


weighty  concerns  of  a  different  people,  in  a  foreign  legislature.  It  would  remove  the  old, 
opprobrious  evil  of  legislation  without  representation;  for  wherever  this  is  partial  and 
foreign,  it  is  inadequate;  as  relates  to  Ireland,  it  is  worthless  mockery.  Why  was  a 
borough-constituency  vicious,  but  because  it  sent  men  to  make  laws  for  the  people  who 
did  not  represent  the  people,  who  were  returned  by  a  different  body,  and  intent  only 
upon  serving  themselves  and  their  employers.  In  the  same  way  the  parliament  is  vicious 
which  makes  laws  to  rule  Ireland  by  men  not  chosen  by  Ireland,  who  do  not  represent 
her  people,  who  do  not  know  her  wants  or  wishes,  and  who  must  be  often  biased  by  an 
adverse  interest. 

The  attributes  of  genius  are  not  rare  among  the  Irish  and  American  countrymen  of 
Emmet,  and  time  here  is  constantly  developing  the  resources  of  mind.  The  labours  of  in- 
tellect press  onward  for  distinction,  while  names  of  high  endowment  are  forced  back  to 
make  room  for  new  reputations.  They  alone  will  be  long  remembered  who  have  acted 
with  an  impulsive  power  on  the  destinies  of  their  country  and  kind.  Among  those  who 
first  taught  how  to  overthrow  the  misrule  of  Ireland,  who  exposed  its  cause  and  prepared 
its  cure,  Emmet  is  distinguished.  He  had  great  influence  on  the  adoption  of  those 
measures  which  are  still  at  issue  between  Ireland  and  her  foes,  and  which,  in  part  obtained, 
in  part  withheld,  are  determinative  of  her  future  happiness,  as  they  shall  finally  fail  or 
be  signally  successful.  He  espoused  the  unqualified  emancipation  of  the  Catholics,  when 
that  measure  had  few  supporters  out  of  their  own  body.  He  brought  to  that  cause  virtue 
and  talents,  and  he  and  a  few  more  influential  members  of  the  Protestant  church  redeemed 
the  error  of  their  predecessors.  It  is  due  to  their  memory  to  record  that  their  vigorous 
interference  broke  the  religious  bonds  which  the  Protestants  of  a  former  period  had 
bound.  They  were  accessible  among  the  first  in  Ireland  to  the  liberality  of  the  age. 
Emmet,  with  the  aid  of  his  standing  at  the  bar,  and  of  his  commanding  eloquence,  exerted 
upon  every  befitting  occasion,  strenuously  advanced  these  principles  and  policy  for  which 
we  now  do  honour  to  his  name.  The  adversaries  of  Ireland's  freedom  laboured  to  calumni- 
ate her  best  friends,  and  to  hold  up  the  United  Irishmen  especially  as  wanton  rebels,  as 
if  indeed  there  had  been  any  lawful  authority  in  the  way.  We  hold  them  up  in  their 
deeds  as  benefactors  to  their  country,  as  opposed  to  religious  persecution,  and  the  tyran- 
nical rule  of  a  foreign  government.  Let  their  solemn  oath,  for  which  they  suffered  exile 
and  death  and  the  martyrdom  of  calumny  upon  their  fame,  decide  between  them  and  their 
enemies.  It  stands  emblazoned  before  the  world  upon  that  pillar,  from  which  the  hand 
of  rancorous  power  cannot  erase  its  purport,  where  malice  cannot  belie  its  truth,  where 
the  sons  of  Erin  may  ever  read  the  principles  and  policy  that  point  their  way  to  freedom. 

By  this  monument  the  countrymen  of  Emmet,  sympathizing  in  his  personal  and  family 
misfortunes  incurred  for  the  liberty  of  Ireland,  and  being  justly  proud  of  his  character 
and  genius,  determined  to  give  them  a  more  lasting  tribute  than  sighs  and  tears  could 
be  expected  to  afford.  Fortunately  for  his  fame,  the  delineation  of  his  character  was  given 
by  members  of  his  own  enlightened  profession,  with  whom  he  lived  in  daily  intercourse 
for  twenty-seven  years.  They  were  too  liberal  to  lessen,  too  discriminating  to  exaggerate 
his  qualifications;  their  testimony  is  as  impartial  as  it  is  favourable,  and  I  adopt  it  as 
the  surest  mode  of  fulfilling,  according  to  my  desire,  the  pious  offices  of  patriotism  and 
friendship. 

It  was  justly  observed  by  an  eminent  member  of  our  bar  "that  as  but  a  small  portion, 
comparatively,  of  Emmet's  life  belonged  to  history,  and  as  he  left  no  writings  by  which 
the  evidence  of  his  extraordinary  genius  and  attainments  would  be  transmitted  to  future 
times,  it  was  the  more  necessary  for  his  reputation,  for  the  honour  of  his  admirers,  for 
truth  and  justice,  that  the  inscription  on  his  monument  should  be  ample  in  the  delineation 
of  his  character,  of  the  qualities  of  his  mind,  the  extent  of  his  learning,  and  the  powers 
of  his  eloquence;  and  should  thus  assign  to  him,  distinctly,  fearlessly,  the  rank  to  which 
his  compeers  and  judges  thought  him  entitled.  Without  such  details  there  would  be  no 
witness  of  the  estimation  in  which  his  paramount  talents  were  held  by  his  contemporaries. 
Without  them  there  would  be  neither  'honoris  signum'  nor  'incitamentum  gloria'."  "It 
was  my  fortune,"  continues  Mr.  Duer,  "to  know  him  from  his  first  arrival  in  this  city, 


550 


Tributes  of  the  Bar 


and  to  hear  him,  I  think,  in  a  majority  of  the  important  cases  in  which  his  talents  were 
most  successfully  exerted.  I  know  too  that  my  opinion  is  unbiased,  since  from  peculiar 
causes,  there  were  no  relations  between  us  beyond  those  of  mere  civility.  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  in  head  and  in  heart,  and  in  no  vulgar  sense  of  the  term,  was  a  great  man ;  and 
as  an  orator,  with  the  single  exception  of  Burke,  unsurpassed  by  any  that  his  country 
has  produced.  Superior  in  judgment,  in  taste,  in  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  learning, 
in  argumentative  power,  in  persuasive  skill,  in  chastened  fervor,  in  true  pathos;  the 
abilities  of  Emmet  were  never  displayed  in  their  proper  theatre.  His  large  and  philosophic 
views  of  society,  government  and  law;  his  ample  stores  of  knowledge;  his  unrivalled 
promptitude  and  invariable  self-command,  his  elocution,  flowing,  copious,  rapid,  unlimited 
in  range,  most  fortunate  in  the  choice  of  his  language ;  his  brilliant  imagination  and  ardent 
feelings  when  most  excited,  disciplined  to  obey  the  suggestion  of  his  reason,  his  powers 
of  sarcasm  and  irony,  rarely  exerted,  but  when  put  forth,  resistless ;  and  above  all,  that 
imperiatorial  tone  (if  the  phrase  be  allowed)  which  his  superior  genius  enabled  him, 
without  affectation,  to  assume,  in  a  deliberative  and  popular  assembly,  would  have  combined 
to  invest  him  with  controlling  sway". 

"The  amenity  of  his  manners",  as  it  was  said  by  another  member  of  the  bar,  Mr. 
Charles  Patterson,  "the  urbanity  of  his  deportment,  the  excellence  of  his  heart,  and  his 
kindness  to  the  younger  members  of  the  profession,  all  rendered  him  a  model  for  imita- 
tion, and  are  forever  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  those  with  whom  he  was  associated.  Of 
that  bar  he  might  well  be  called  the  father  'Et  Decus  et  Tutamen.'  He  devoted  his  whole 
soul  to  his  profession,  midnight  vigils  too  often  followed  the  severe  labours  of  the  forum, 
and  no  client  ever  complained  that  the  merits  of  his  case  had  not  been  perceived  and  sus- 
tained. His  knowledge  was  profound,  his  researches  to  his  last  moment  unremitting. 
He  possessed  a  mind  of  extraordinary  comprehension,  and  the  strongest  and  most  ex- 
tensive powers  of.  analysis,  he  enjoyed  the  secret  of  identifying  himself  with  his  case, 
and  adding  a  sort  of  personal  interest  to  his  professional  obligation.  Endowed  with  a 
brilliant  imagination,  fortified  with  accurate  and  discriminating  views  of  English  history, 
enriched  with  all  the  fruits  of  various  knowledge,  and  blessed  with  a  noble  enthusiasm,  he 
appeared  before  the  bar  the  very  model  of  a  learned,  accomplished  and  eloquent  lawyer." 

Here  follows  the  inscription  on  the  monument  which  has  already  been  given. 

At  the  public  meeting  which  convened  on  the  21st  of  December,  Dr.  George  Cumming* 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  on  that  and  every  subsequent  occasion  while  he  [Dr.  Cum- 
ming] lived,  his  zealous  services  were  not  wanting  to  promote  our  common  object.  They 
were  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  his  sincere  attachment  to  his  deceased 
friend,  and  to  the  honour  and  cause  of  the  United  Irishmen.  After  some  progress  had  been 
made  in  the  collection  of  subscriptions,  a  plan  was  submitted  to  a  public  meeting  for  its 
decision.  It  represented  an  antique  obelisk  of  a  single  piece,  a  monolith  thirty  feet  high, 
as  most  durable,  most  simple  and  least  expensive  of  any  form  possessing  so  much 
grandeur.  The  meeting  approved  and  adopted  it ;  upon  which  proposals  were  called  for 
through  the  public  prints  for  its  erection.  The  Messrs.  Kain  offered  to  complete  it  for 
$3,200 :  their  proposal,  being  the  lowest,  was  accepted.  It  was,  however,  obvious  that  some 
extra  expense  would  arise,  for  which  it  would  also  be  necessary  to  make  provision.  On 
comparing  the  amount  received  with  the  cost  to  be  incurred,  the  latter,  it  was  seen,  would 
outrun  the  former  considerably,  whereupon  one  thought  of  constructing  the  monument 
of  several  pieces  ;  another  of  reducing  the  size,  in  order  by  this  or  that  means  to  bring 
the  expense  within  the  compass  of  the  collection.  But  a  person  was  found  to  assume  all 
the  responsibility  sooner  than  suffer  the  noble  plan  already  adopted  to  be  either  marred 
or  abandoned;  trusting  to  the  same  good  feeling  which  furnished  the  first  subscriptions 
to  supply  the  deficiency,  when  the  work  should  be  finished.  Whereupon  Dr.  Macneven 
was  appointed  a  committee  for  that  purpose. 

Persons  friendly  to  this  national  memorial  had  undertaken  as  soon  as  it  was  set  on 

'Believed  to  have  been  the  fellow-prisoner  at  Fort  George  of  Mr.  Emmet,  Dr.  Macneven  and  the 
other  Irish  leaders,  from  the  similarity  of  name  and  the  friendship  which  existed  for  many  years  be- 
tween these  men.    Dr.  Cumming  died  shortly  after  Mr.  Emmet. 


List  of  Subscribers 


551 


foot  to  receive  subscriptions  in  the  different  wards,  and  they  made  their  returns  to  Mr. 
Dennis  McCarthy.  Their  names,  with  those  of  a  few  othtrs  are  preserved  in  the  following 
list: 

Dr. 

Emmet  Monument  with  D.  McCarthy,  Esq.,  Treasurer. 
Dr.  George  dimming   $53.50     Francis  Henrietta    $24.50 


Miles  Riley    9.00 

James  Ballagh   10.00 

John  T.  Dolan    3.00 

Doctor  Cumming    9.00 

Miles  Riley    8.00 

Doctor  Cumming    20.00 

James  Ryan    13.00 

Arthur  McCartin    32.00 

Doctor  Sweeney,  John   

O'Neil  and  John  Fagan    39.00 

Miles  Riley    5.50 

Doctor  Cumming    10.00 

Col.  Stevens    10.00 

Capt.  Peter  Davey   20.00 

Doctor  Cumming    10.00 

Mrs.  Colden    10.00 

Doctor  Cumming    20.00 

Doctor  Cumming    24.00 

Rev.  Mr.  Feltus    80.00 

Bernard  McKenna  for  Rev.  John 

Power    5.00 

Rev.  Edward  Mitchell   40.00 

Doctor  Macneven   38.00 

John  T.  Gannon   13.12 

Lewis  Cronly    18.00 

William  Gamble   

Miles  Riley   

James  Ballagh   

William  James,  Jr   62.00 

  43.00 

  30.00 

  5.00 

  10.00 


10.00 
7.75 
1.00 


Michael  Muldon  . . 
William  Edmonds 
Lawrence  Murphy 
Andrew  Fallon  . . . 


Charles  Caherty   3.00 

Doctor  Cumming    12.00 

Doctor  Cumming    13.00 

D.  H.  Doyle   57.00 

Bryan  McKenna    4.00 

Hamilton  Wilson   20.75 

Peter  Remson    25.00 

Joseph  Kernochan    20.00 

James  Brown    20.00 

John  White  &  Co   50.00 

Edward  Ennett    86.50 

Tighe  Davy    22.75 

Arthur  McCartin    5.00 

Peter  Davey    6.00 

John  Jacob  Astor   100.00 

George  Bowen    12.00 

Archibald  Mclntire    100.00 

Doctor  Cumming    20.00 

John  Caldwell    12.00 

John  Gibson    20.00 

Michael  Muldon    25.00 

Francis  and  James  Kain   9.00 

Owen  Smith    19.00 

Charles  Smith   9.00 

James  W.  Lent   5.00 

John  Lozier    5.00 

John  Ridden    38.00 

George  McKay    10.00 

Dr.  Macneven,  a  draft  from  Sa- 
vannah   124.25 

Peter  Duffy    16.62 


$1,595.24 


Emmet  Monument  with  D.  McCarthy,  Esq..  Cr. 

By  cash  paid  Arl.  Cregier,  per  order  $  109.77 

By  cash  paid  Doctor  Macneven,  as  per  receipt   1,435.10 


Dr. 


$1,595.24 


Emmet  Monument  with  Wm.  J.  Macneven,  Treasurer. 


By  cash  from  Dennis  McCarthy .$1,435.10 

Amount  received  from  the  "As- 
sociation of  the  Friends  of 
Ireland";  being  balance  in 
hands  of  the  Treasurer,  by 
vote  of  that  body   1,006.66 

Amount  received  from  Friends  of 

Ireland,  Charleston,  S.  Ca   100.00 

Amount  received  from  Friends  of 

Ireland  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.. . .  20.00 


Wm.  James,  of  Albany   S  100.00 

From  Belfast,  Ireland   93.33 

A.  McCann,  Hamburg   3.00 

Rev.  James  Smith,  N.  Y   5.00 

John  T.  Wymbs   3.00 

Hugh  Wilson    10.00 

Thomas  E.  Davis   25.00 

Rev.  Wm.  Powell   25.00 

Dr.  Maurice  Power   6.00 

B.  Birdsell   5.00 


552 


Cost  of  Monument 


John  Keefe,  Philadelphia               $  5.00 

Andrew  Brady   5.00 

John  T.  Dolan   5.00 

William  James   10.00 

Michael  Burke    10.00 

John  Chambers    5.00 

By  Robert  Dillon  from  Augusta, 

Ga   20.00 

John  Kennedy   2.00 

Wm.  S.  Reddin   5.00 

Robert  McKeon    2.00 

Jacob  Harvey   5.00 

Abraham  Bell   5.00 

John  Brown   5.00 

Daniel  H.  Scully   3.00 

James  Matthews   3.00 

Mathew  O'Brien   3.00 

Edward  Mathews    3.00 

Robert  White   5.00 

James  Campbell    5.00 

James  McBride   5.00 

Thomas  Suffern    10.00 

John  Wilson   3.00 

Thomas  Gough    10.00 

James  Kerrigan   10.00 

Jadah  Hammond    10.00 

Andrew  Kerregan    5.00 

James  Ryan    10.00 

Daniel  Kearney   5.00 

William  Nixon    5.00 

James  Shea    10.00 

Rev.  Thomas  C.  Levins   3.00 

Michael  O'Shannessy   10.00 

Robert  Donaldson   5.00 

Miles  R.  Burke   10.00 

Mrs.  H.  Pyne   10.00 

Total  cash  of  Monument  


John  Quinn   

Patrick  Tully  

Anthony  Kerr  

Patrick  Rice   

William  Kain   

William  O'Connor  , 

John  R.  Skiddy  

Joseph  B.  Benson   

John  Foot   

Joseph  Kernochen   

George  D.  Strong  

Francis  O'Brien   

Christopher  Bant  

Dr.  Rhinelander  

John  Darley  , 

John  L.  Dillon  

Thomas  Lynch  

Philip  Burrows  

Samuel  Neilson   

Gregory  Dillon   

Gideon  Lee   

John  Doyle  , 

John  Toomey   

Bernard  Graham  

Francis  Kain   

Campbell  P.  White  

James  Sweeney   

Mr.  Walsh   

Charles  O'Conor   

Eber  Wheaton   

George  Bowen  

James  Shaw   

Charles  F.  Grim  

William  James  Macneven. 


$5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
3.00 
5.00 
3.00 

20.00 
5.00 
2.00 
S.00 

20.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 

50.00 

10.00 
5.00 
2.00 
5.00 

10.00 

10.00 
5.00 
5.00 

67.00 


$3, 

.$3, 


426.13 
535.90 


Emmet  Monument  with  Wm.  J.  Macneven,  Treasurer. 
To  Messrs.  Francis  and  James  Kain  on  their  raising  the  obelisk  and 

in  its  unfinished  state  $2,500.00 

Andrew  Brady,  for  iron  railing  round  the  Monument   155.00 

Advertising  in  the  public  prints,  and  issuing  circulars   23.38 

Woodcut  by  Mason   6.00 

Hire  of  rooms  for  public  meetings   14.75 

Messrs.  Harper's  bill  for  printing  report,  and  list  of  subscribers   12.00 

Gratuity  to  Mr.  Preece,  for  extra  services   15.00 

Messrs.  Francis  and  James  Kain  balance  in  full  of  $3,200  amount  of 

contract    700.00 


$3,426.13 

The  undersigned  have  examined  the  above  account,  and  the  vouchers  thereunto 
belonging,  and  find  them  correct. 

(Signed)  M.  O'Shannessy, 

James  Shea,  Auditors 


Disintegration  of  Stone 


553 


Description 

The  monument  stands  a  few  feet  within  the  railing  of  St.  Paul's  cemetery  in  one 
of  the  most  conspicuous  places  in  the  City  of  New  York. 

The  foundation  is  laid  six  feet  deep  in  the  natural  earth  and  encloses  a  hollow 
square,  in  which  is  deposited  a  large  glass  bottle,  hermetically  sealed,  containing 
various  documents.  It  is  covered  by  a  plinth,  in  one  block  of  white  marble,  seven 
feet  square,  and  one  foot,  six  inches  thick. 

The  surmounting  obelisk  is  thirty  feet,  one  inch  high,  viz.  from  the  base  to  the 
frustum  twenty-seven  feet,  three  inches;  thence  to  the  apex  of  the  pyramid,  two  feet, 
ten  inches.  It  is  three  feet,  six  inches  square  at  the  base,  and  two  feet  square  at  the 
frustum.    It  consists  of  one  piece  of  white  marble. 

One-third  from  the  top  is  a  fine  medallion  likeness  from  a  model  by  Mr.  Ingham. 
It  was  sculptured  by  Mr.  Preece,  and  is  well  executed.  Below  this  is  the  English 
inscription;  immediately  after  is  a  device  representing  the  American  eagle,  supported 
by  an  American  and  Irish  hand,  clasped  and  crossing  over  the  Irish  harp  unstrung. 

The  whole  weight  of  plinth  and  obelisk  is  21  tons,  14  cwt.,  2  qrs.,  15  lbs. 

On  the  back  of  the  obelisk  is  inscribed  the  latitude  of  the  spot,  40°  42'  40"  N. 
also  the  longitude  from  the  meridian  of  Greenwich,  74°  03'  21". 5. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

Wu.  James  Macneven,  Committee. 

This  Vermont  stone  of  which  the  monument  is  constructed,  when  first  taken 
from  the  quarry,  is  brilliant  in  its  appearance  of  purity,  and  compares  well  with 
the  beautiful  white  marbles  of  Ireland  and  Italy. 

But  unfortunately  the  stone  contains  iron  as  an  impurity  in  its  composition, 
and  this  oxidizes  from  exposure,  forming  a  fine  powder  soluble  in  water.  The 
rain  water  of  winter  washes  this  out,  staining  the  stone,  and  occupying  the 
numerous  little  cavities,  it  freezes  and  when  the  ice  melts  the  face  of  the  stone 
is  broken  off,  making  this  process  of  disintegration  continuous  with  the  ex- 
posure. 

This  shaft  was  erected  in  1832  and  since  that  time  the  lettering  became  so 
indistinct  that  it  was  necessary  to  recut  the  lettering  once,  and  twice  to  repaint 
it.  As  a  repetition  of  the  relettering  must  eventually  destroy  the  surface  of 
the  monument,  it  has  been  left  for  some  years  past  in  its  present  condition  as 
the  lesser  of  two  evils.  A  plan  suggested  by  the  writer  has  been  objected  to 
from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  but  unfortunately  there  exists  no  alternative  save 
the  destruction  of  the  stone,  if  the  lettering  is  again  to  be  made. 

The  proposal  was  to  cover  from  the  base  below  to  the  beginning  of  the 
pyramidal  extremity  above,  with  an  ornamental  bronze  hood,  formed  by  the 
plates  covering  the  four  sides  and  riveted  together  at  the  corners  and  showing 
the  lettering  on  each  side  in  raised  letters  of  bronze.  Such  a  cover  lowered 
from  above  would  reach  a  point  in  its  descent  where  the  upper  edges  of  the 
four-sided  hood  would  bind  the  stone  surface  and  by  its  weight  the  entrance 
of  rain  water  would  be  excluded.  The  large  profile  on  the  Broadway  side 
could  be  shown  through  an  opening  in  the  bronze  cover,  and  with  a  frame 
which  would  protect  the  marble  surface.  The  sides  of  the  pyramid  above  are 
but  little  injured  as  they  slope  sidewise  at  such  an  angle  that  the  water  cannot 
remain  long  on  its  surface.  The  Catholic  Cathedral  and  Grace  Church  at  Broad- 


554 


Verses  of  Mrs.  Lenox-Conyngham 


way  and  Eleventh  Street  are  built  of  this  stone.  Here  the  dark  staining  of  the 
stone  and  its  wear  gives  an  appearance  of  antiquity  to  the  buildings. 

The  obelisk  in  Central  Park,  after  being  exposed  for  several  thousand  years 
to  an  Egyptian  climate,  having  this  impurity  in  its  composition,  has,  in  some 
twenty  years,  lost  all  the  figures,  and  at  least  an  inch  of  its  surface  from  the 
exposure  in  this  climate.  It  could  easily  be  moved  and  should  even  now  be 
placed  under  cover  in  the  Museum  of  Art,  close  by. 

written  at  the  tomb  of  thos.  addis  emmet 
(From  the  "Galway  Vindicator")  1841. 

In  a  strange  land  doth  a  pilgrim  stand  by  the  grave  of  the  honoured  dead, 

And  his  spirit  droops,  as  he  sadly  stoops  o'er  the  patriot's  narrow  bed; 

For  his  thoughts,  I  ween,  flung  back  have  been  to  the  morn  of  a  brightsome  day, 

Like  a  dawn  in  June,  alas!  how  soon  in  storm  to  pass  away! 

Yet  his  pulses  throb,  mid  each  frequent  sob,  as  he  proudly  scans  the  name, 

For  never  before,  another  wore  the  garb  of  a  purer  fame; 

And  none  may  read,  though  far  he  speed,  a  scroll  more  glorious  than 

A  Freeborn  Race  hath  cared  to  trace  for  the  exiled  Irishman! 

Oh,  it  is  a  pride,  whatsoe'er  betide,  to  know  of  our  brethren's  worth ; 

That  the  nations  of  earth  love  the  land  of  our  birth,  for  the  hearts  she  has  sent  forth; 

Though  our  eyes  must  still  with  the  tear-drops  fill,  for  the  mother's  sorrowful  story, 

May  we  not  rejoice  when  the  alien  voice  peals  the  note  of  her  children's  glory! 

Carved  on  this  stone  is  the  name  of  one,  alas !  I  may  not  tell 

'Till  the  hour  shall  be,  he  had  yearned  to  see,  how  a  mightier  champion  fell ; 

Firm  did  they  stand  for  a  trampled  land,  abiding  chains  and  death, 

And  now  with  the  blest  both  spirits  rest — for  'tis  Emmet  sleeps  beneath. 

M.  G.  Conway 

Mrs.  Lenox-Conyngham  published  in  her  volume  of  poems  the  following  to 
the  memory  of  her  uncle,  Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  written  previous  to  1833 : 

To  the  Memory  of  T.  A.  E. 

ot  irarplSa  t^u  aper^v  r)yrjo&p.€VOi* 

Died  he  an  exile  from  his  country? — Nol 

For  virtue  was  his  country;  and  Earth's  power 
Had  all  been  vain  to  make  that  man  forego 

His  virtue,  though  in  secret,  for  an  hour. 

It  was  his  fate  through  many  a  land  to  roam; 

To  pass  in  prison  many  a  tedious  year; 
But  his  unshaken  spirit  had  a  home 

Too  strong  for  grief, — impregnable  by  fear. 

Yes!  virtue  was  the  country  of  his  soul, 
Whence  it  could  not  depart.   Change  nature's  course, — 

Arrest  the  planets  God  ordained  to  roll ; 
Then  from  their  virtue  souls  like  Emmet's  force. 

*A  quotation  from  "Lysias,"  in  English: 

"We  who  established  the  virtues  of  the  Fatherland." 


Mrs.  Greatorex 


555 


She  also  wrote  in  relation  to  her  uncle,  Mr.  Emmet : 

The  Righteous  Perisheth 

"The  righteous  perisheth,  and  no  man  layeth  it  to  heart:  and  merciful  men  are 
taken  away,  none  considering  that  the  righteous  is  taken  away  from  the  evil  to 
come."  Isaiah,  c,  57,  v.  l. 

The  righteous  perisheth ;  and  o'er  his  tomb, 
Warm  tears  are  wept— deep  sighs  bewail  the  doom 
Of  that  good  man,  whose  virtues  had  not  power 
To  stay  the  progress  of  life's  parting  hour. 

This  for  a  season : — but  the  sigh,  the  tear, 
Soon  cease, — brief  tribute  to  the  dead  and  dear; 
New  loves  and  fresher  interests  efface 
Past,  pious  sorrow's  faintly  lingering  trace. 

The  righteous  perisheth: — his  fleeting  breath 
Is  borne  away  upon  the  blast  of  death 
Of  all  who  watch  that  fleeting  breath  depart, 
How  many  lay  the  solemn  scene  to  heart? 

None.   No!  not  one;  the  merciful,  the  just, 
Is  laid  to  mingle  with  his  parent  dust : 
Men  meet  to  mourn  above  the  senseless  sod, 
And  they  forget  his  spirit  is  with  God. 

Not  one  considereth  that  from  the  day 
Of  coming  evil  he  was  snatched  away; 
Not  one  reflecteth  that  in  saving  love, 
His  Maker  called  that  righteous  man  above. 

In  1867  Mrs.  Eliza  Greatorex,  a  native  of  Ireland  and  an  artist  in  pencil 
drawing  of  considerable  ability,  as  well  as  an  etcher,  published  a  work  "Old 
New  York  from  the  Battery  to  the  Bloomingdale."  The  text  was  furnished  by 
her  brother,  Mr.  M.  Despard.  The  author  knew  Mrs.  Greatorex  and  as  a  col- 
lector furnished  her  with  many  original  drawings  of  old  New  York  by  Robinson 
and  others.  A  bond  of  interest  was  established  on  learning  from  her  that  she 
was  a  granddaughter  of  Col.  Edward  Marcus  Despard,  a  young  Irishman  who 
was  executed  for  treason  in  London  in  1803,  and  generally  supposed  to  have 
been  connected  with  the  movement  of  Robert  Emmet,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
that  they  had  any  personal  knowledge  of  each  other.  Despard  was  an  officer  in 
the  English  army,  who  had  seen  service  and  already  had  gained  quite  a  reputa- 
tion as  a  military  man. 

He  was  hung  after  a  hasty  trial,  and  as  many  thought  at  the  time  on  in- 
efficient evidence  given  by  an  informer,  with  no  proof  of  his  having  committed 
any  treasonable  or  overt  act.  Before  Pitt  became  Prime  Minister  it  had  not  been 
considered  treason  to  criticize  the  acts  of  the  government  in  Ireland,  but  by 
Pitt's  order  thousands  were  put  to  death  in  Ireland  for  saying  and  doing  what 
was  tolerated  in  London  in  an  Englishman. 

The  following  is  taken  from  Mrs.  Greatorex's  book,  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Despard : 


556 


Mr.  Despards  Sketch 


The  Emmet  Monument 
within  the  old  wall  of  st.  paul's. 

The  simple  record  of  the  life  of  a  good  man  must  be  the  most  eloquent  panegyric 
that  can  be  pronounced  on  him.  No  eulogistic  epitaph,  no  tribute  of  praise  or  ad- 
miration, brought  by  loving  friends  or  approving  judges,  can  so  endear  the  name 
of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  to  every  true  heart,  every  noble  soul,  as  the  story  of  his 
life  with  its  struggles,  its  wrongs,  its  sufferings  and  unselfishness.  After  reading  it 
we  wonder  much  at  the  tyranny  which  could  crush  such  a  life,  but  more  at  the 
undying  sweetness,  the  almost  divine  patience,  that  could  rise  from  such  bitter  ex- 
periences into  new  deeds  of  love,  new  efforts  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-men. 

The  history  of  the  early  years  of  Emmet,  spent  in  the  long  unequal  conflict  for 
the  freedom  of  his  country,  impresses  us  so  painfully,  that  we  turn  from  it  most 
willingly,  to  follow  him  in  the  career  which  opened  before  him  in  the  fair,  free  New 
World,  whose  paths  of  honorable  endeavor,  pure  integrity,  and  generous  helpfulness 
are  brighter  and  fairer  since  they  were  pressed  by  his  steps.  It  was  surely  some 
benign  spirit  of  compensation  which  gave  to  Emmet  for  the  first-fruits  of  the  exer- 
cise of  his  wisdom  and  his  eloquence,  in  the  New  York  courts  of  justice,  the  freedom 
of  a  slave.  As  sure  as  the  lightning  is  attracted  by  steel,  his  sympathies  and  aid 
flew  to  the  down-trodden  and  the  wronged.  To  the  individual,  and  to  the  State, 
his  efforts  were  devoted  when  injustice  and  oppression  assailed.  Emmet  was  released 
from  prison,  only  to  be  banished  from  his  native  Ireland.  Leaving  for  ever  behind 
him  his  whole  past  life,  he  came  to  America  in  1804.  Dr.  Francis,  in  his  historical 
sketch  of  old  New  York,  thus  speaks  of  him : 

"Emmet  was  profoundly  learned  as  a  physician;  and  upon  his  arrival  in  this 
country  deliberated  whether  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  medicine,  or  enter  the 
courts  of  law.  In  all  cases  of  death  that  came  before  Emmet  requiring  medical 
testimony,  an  examination  of  the  brain  he  made  a  prerequisite." 

He  almost  immediately  found  in  the  legal  profession  a  worthy  arena  for  the 
exercise  of  his  great  powers.  Never  did  a  more  brilliant  galaxy  of  names  adorn 
any  profession  than  that  which  gave  lustre  to  the  New  York  Bar  at  the  beginning 
of  this  century. 

Hamilton,  Maxwell,  Hoffman,  Burr,  Harrison,  Brockholst,  Livingston,  Martin 
Wilkins,  Colden,  Slosson,  Pendleton,  Wells  and  many  names  equally  noble  live  in 
history.  When  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  came  among  them,  this  illustrious  circle 
recognized  him  as  a  peer.  Alexander  Hamilton  had  just  perished  in  the  fatal  duel 
with  Burr,  and  it  was  soon  felt  that  Emmet  was  destined  to  fill  his  place. 

In  a  few  years  the  threatenings  of  the  war  of  1812-14  overclouded  the  land  and  the 
aid  and  counsel  of  Emmet  were  sought  and  given.  He  wrote  for  De  Witt  Clinton, 
then  Mayor  of  the  city,  the  letter  in  which  he  offered  to  Governor  Tompkins  his 
personal  services  in  the  field.  He  took  part  in  the  fortifying  of  the  city,  in  organizing 
the  militia;  he  raised  the  tone  of  public  spirit;  and  as  the  precious  metal  is  found 
when  the  turbid  water  has  been  drained  from  it,  or  when  separated  from  the  common 
clay  which  hid  it,  the  pure  gold  of  Emmet's  character  was  the  residuum,  when  the 
excitement  of  political  dissension  had  passed  away,  and  the  conflicting  feelings  of 
parties  were  sifted  from  patriotic  actions. 

On  the  private  life  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  we  must  touch  reverently.  As 
husband,  father  and  grandsire  he  was  always  and  in  all  "noble,  tender,  and  true." 
After  the  execution  of  his  younger  brother  Robert  in  Dublin  the  name  of  Ireland 
was  never  mentioned  in  the  household.  For  him  the  music  of  that  name  was  the 
emblematic  harp  of  his  unhappy  country,  the  lightest  touch  on  its  broken  strings 
could  waken  only  a  dissonant  wail  or  trembling  sigh.  Had  he  lived  two  years  longer, 
some  reward  for  his  heroic  self-sacrifice  might  hare  come  to  him  in  the  accomplish- 


Love  for  the  Oppressed 


557 


ment  of  one  of  the  great  measures  to  which,  although  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Church,  he  had  devoted  fortune  and  life,  the  Catholic  Emancipation 
Bill,  which  passed  the  British  Parliament  in  1829.  But  in  1827  the  great  jurist,  the 
pure  patriot,  the  faithful  citizen  was  suddenly  summoned  from  his  life  of  noble  toil. 
While  defending  the  bequest  of  the  Randall  estate  for  worn-out  seamen,  in  the  very- 
height  of  his  splendid  eloquence  he  was  stricken  with  death.  The  court  was  imme- 
diately closed,  his  mourning  friends  and  colleagues  crowded  around  his  dwelling, 
following  him  to  his  grave,  and  in  token  of  their  love  and  their  admiration  erected, 
a  short  time  after  his  loss,  the  monument  which,  close  to  the  venerable  church  of  St. 
Paul's,  rising  from  amidst  so  many  illustrious  names,  commemorates  so  eloquently 
in  the  English,  the  Latin  and  the  Irish  tongues,  the  heroism,  the  gifts,  and  the 
virtues  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 

With  no  evidence  to  the  contrary  it  is  assumed  Mr.  Despard  was  also  the 
author  of  the  following  poetical  tribute  to  Mr.  Emmet's  memory  : 


THOMAS  ADDIS  EMMET 

Do  mhiannaich  se  ardmath 

Cum  tir  a  breith 
Do  thug  se  clu  a's  fuair  se  moladh 

An  deig  a  bais.* 

Across  the  ocean  wild, 
Far  from  the  land  denied 

By  fierce  oppression,  drenched  in  patriots'  gore, 

Victim  of  power  unjust, 

With  high  hopes  laid  in  dust, 

The  exile  came,  grief  laden,  to  our  shore. 

He  bore  the  heavy  cross 
Of  unavailing  loss, 

The  piercing  thorns  of  ineffectual  strife, 
Against  the  bigot  sway, 
Th'  imperious  armed  array, 

The  iron  heel  that  pressed  down  freedom's  life. 

His  ordeal  of  fire 
Annealed  the  pure  desire 

And  pitying  love  that  stirred  him  for  th'  oppressed; 

No  bitter  scar  of  wrong 

Defaced  that  spirit  strong, 

Whose  chrism  of  woe  but  sanctified  and  blest. 

Ere  on  his  ear  had  died 

Poor  Erin's  wail,  that  cried 

Loud  from  her  desolated  homes  to  Heaven, 

He,  the  High  Priest  of  Right, 

Flashed  down  on  Slavery's  might 

Lightnings  of  scorn,  and  lo!  the  chains  were  riven. 

*He  aspired  at  (to)  great  good 
For  the  land  of  his  birth, 
He  brought  a  reputation,  and  wa3  praised 
In  the  land  he  died  in. 


558    "  The  Front  that  Tyrants  Could  not  Daunt" 


Through  all  his  years  mature 

He  stood,  a  beacon  sure, 

A  ray  of  white  and  perfect  spotlessness, 

That  shone  through  mist  and  cloud 

O'er  vexing  waves  that  flowed 

Around  the  land  he  lived  to  serve  and  bless. 

Well  might  they  raise  this  stone 
Strong,  upright  and  alone, 

Asking  from  earth  but  place  to  reach  the  skies; 

So  lifted  he  the  front 

That  tyrants  could  not  daunt; 

So  from  this  sacred  grave  his  sainted  name  shall  rise. 

We  shall  not  mourn  as  vain 

The  struggle  and  the  pain 

That  crushed  the  petals  of  his  splendid  soul. 

A  deathless  flower,  it  wreathes 

Fair  Freedom's  brow,  and  breathes 

Immortal  fragrance  while  the  ages  roll. 


The  po<a>er  of  the  British  merchant,  manufacturer  and  mechanic  multiplied  the  torongs, 
perpetuated  the  dependence,  and  aggravated  the  mortifications  of  Ireland.  The  Irish- 
man and  the  negro  'were  enslaved  on  the  same  principle. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


To  increase  the  commerce  of  England  seemed  sufficient  motive  and  justification  for  the 
foulest  injustice  and  most  licentious  despotism  to<wards  other  nations  and  its  o<wn 
dependencies. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


Chapter  XXXIX 

The  writer's  early  recollection  of  his  Grandmother  Emmet — His  long  walks 
with  her — He  the  only  person  with  whom  she  would  ever  speak  in  relation  to  Ire- 
land— Her  disposition  as  a  mother — Her  relation  to  society  life — Mrs.  Graves' 
statement  as  to  the  unity  of  the  Emmet  family — Few  letters  written  by  Mrs.  Emmet 
late  in  life — Copy  of  the  only  one  known — Dr.  Madden's  tribute  to  Mrs.  Emmet — 
Her  death  and  place  of  burial — A  last  portrait  once  in  the  possession  of  her  brother 
— Two  painted  by  her  daughter  Elizabeth,  afterwards  Mrs.  Le  Roy — Her  children 
and  those  living  at  her  death. 


HE  writer's  recollection  of  his  grandmother,  Mrs.  Emrnet, 
dates  from  only  five  or  six  years  after  the  death  of  her 
husband,  and  after  she  had  given  up  the  cares  of  house- 
keeping. She  had  her  room  in  each  establishment  and 
passed  her  time  with  one  or  another  of  her  children.  Her 
second  daughter,  Margaret,  who  remained  unmarried, 
had  lived  with  Mrs.  Graves  a  number  of  years  and  being 
free  from  the  cares  of  house-keeping  became  the  con- 
stant companion  of  her  mother  until,  finally,  that  this  re- 
lationship might  be  fully  preserved,  Mrs.  Emmet  also  became  a  permanent 
member  of  Mrs.  Graves'  household.  During  the  summer  months,  when  the 
writer  had  accompanied  his  parents  north  on  a  visit  to  the  family,  he  was  fre- 
quently called  upon  by  his  grandmother  to  be  with  her.  She  had  but  just 
passed  middle  life  and  was  unusually  vigorous  and  fond  of  a  long  tramp  in 
the  country.  The  writer  was  always  invited  to  accompany  her  and  it  was 
during  their  long  walks  that  he  gained  from  her  lips  his  first  knowledge  of 
Irish  history,  relating  to  that  portion  in  which  her  husband  was  promi- 
nent, where  she  herself  played  her  part  in  sharing  with  him  the  privation  at- 
tending years  of  imprisonment.  This  privilege  he  could  not  appreciate  fully 
as  a  boy  nor  the  fact  that  he  was  the  only  individual  to  whom  she  ever  made 
the  slightest  reference  to  Ireland.  It  would  seem  as  if  by  instinct  she  realized 
she  would  be  sowing  seed  on  a  soil,  which  at  some  time  would  bear  good 
fruit,  so  far  as  the  recipient  had  the  ability  for  its  development. 

Mrs.  Emmet  was  noted  for  being  a  good  mother  and  one  who  fully  appre- 
ciated her  duties  to  her  children,  to  her  household  matters,  and  her  husband, 
and  in  each  she  had  excelled  to  a  remarkable  degree.    As  a  hostess  she  was 

559 


560 


Mrs.  Jane  Patten  Emmet 


noted  among  the  gentlemen  who  were  attracted  to  her  house  by  the  charms  and 
accomplishments  of  her  daughters.  She  lived  for  her  family  and  to  discharge 
her  duty  to  every  member.  She  always  had  a  large  number  of  female  friends 
who  maintained  the  friendship  by  seeking  her  company,  for  she  seemed  to 
ignore  every  social  obligation  outside  of  her  domestic  circle.  She  had  neither 
the  strength  nor  the  time  to  discharge  both. 

The  only  light  on  Mrs.  Emmet's  daily  life  at  this  time  is  given  by  Mrs. 
Graves  in  a  letter  dated  December  1st,  1842,  and  written  to  her  aunt,  Mrs. 
John  Patten,  after  her  return  from  a  visit  to  Ireland.  During  her  absence  her 
brother,  Dr.  John  Patten  Emmet,  the  writer's  father,  had  died,  and  she  was 
writing  abroad  an  account  of  his  illness  and  death. 

Unless  you  had  once  looked  into  our  family  circle,  and  seen  how  free  it  was 
from  all  the  little  jarrings  and  jealousies  that  so  often  disturb  that  union,  I  could 
not  describe  to  you  the  delight  of  being  once  more  among  them.  There  was  not 
even  one  loving  face  missing,  for  my  dear  brother  John,  from  his  delicate  health, 
had  for  years  been  obliged  to  separate  from  us,  and  reside  at  the  South,  and  there- 
fore the  void  was  not  so  perceptible  to  the  eye,  though  the  heart  must  ever  feel  it. 
Mamma  had  gone  through  much  fatigue,  for  she  had  watched  as  a  Mother,  and  such 
a  Mother,  only  can  watch,  the  sick  bed  of  a  dear  child. 

She  has,  however,  now  quite  recovered  her  looks,  and  is,  I  think,  as  well  as 
she  has  been  for  years.  What  delight  she  took  in  asking  me  questions  about  Clonmel, 
and  all  about  Mrs.  Colville's  place,  where  she  used  to  spend  her  holidays.  I  had 
particularly  observed  many  things  that  I  thought  must  have  been  there  when  she 
lived  there,  among  others  the  nut  tree  in  the  garden  at  Anerville,  which  the  moment 
I  mentioned  she  exclaimed :  "How  well  I  remember  racing  over  the  whole  place  to 
find  John,  and  tell  him  there  were  nuts  on  it".  I  have  not  yet  allowed  her  to  move 
in  from  the  country.  The  weather  is  delightful,  and  she  rambles  for  miles  through 
the  fields,  which  is  very  good  for  her.  Margaret  is  out  of  town  with  her,  but  I  have 
been  obliged  to  remain  with  Mr.  Graves,  who  is  endeavouring  by  hard  work  to 
struggle  against  the  hard  times. 

To  Uncle  John  and  young  John  [Patten]  give  our  kindest  love.  Mr.  Graves  has 
been  anxiously  looking  out  for  some  pamphlets  which  were  to  have  reached  us  at 
Liverpool.    He  begged  me  to  remind  Uncle  John  about  it. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Aunt,  as  ever  your  affectionate  niece, 

Makyanne  Graves. 

Not  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Emmet  was  found  among  the  family  papers, 
although  she  wrote  frequently  to  her  husband  while  he  was  absent  in  Albany 
during  the  sitting  of  the  courts.  We  have  seen  from  the  letters  written  to  Mr. 
Emmet  while  in  prison  at  Fort  George  that  Mrs.  Emmet  even  then,  as  a  young 
woman,  had  a  great  disinclination  to  letter-writing,  and  as  she  grew  older  this 
dislike  increased,  so  that  she  seldom,  if  ever,  wrote  to  the  other  members  of 
the  family. 

From  the  fact  that  none  of  her  letters  have  been  preserved  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  she  herself  destroyed  those  she  had  written  to  her  husband.  The 
only  letter  written  by  her  known  to  exist  is  given  by  Dr.  Madden  in  his  Life 
of  her  husband.  This  was  written  to  her  brother,  Mr.  John  Patten,  in  Ireland, 
at  seme  time  after  her  emigration  to  this  country.   Mrs.  Emmet,  it  is  said,  also 


Mrs.  Emmet  to  Her  Brother 


561 


had  a  peculiarity  of  seldom  dating  or  signing  her  letters ;  fortunately  this  one 
has  her  name  attached  to  it : 

New  York  [no  date]. 

After  the  hopes  I  had  indulged  in  of  seeing  you,  I  commence  my  letter  with 
feelings  of  regret  not  easily  spoken  of.  The  prospect  of  your  being  an  inmate  in 
our  family  has  long  been  cherished  as  an  event  that,  of  all  others,  could  afford  us 
the  greatest  happiness.   We  now  feel  the  disappointment  doubly. 

In  urging  you  to  come  to  America  our  own  gratification  is  not  the  first  object, 
as  that  would  be  defeated  if  you  were  not  happy  here;  but  I  am  well  convinced  the 
exchange  would  every  way  add  to  your  comfort. 

I  know  the  effect  that  painful  recollections  produce  upon  the  mind,  and  I  often 
think  that  were  I  obliged  to  remain  in  Ireland  my  life  would  be  miserable.  A  day 
cannot  pass  that  some  event — some  object — is  not  likely  to  renew  a  train  of  un- 
pleasant ideas.  Are  you  then  to  look  for  cheerfulness  there?  Does  not  health 
depend  on  ease  of  mind?  Indeed,  my  dear  John,  you  can  enjoy  neither  where  you 
are. 

A  change  of  scene,  not  among  strangers,  but  in  the  midst  of  a  large  and  affec- 
tionate family,  so  nearly  related  and  tenderly  attached  to  you,  what  different  feelings 
would  it  not  excite!  Of  Mr.  Emmet,  I  need  say  but  little.  You  know  his  disposition, 
it  remains  unchanged — always  diffusing  happiness  among  his  family  and  friends. 

In  his  society  you  would  seldom  feel  weary.  Thank  God,  his  health  is  now 
invariably  good  and  his  reputation  such  as  to  leave  no  wish  ungratified.  The  young 
people  I  know  you  would  like.  I  can  answer  for  their  hearts  and  their  feelings 
towards  you.  It  would  be  the  first  object  of  their  lives  to  contribute  to  your  happi- 
ness. 

When  you  write,  mention  is  Mrs.  Riall  still  living  and  what  has  become  of  the 
Jacob  family?*  Do  not  wonder  at  my  asking  these  questions.  The  people  I  knew 
early  in  life  oftener  recur  to  my  mind  than  any  others.  Write  to  me  soon,  my  dear 
John,  and  write  to  me  without  reserve.  Next  to  having  you  here,  that  will  be  the 
highest  gratification  of  your  truly  affectionate  sister —  Jane  Emmet. 

No  better  tribute  could  be  offered  to  Mrs.  Emmet's  memory  than  is  given 
in  the  words  of  Dr.  Madden : 

Mrs.  Jane  Emmet, 

The  widow  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  the  sister  of  the  venerable  John  Patten,  of 
Dublin,  survived  her  beloved  husband  eighteen  years.  She  had  shared  his  sorrows 
and  his  sufferings, — had  been  his  companion  in  imprisonment  in  Kilmainham  gaol, 
and  in  captivity  in  Fort  George — not  for  days,  or  weeks,  or  months,  but  for  years. 
She  had  accompanied  him  in  exile  to  the  continent  and  to  the  land  of  his  adoption, 
and  there  she  shared  his  honours,  and  in  the  felicity  of  his  later  years. 

The  woman  who  had  encountered  so  many  privations  and  trials  as  she  had  done, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  all  the  enjoyments  of  a  happy  life,  and 

"Had  slept  with  full  content  about  her  bed, 
And  never  waked  but  to  a  joyful  morning" — 

when  deprived  of  all  ordinary  comforts,  of  the  commonest  appliances  of  these  to  the 
humblest  state  of  life,  during  the  imprisonment  of  her  husband  in  Dublin;  and  was 
subjected  necessarily  to  many  restraints  during  the  weary  imprisonment  at  Fort 
George — seemed  even  to  those  who  were  the  companions  of  her  husband's  captivity 
as  "one  who,  in  suffering  all  things,  suffered  nothing". 


•The  Rialls  were  landholders  in  County  Tipperary  and  probably  of  Huguenot  descent,  coming  into 
Ireland  with  William  of  Orange  The  Jacob  family  was  from  Wexford  and  descended  in  all  probability 
from  Sir  Robert  Jacob,  who  settled  in  that  county  during  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign. 


562 


Noble  Women  of  Ireland 


She  fulfilled  with  heroic  fortitude  the  duties  of  a  devoted  wife  towards  her  hus- 
band in  all  his  trials  in  his  own  country;  was  the  joy  and  comfort  of  his  life  in  a 
foreign  land,  where  the  exiled  patriot,  honoured  and  revered,  in  course  of  time  rose 
to  the  first  distinction  in  his  profession;  she  died  far  away  from  her  native  land — 
but  her  memory  should  not  be  forgotten  in  Ireland. 

This  excellent  woman,  full  of  years,  rich  in  virtue,  surrounded  by  affectionate 
children — prosperous,  happily  circumstanced,  dutiful  and  loving  children  to  her, 
worthy  of  their  inheritance  of  a  great  name,  and  of  the  honour  that  descended  to 
them  from  the  revered  memory  of  her  truly  noble  husband — thus  terminating  in  a 
foreign  land  a  long  career,  chequered  by  many  trials,  over  which  a  virtuous  woman's 
self-sacrificing  devotion,  the  constancy  and  courage  of  a  faithful  wife,  the  force  of 
a  mother's  love  eventually  prevailed.  The  portrait  of  this  lady  is  in  the  possession 
of  Mr.  John  Patten.* 

The  time  may  come  when  this  intimation  may  be  of  some  avail.  Ireland  has  its 
Cornelias,  its  Portias — matrons  worthy  of  association  in  our  thoughts  with  Cato's 
daughter,  the  mother  of  the  children  who  were  the  jewels  of  her  heart — with  the  wife 
of  Russell,  of  Lavalette — but  Ireland  has  no  national  gallery  for  the  pictures  and 
busts  of  her  illustrious  children — no  literature  for  a  record  of  the  "noble  deeds  of 
women"  of  her  own  land. 

Mrs.  Emmet  died  in  New  York,  at  the  house  of  her  son-in-law,  Mr.  Graves, 
on  the  10th  of  November,  1846,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  her  age.  She 
was  not  buried  with  her  husband,  but  her  body  was  placed  in  the  vault  of  Mr. 
Graves  in  Second  Avenue,  above  Second  Street,  New  York,  and  not  in  the 
Marble  Cemetery,  Second  Street,  in  the  same  neighborhood,  which,  being  shut 
in,  is  often  mistaken  for  the  latter,  as  few  persons  know  of  its  existence. 

The  following  children  were  alive  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Emmet's  death: 
Robert,  Margaret,  Elizabeth,  John  Patten,  Thomas  Addis,  Jane  Erin,  Mary 
Anne,  William  Colville.  Christopher  Temple  Emmet,  an  officer  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  died  before  his  father. 

'Nothing  is  now  known  of  this  portrait.  The  one  here  given  was  painted  by  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Le  Roy,  and  was  a  perfect  likeness  as  she  appeared  towards  the  close  of  her  life. 


A  vile  aristocracy,  courted,  flattered,  paid  and  despised,  calumniating  the  country  'which 
it  plundered,  had  converted  the  nevj  legislative  power  of  the  Irish  Parliament  into  * 
source  of  private  revenue. 

T.  A.  Emmet. 


To  sab-vert  the  tyranny  of  our  inscrutable  government,  to  break  the  connection  tuith  Eng- 
land, the  never  fatting  source  of  our  political  evils,  and  to  assert  the  independence  of 
my  country: — these  <were  my  objects. 

Theobald  Wolfe  Tone. 


Index 


Act  of  Union.    See  Union,  Anglo-Irish 
Addis  family  164;  of  Cork  163n 
 Fenton  164 

 James,  of  Durham,  Conn.  164n 

 Samuel  164n 

 Thomas,  of  Cork  163 

 Thomas,  of  Durham,  Conn.  164n 

 Thomas,  of  Westbrook,  Conn.  164n 

"Address  to  the  Irish  Nation"  272 

Adet,  Pierre-Auguste,  French  minister,  and 
Tone  138;  139 

Aerial  acid,  T.  A.  Emmet  on  203 

"Agricola",  pseudonym  234 

Aherne,  physician  356n 

 Captain  John  356n;  and  Daendels  356; 

and  Emmet  356 

Air-ship,  early  invention  237 

"Albion",  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  487 

Alien  Act,  American  412;  and  State  prison- 
ers of  '98  411 

Alien  Bill,  in  Ireland  99;  112 

Alienism,  American  legislation  404 ;  Bar, 
admission  to  395 ;  and  benefices  397 ;  and 
corporations  396;  397;  disabilities  396; 
Emmet  on  414 ;  and  landed  tenure  397 ; 
and  office  395;  396;  398 

Allegiance,  Oath  of,  England,  and  alienism 
396 

 Oath  of,  United  States,  and  army  397; 

398;  and  office  399 

Amboy,  N.  J.,  Emmots  154 

"American",  New  York,  newspaper, 
Emmet's  illness  472 ;  and  Emmet's  death 
472;  on  Emmet  memorial  inscription, 
"U.  S.  F."  letter  536;  letter  on  Emmet 
monument,  proposed  site  537-538 

American  Catholic  Association,  and 
Emmet  monument  533 

"American  Citizen",  newspaper  421 

American-Irish  Historical  Society,  and 
Neilson's  grave  231 

American  War.  See  Revolution,  Ameri- 
can 

Amiens,  Peace  of,  and  State  prisoners  of 
'98  338 ;  and  United  Irishmen  314 

Ancient  Britons,  outrages  226 

 Order  of   Hibernians,  and  Neilson's 

grave  231 

Anerville,  Clonmel  560 

Antrim,  town,  battle  255;  257 


Antrim,  County  of,  Catholic  refugees  143 ; 
and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  129 ;  Rebellion  of 
1798  257;  United  Irishmen  132;  133; 
400 

Ants,  in  Emmet  arms  150 
Appeal  of  the  People  of  Ulster  232 
Arcularius,  Philip  G.,  libel  suit  420;  421 
"Argus",    newspaper    346n ;     371 ;     386 ; 

Robert  Emmet's  speech ;   United  Irish- 
men, attack  on  379;  380;  388 
Arklow,  battle  250;  257 
Armagh,    County   of,    Catholics  banished 

142  ;  143  ;  Orange  outrages  142 ;  religious 

disturbances  140 
Arms,  heraldic.    See  Coat-of-Arms 
Army,    British,    Irish    members   76;  and 

United  Irishmen  245;  381 

 French,  Irish  Legion  383;  385;  386 

 United  States,  and  alienism  397 

Army  Act,  and  alienism  397 

Assembly,  popular  right  of,  infringement 

of    61;    unlawful,    prohibited    110;  of 

Volunteers  prohibited  107 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  474; 

Emmet  monument  subscription  551 ;  and 

Morris  estate  471 
Astor  Case,  and  Col.  Barclay  471 ;  and 

Judge  Egbert  Benson  471 ;  and  T.  A. 

Emmet  471;  474;  496;  509;  and  Jackson 

471;  and  Governor  Livingston  471;  and 

Mary   Morris  471 ;   and   Roger  Morris 

471 ;  and  D.  B.  Ogden  471 ;  and  Joanna 

Philips  471 ;  and  Van  Buren  471 ;  and 

Webster  471 

 House  riot  467n 

Attorney,  status  395;  396;  398;  399 
Aubry,   Louis   Francois,   Emmet,   T.  A., 

miniature  of,  Frontispiece 
Augereau,     Pierre-Frangois-Charles,  and 

Emmet  380;  388;  and  Irish  expedition 

372;  373;  376;  379 

Bache,  Eliza.    See  Schmidt,  Eliza  Bache 
Bagot,  Captain,  United  Irishmen,  massacre 
of  255 

Baillie,  J.  H.,  Major,  Fort  George  273 
Baldwin,  Henry,  Emmet's  letter  to  429 
Ballinahinch,  battle  255;  257 
Banishment,  Act  of,  Irish  314;  410 
Bantry  Bay,  French  invasion  320 
563 


564 


Index 


Barclay,  Colonel,  and  Astor  suit  471 
Baronial    Committee,    of    United  Irish- 
men 134 

Barrington,  Sir  Jonah,  on  Camden  216;  on 
Dean  Swift  231 

Bartlett,  Submit,  marriage  164n 

Bayonne  army  369 ;  371 

Beach  Street,  New  York,  Emmet  resi- 
dence 438 

"Beauties  of  The  Press",  published  236 
Belfast,  Catholic  Committee  226;  Catholic 

petition  86;  United   Irishmen  82;  118; 

133;  243;  317;  Volunteers  81;  89 
Bellew,  Christopher,  Catholic  petition  93 
Benson,  Egbert,  and  Astor  suit  471;  and 

Emmet,  T.  A.  478 
Bentinck,  William  Henry  Cavendish,  3rd 

Duke  of  Portland.   See  Portland. 
Beresfords    218;    British    allegiance  127; 

dismissal  of  122 ;  and  Lord  Fitzwilliam 

510;  and  Toler  (Lord  Norbury)  510; 

and  Whigs  120 
Beresford,  Marcus  124;  218;  and  Clare 

217;  and  Fitzwilliam  121;  127;  217;  and 

Tone  117;  267 
Bernadotte,  Jean-Baptiste-Jules,  and  Irish 

expedition  362;  374 
Berthier,  Alexandre,  French  Minister  of 

War  340n;  and  Byrne  368n;  and  Emmet 

340;  345;  349;  351;  353;  354;  356;  358; 

359;  363;  364;  375;  376;  Emmet's  letter 

to  373;  374;  380;  and  Irish  expedition 

341;  343;  352 
Bishops,  Catholic.  See  Hierarchy,  Catholic 
Blackstone,  Sir  William,  and  Irish  sub- 
jugation 47;  on  right  of  conquest  48 
Blackwood,  Hans.    See  Dufferin 

 Mehetabele  Temple  177;  300n 

Blaquiere,  John  Baron  de,  and  Catholic 

relief  126;  militia  114 
Blennerhassett   family,  and  Emmets  175 ; 

misfortunes  455n 
 Dominick  422 

 Harman,  and  Alston  407 ;  and  Burr, 

Aaron  407;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  406;  407; 
422 ;  454 

 Mrs.  Harman,  and  Emmets  455 

 Harman,  Jr.  455n 

Bloomingdale,  New  York  456 

"Bolingbroke",  pseudonym  231 

Bonaparte.    See  Napoleon 

Bond,  Oliver,  arrest  247;  507;  and  Bris- 
sotins  115;  death  254;  318;  Government 
compact  253 ;  imprisoned  102 ;  and  Rey- 
nolds 507 ;  satirical  verses  on  327 ;  trial 
258 

Bonneville,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  361;  363; 

365;  369 

 Madame,  Emmet's  letter  concern- 
ing 426 

Borlase,  Sir  John,  lord  justice  of  Ireland 
14 

Boroughs,  representation  in  Grattan's  Par- 
liament 58 
Botha,  Mrs.  General,  ancestry  159 
Bourne,  Captain,  and  Lisburn  outrages  106 
Bowdoin  family,  and  Temples  177 


Bowdoin,  James,  Emmet's  letter  to  394 
Bowling  Green,  New  York,  and  Emmet 

monument  537;  538;  544n 
Boyce,  John,   and  Turner,   Samuel  338; 

339 

Boyne,  Battle  of,  and  Irish  Catholics  506; 

and  William  III  506 
Brereton,  Margery.    See  Patten,  Margery 
 William  220 

Brest,  armament  341;  348;  362;  369;  372; 

373;  380;  383;  384;  387n 
Bristow,  Mr.,  sovereign  of  Lisburn  105 
Britain.  See  England 

Brougham,  Lord,  on  George  IV,  funeral 
of  532 

Browerre,  Fmmet,  T.  A.,  bust  of  482;  535 
Browne,   Elizabeth   (Mrs.   Wm.  Emmet) 
151 

 John,  father-in-law  of  Wm.  Emmet  151 

Bruix,  and  Irish  expedition  369 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,  on  T.  A.  Emmet 

493;  and  Evening  Post   (New  York) 

493  ;  494n 

Buckingham,  Marquis  of,  Viceroy  of  Ire- 
land 176;  Grenville,  letter  to  312 

Buckinghamshire,  John  Hobart,  2d  Earl  of, 
Christopher  Temple  Emmet's  poem  in- 
scribed to  195 

 Robert  Hobart,  4th  Earl  of.  See  Ho- 
bart 

Bulls'  heads,  in  Emmet  arms  150 

Burke,  Edmund,  and  Catholic  disabilities 

120 ;  and  Edkins  collection  195 ;  Emmet 

compared  with  537;  and  Fitzwilliam  120 
Burr,  Aaron,  and  Blennerhassett  407 ;  and 

Emmet   424 ;    and   Hamilton   556 ;  and 

Ormsby,  Stephen  424 
Burrage,  Elizabeth.   See  Emmet,  Elizabeth 

Burrage 

Burrowes,  Peter,  absent-mindedness  194; 
and  Emmet  family  176;  on  Emmet, 
Christopher  Temple  194 ;  and  Emmet,  T. 
A.  156;  163;  214;  512;  political  opinions 
409 

Burston,  Beresford,  and  Catholic  Com- 
mittee 89 

Butler,   Simon,   and   Brissotins   115 ;  and 
Catholic  Committee  89 ;  Digest  of  the 
Popery  Laws  87  ;  imprisoned  102  ;  Rowan 
case  declined  207 ;  Tandy  case  207 
Byrne,  United  Irishman,  execution  258 

 Edward,  Catholic  petition  93 

 Garrett  350n  ;  in  England  350 

 Michael.    See  Byrne,  Miles 

 Miles,  and  Emmet,  Robert  368n;  and 

Emmet,  T.  A.  342n;  368;  on  Emmet  and 
O'Connor  357n ;  on  Gibbons  359n ;  and 
Lewins  376n;  on  McCabe  346n;  on 
Markey  371n ;  memoirs  340n ;  on 
O'Reilly  375n;  and  Rebellion  of  1803 
346n 

Caldwell,    John,    and    Emmet  monument 

497;  subscription  551 
Calender  family,  and  Emmets  449 
Camden,  John   Earl,  Viceroy  of  Ireland 

129;  226;  510;  Barrington  on  216;  Falk- 


Index 


565 


iner  on  217;  Moore  on  226;  and  Pitt 

216;  and  United  Irishmen  244 
Carhampton,  Earl  of,  and  Defenders  140; 

epitaph  240;  "Montanus"  letter  to  238 
Carlisle,  5th  Earl  of,  and  Fitzwilliam  119; 

124 

Carlow,  County  of,  military  outrages  242; 

Rebellion  of  1798  257 
Carlton,  Alderman,  Emmet,  T.  A.,  arrest 

of  248 

Carrickfergus  Castle,  State  prisoners, 
question  of  removal  to  280 

"Case  of  Ireland"  (Molyneux)  30 

Casino,  Emmet  residence  181 ;  author's 
visit  to  183;  closed  402n ;  Dr.  Emmet's 
care  of  182 ;  Dr.  Emmet's  death  183 ;  and 
Emmet,  T.  A.  185;  furniture  distributed 
180n ;  garden  (ill.)  facing  182;  illus- 
tration facing  183 ;  visitors  305 

Castlebellingham,  Tandy  at  101 ;  207 

Castlereagh,  Robert  Stewart,  Viscount, 
Byron  on  531 ;  and  "Courier"  libel  suit 
326 ;  and  Emmet,  Robert  511 ;  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  212;  264;  274;  313;  318;  510; 
511;  531;  and  Mrs.  Emmet  275;  and 
Grattan  244;  Madden  on  532;  and  St. 
John  Mason  511 ;  "Memoirs  and  Corres- 
pondence of",  cited  411 ;  Neilson's  letter 
to  414 ;  O'Hanlon  on  531 ;  and  Parlia- 
mentary reform  131;  Shelley  on  53;  and 
State  prisoners  of  '98  250;  251;  253;  255; 
311;  312;  415;  on  United  Irishmen  227; 
Wickham  to  271 ;  272  ;  411 

Catholics,  Irish  77;  78;  arms  prohibited 
545;  bar,  admission  to  84;  546;  bishops' 
address  109;  Boyne,  Battle  of  the  506; 
British  Governmental  oppression  506 ; 
and  Catholic  Establishment  401;  and 
Covenanters  132;  disabilities  18;  74;  and 
Dissenters  77 ;  educational  disabilities 
346n  ;  545  ;  Elizabethan  legislation  506 ;  and 
Emmets  213;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  214;  and 
England  79;  and  Fitzwilliam  122;  and 
Fitzwilliam's  recall  128;  franchise  denied 
75 ;  and  James  II  15 ;  506 ;  landed  tenure 
prohibited  545;  lands  confiscated  100; 
and  liberty  79 ;  in  militia  145 ;  and 
Orangemen  141;  and  Parliamentary  re- 
form 108;  Parliamentary  representation 
66;  and  Peep-o-Day  Boys  141;  penal 
laws  xiv  ;  13  ;  17  ;  18  ;  45  ;  74  ;  78  ;  83  ;  100; 
223;  506;  545;  persecution  of  13;  prej- 
udice against  213;  402;  and  Protestants 
546;  relief  petition  123;  and  Royalists 
14;  and  separation  135;  suffrage  denied 
546;  of  Ulster,  banished  142;  and  Unit- 
ed Irishmen  142;  and  viceroy,  office  of 
546;  and  Volunteers  54  ;  506;  547 
Catholic  Committee  83;  226;  attacked  103; 
defence  of  104;  and  Defenders  103;  and 
education  107;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  212; 
463 ;  and  Fitzwilliam  121 ;  King,  petition 
to  the  92;  and  Langrishe's  Bill  85;  plea 
of  1791  84 ;  pacific  measures  104 ;  and 
Parliamentary  reform  108;  reorganized 
88:  and  Tone  93;  117 

 Convention  92 


Catholic  Emancipation,  American  sympathy 
547 ;  Belfast  petition  86 ;  and  Dissent- 
ers 80 ;  108  ;  548  ;  Dublin  petition  123  ;  edu- 
cational relief  107;  109;  and  T.  A.  Em- 
met 213;  463;  533;  538;  546;  549;  557; 
Fitzwilliam  122;  123;  126;  127;  granted 
557 ;  Grattan's  plea  86 ;  Grattan's  Relief 
Bill  136;  and  Hutton's  463;  and  Irish 
Church  548 ;  Langrishe's  Bill  85 ;  O'Con- 
nor, Arthur  136 ;  popular  demand  for 
320;  and  Portland  123;  124;  Protestant 
efforts  for  xiii ;  Protestant  opposition  66 ; 
Relief  Bill  of  1793  97;  Relief  Bill  of 
1795  126;  Relief  Bill  of  1829  533;  relief 
measures,  Emmet's  account  of  213 ;  and 
Tone  xix;  533;  547;  and  Union  130;  and 
United  Irishmen  67;  82;  114;  135;  211; 
225;  243;  545;  and  Volunteers  54;  79; 
89;  547;  Whig  Club  87;  Whigs  advocate 
120 

 Establishment,    and    French  invasion 

401;  and  United  Irishmen  379 

 rent,  prohibited  533;  544 

"Caxton,  William",  pseudonym  231 

Chambers,  John,  at  Fort  George  273 ;  and 
Emmet  funeral  486;  and  Emmet  me- 
morial 497 ;  Emmet  monument  subscrip- 
tion 552;  and  O'Connor  336;  and  United 
Irish  Committee  378 

Chanler,  Alida,  marriage  450n 

Charlemont,  Lord,  on  Irish  evils  225 ;  and 
reform  223 ;  and  State  prisoners  250 ; 
and  Volunteers  225;  506 

Charles  I,  and  Catholics  14;  Irish  policy  13 

 II,  Irish  policy  14 

Charleston,  S.  C,  "Friends  of  Ireland",  and 
Emmet  monument  544 ;  surrender,  1781 
417n 

Cherin,  and  Irish  expedition  362 
"Cherubs"  326 

Church  of  Ireland.  See  Ireland,  Estab- 
lished Church  of 

Clare,  John  Fitzgibbon  Earl  of,  and  Beres- 
ford  217;  and  Catholic  Emancipation  94; 
and  "Courier"  libel  suit  326;  death  184; 
and  Emmet  318 ;  epigram  on  218 ;  and 
Fitzwilliam  121 ;  217 ;  funeral.  Madden 
on  532;  headstone  184;  O'Hanlon  on 
531;  and  Protestant  ascendancy  90;  and 
Relief  Bill,  Catholic  (1793)  97;  Sheares' 
letter  to  232;  and  State  prisoners  of  '98 
251;  255;  311;  313;  Tandy's  suit  against 
207;  and  Tone  267;  270;  and  United 
Irishmen  244 

Clarke,  J.  I.  C,  on  poems  of  Dr.  Robert 
Emmet  166 

"Clear  the  way",  battle  cry  vi 

Clergy,  Catholic,  banished  545 ;  educational 
scheme  136 

Clinch,  execution  249 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  395; 
556;  Emmet  eulogy  projected  484;  529; 
and  Emmet  funeral  486;  facsimile  of  T. 
A.  Emmet's  plea  facing  399;  and  Samp- 
son, William  495 

 George,  Governor,  and  Emmet,  T.  A. 


566 


Index 


395;   Irish   sympathies  403;  Republican 
meeting  420 
Clinton,  Sir  Henrv,  and  Revolutionary  war 
417n 

Cloncurry,  Valentine  Browne  Lawless,  2d 
Baron,  and  Emmet,  Thomas  Addis  226; 
and  Habeas  Corpus  297 ;  release  297 

Clonmel,  Patten  home  560 

Clubs,  influence  of  81 

Coat-of-Arms,  of  Emmet  family  149;  150; 

on  Casino  Gate  183 
Cobbett,  William,  and  Emmet  418;  493; 

494n 

Cockayne,  attorney  115 ;  and  Jackson,  evi- 
dence against  131 

Colden,  Cadwallader  D.,  lawyer  421;  and 
Emmet  404;  410;  456;  and  Emmet's 
funeral  486;  and  Emmet  memorial  495; 
Fulton,  Life  of  427n;  on  Fulton  428 

 Mrs.  David,  and  Emmet  family  442 ; 

444 ;  445 ;  Emmet  monument  subscrip- 
tion 551 

Coleman,  William  and  Emmet  421 ;  494n ; 

on  King,  Rufus  413;  trial  for  libel  420 
Colville  Family  222 ;  and  Lady  Montcastle 

392 

 Margaret,  cousin  of  Jane  Patten  Em- 
met 157 

 Margaret,  grandmother  of  Jane  Patten 

Emmet.    See  Patten,  Margaret  Colville 

 Margaret  Thompson  220;  portrait  fac- 
ing 220 

 William  220;  302;  at  Casino  282 

Commerce,  and  legislation  38 

 English,  and  Constitution  36;  and  Irish 

policy  37;  43;  origin  of  36;  Pitt  on  62 
 Irish,  crushed  38 ;  distress  108 ;  and 

English  legislation  28  ;  Pitt's  measure  62; 

progress  and  capacities  65 ;  restrictions 

75 

"Commercial  Advertiser",  and  Emmet's 
death  477 ;  on  Emmet's  funeral  479 ;  482 ; 
and  Emmet  memorial  495 

Committee,  General  Catholic.  See  Catholic 
Committee 

Common  Law,  English,  in  New  York  State 
396 

Commons,  House  of,  English,  corruption 
58 ;  prison  investigation  265n 

 House   of,   Irish,   corruption   in  59; 

Crown,  influence  of  57 ;  Emmet  examina- 
tion 264 ;  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  128 ; 
and  Lords  75;  popular  representation 
58 ;  sale  of  seats  64 ;  and  State  prisoners 
of  '98  252;  318;  321: 'theory  of  constitu- 
tion 57;  Cf.  Secret  Committee 

"Confederate  yell"  vii 

Connaught,  Catholic  refugees  142;  Defen- 
derism  in  115;  139;  144;  Defender  trials 
140 

Connaught  Proverb  3 

"Connaught  Rangers"  vii 

Connell,  Mary  Anne.  See  Thompson,  Mary 
Anne  Connell 

 Owen,  Emmet  memorial  497 

Conquest,  and  civilization  7 ;  and  domin- 
ion, Molyneux  on  30 ;  of  Ireland  32 ;  37 ; 


of  Ireland,  and  disunion  67 ;  Molyneux's 
definition  30;  Roman  system  40;  right 
of,  Blackstone  on  48 

"Constans",  heraldic  motto  150 ;  deriva- 
tion of  word  150n 

Constitution,  British,  basis  57 ;  and  com- 
merce 36 ;  and  general  policy  36 ;  and 
Irish  Constitution  57 

 Friends  of  the.    See  Peace,  Friends 

of 

 Irish,  and  British  Constitution  57 

Convention,  Catholic.  See  Catholic  Con- 
vention 

Convention  Bill,  enacted  110 ;  repeal  pledg- 
ed 127;  repeal  urged  131;  Parsons  on 
125 

Cook,  Secretary,  and  Macneven  250;  and 
Neilson  414;  and  State  prisoners  of  '98 
250;  251;  255;  256;  311 
Corbet,  Thomas,  Captain  344;  344n;  371n; 
and  Emmet  348;  359;  365;  366;  and 
O'Connor  366;  and  Swiney  393 

 William  344n;  371n  ;  and  Emmet  371 

Corbett,  Samuel,  and  C.  Emmet  163 
Cork,  and  French  invasion  371 ;  Emmet's 
birthplace  487 ;  and  Parliamentary  rep- 
resentation 111;  Westmoreland,  address 
to  83 

Cornwallis,  Charles,  Earl,  and  H'ayne  417n  ; 
Portland's  letter  297;  and  Rebellion  of 
1798  249;  250;  and  State  prisoners  of 
'98  257 ;  in  Virginia  417n 

Correspondence  Bill,  passed  110 

Corry,  Isaac,  and  Parliamentary  reform  95 

Cortlandt  Street,  New  York,  Emmet  resi- 
dence 438 

Council  of  England,  and  Irish  Parliament 
33 

Counties,  representation  in  Grattan's  Par- 
liament 58 

"Courier",  newspaper,  London,  323;  324; 
326;  libel  suit  326;  Neilson's  letter  to 
414 ;  on  Turner,  Samuel  338 

 newspaper,  New  York,  on  Emmet's  ill- 
ness 476;  on  Emmet's  death  476;  on  Em- 
met funeral  484;  and  Emmet  monument 
539 

Covenanters,  and  Catholics  132;  and  Quig- 
ley  133;  and  United  Irishmen  133 

Coxe,  Daniel  435 

 John  Redman  436 

Cranston,  Mr.,  State  charges  against  426 

Crest,  of  Emmets  150 

Crimmins,  John  D.,  letters  from  the  collec- 
tion of:  Emmet  to  Sampson  435;  Emmet 
to  Thompson  456;  Fulton  to  Emmet 
426 ;  Macneven  to  Duponceau  501 ;  Mac- 
ready  to  Emmet,  Robert  (Judge)  468; 
Shiel  to  Emmet  466 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  Irish  policy  14;  and 
Irish  women  vii 

Cumming,  George,  death  550n;  and  Emmet 
monument  490 ;  496 ;  497 ;  and  Emmet 
monument  meeting  550;  and  Emmet 
monument  subscription  (10  entries) 
551;  at  Fort  George  273;  550n;  and 
United  Irishmen  550 


Index 


567 


Curran,  John  Philpot,  and  Catholic  Eman- 
cipation 121;  on  Dr  R.  Emmet  180;  and 
Emmet,  T.  A.  222;  223;  488;  518;  522; 
537;  Haines  on  518;  and  "Monks  of  the 
Screw"  194;  veracity  181 
Cuthbert,  Agnes  162;  identity  164;  165 

 Joseph,  patriot  165n;  at  Fort  George 

273 

 Mary  164 

 William,  will  164 


Daendels,  Herman  W.,  Gen.  356;  356n 
"Daily  Advertiser",  newspaper,  Albany,  on 

Emmet  T.  A.  492n;  on  Emmet's  death 

503 ;  and  'Emmet  memorial  495 
Dalton,  Alexander  340n;  and  Byrne  368n; 

and  Emmet,  T.  A.  340;  341;  343-50;  357; 

359;    360-65;    369;    372-76;    378;  379; 

384-86;  and  Irish  expedition  359;  and 

Macneven  501;  and  Murphy  365;  and 

O'Connor,  Arthur  341;  360;  and  United 

Irish  reclamations  357 
Daly,  Denis  Bowes,  and  Fitzwilliam  120 
"Datis  Vadibus",  verses  327 
Davis,  Sir  John,  on  Irish  love  of  justice 

20 

 Thomas  E.,  Emmet  monument  subscrip- 
tion 551 

Davy,  Tighe,  and  Emmet  monument  497; 

subscription  551 
"De  aere  fixo  vel  acido  aereo",  by  Emmet, 

T.  A.  203 

"Death  of  a  Friend,  On  the",  poem  by  Dr. 
R.  Emmet  170 

"Decree,  The",  poem  by  Christopher 
Temple  Emmet  xv;  195-198;  Dictionary 
of  National  Biography  on  195 

Defenders,  attacked  103;  and  Catholic 
bishops  109 ;  at  the  Diamond  141 ;  and 
French  invasion  115;  in  militia  145;  ob- 
ject 101;  and  Orangemen  141;  142;  or- 
ganization, defects  in  144 ;  origin  100 ; 
and  Peep-o-Day  Boys  103;  225;  and 
secret  committee  103;  spread  100;  139; 
and  Tandy  101;  207;  208;  trials  140; 
145;  and  Union  Irishmen  138  ;  143;  144 

Delaney,  John,  and  Emmet  family  300 

 Patrick,  and  Emmet  family  298 

Delany,  (Delaney)  Malachy  346n;  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  346 ;  379 

Denny,  Sir  Edward  283;  283n 

Derry,  Rebellion  of  1798  257 

Despard,  Col.  Edward  Marcus,  execution 
555 

 M.,  on  Emmet  555;  556;  Emmet  me- 
morial verses  557;  and  Mrs.  Greatorex 
555 

Devereux,  James  Edward,  Catholic  peti- 
tion 93 

De  Wolf,  Abby,  marriage  164n 
Diamond,  The,  affray  141 
Diary,  of  Emmet,  T.  A.  335;  340-380 
Dillon,  Lord,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  507 

 Timothy,  and  Tandy  207 

"Dion",  pseudonym  231 

Directory.  French,  and  Amiens,  Peace  of 


362;  Irish  expedition  358;  and  Tone, 
Theobald  Wolfe  139;  and  United  Irish- 
men 320 

Directory  of  United  Irishmen  139 ;  317 ; 
507;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  246;  343;  354; 
507;  O'Connor,  Arthur  324;  336 

Dissenters,  and  Catholic  Emancipation  80; 
108;  548;  and  Catholics  16;  96;  in  Ire- 
land 77  ;  223  ;  and  Irish  prosperity  224 

Dixon,  Rev.  Wm.  Steele,  at  Fort  George 
273 

Doah,  Volunteers  dispersed  107 

Dobbs,  Francis,  and  State  prisoners  of  '98 

250;  258;  311;  312 
Donoughmore,   Richard  Hely-Hutchinson, 

1st  Earl  of,  and  Catholic  Emancipation 

92 

Donzelot,  Francois-Xavier,  Count,  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  378;  380;  388 
Douglas,    Rev.    Archibald,    on  Emmet, 

Robert  502 

 Sylvester  (Baron  Glenbervie)  112 

Douglass,  Peggy,  and  Emmets  447 
Dowdall,  William,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  375; 

and  French  army  393 
Dowling,  Matthew,  United  Irishman  333; 

394 ;  at  Fort  George  273 ;  and  O'Connor, 

Arthur  336;  Tandy  case  207 
Down,  County  of,  Catholic  refugees  143 ; 

Rebellion  of  1798  257;  United  Irishmen 

132 

Downes,  William,  1st  Baron,  Rowan's  ar- 
rest 207 

Doyle,  Thomas,  United  Irishman  272 
Drennan,  William,  and  Edkins  collection 
195;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  214;  and  Emmet 
family  176;  281n;  marriage  282;  and 
"The  Press"  231;  son,  birth  of  281 
Duane,  William  S.,  printer  232;  and  Em- 
met eulogium  503 ;  and  Emmet  memorial 
503 

Dublin,  Ireland,  Catholic  petition  128,  Cor- 
poration of,  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  129; 
Corporation  of,  and  Protestant  ascend- 
ancy 89;  Defender  trials  145;  Emmet 
residence  175;  Emmet  residence,  Moles- 
worth  St.  (ill.)  facing  175 ;  Emmet  resi- 
dence, Stephen's  Green  (ill.)  facing 
176;  Kilmainham  Gaol  (ill.)  facing  266; 
Newgate  Prison  (ill.)  facing  249;  and 
Parliamentary  representation  111 ;  and 
Rebellion  of  1803  368;  St.  Patrick's  Hos- 
pital for  the  Insane  (ill.)  facing  178; 
United  Irishmen  82;  226;  Whigs  of  81 

 New  Hampshire  vi 

"Dublin  Journal",  newspaper  320;  321;  on 
O'Connor,  Arthur  324;  and  State  prison- 
ers of  '98  322 

 Magazine",  Emmet's  examination,  re- 
port of  253 

Dublin  University.    See  Trinity  College 

Dubois  v.  Phillips  421 

Duelling  Act  398 

Duer,  John,  and  Emmet  monument,  Latin 

inscription  541;  544 
 Judge  William  A.,  on  Emmet  539;  549; 

550 ;  and  Emmet's  death  492 


568 


Index 


Duff,  Sir  James,  United  Irishmen,  mas- 
sacre of  255 

Dufferin,  Elizabeth  Blackwood,  Baroness 
300n;  marriage  300 

 Hans  Blackwood,  Baron  300;  marriage 

300n 

 and  Ava,  Frederick  Temple  Blackwood, 

1st  Marquis  of,  and  Temples  190 

Duigenan,  Patrick,  and  Catholic  relief  94; 
126;  136 

Dundas,  Sir  David  258 

Dungannon,  Ulster  Convention,  1793  91; 

98 ;  Volunteer  declaration  54 
Dunraven,  Lord,  on  Castle  system  vi 
Duponceau,   P.   S.  435 ;  435n ;  Macneven, 

William  James,  letter  to  502;  and  Tilgh- 

man,  William  501 
Duquery,  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  128;  and 

Grattan's  speech  123 ;  and  leather  tax 

126 

Duval,  Gabriel,  and  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden 

case  459 
Dwyer,  Michael,  patriot  342n 


Edgar,  Mrs.  Wm.  448n ;  and  Emmets  448 

Edinburgh  University,  Emmet,  T.  A.  at 
203  ;  487;  societies  204 

Edkins,  Joshua,  collection  of  poems  195 

Education,  Catholic,  clergy  136;  disabili- 
ties 346n ;  545 ;  plan,  petition  against 
137;  relief  measures  108;  109;  110 

Egan,   petition  85 

Egypt,  Napoleonic  invasion  381 

Elections,  annual,  United  Irishmen  advo- 
cate 243 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  Irish  policy 
13 ;  42 ;  statutes  against  Catholics  506 

Elphin,  Catholic  resolutions  81 

Emancipation,  Catholic.  See  Catholic 
Emancipation 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  on  Normans  219 

Emet,  from  Holland  159 

 Henry  151 

 Katherine  153 

 Thomas  153 

 William,  of  Tipperary,  will  151 

Emett  Family,  Arms  (ill.)  facing  149 

 Christopher,  of  Tipperary  151 ;   152 ; 

153;  160;  161;  descendants  159;  Miss 
Guiney  on  190;  kindred  163;  165;  por- 
trait facing  161;  spelling  of  name  176; 
will  162 

 Christopher,  son  of  William  162 

 Diana,  sister  of  C.  Emett  165 

 George,  brother  of  Christopher  163 

 Grace  Russell  161 

 Joana,  identity  163 

 Rebecca  Temple,  wife  of  Christopher 

152 ;  161 ;  Miss  Guiney  on  189 ;  legacy 
162;  portrait  facing  161 

 Robert,  son  of  Christopher.  See  Em- 
met 

 Thomas,  father  of  Christopher  161 

 Thomas,    son    of    Christopher    161 ; 

legacy  162 
 William,  of  Tipperary  162 


Emigrants,     Irish,     American  prejudice 

against  490 
Emmet  Family  149;  artistic  talents  513; 
Bible  Record  (ill.)  facing  154;  "Casino" 
181;  character  502;  503;  characteristic 
traits  158;  177;  188;  Christian  names 
149;  circumstances  157;  158;  Coat-of- 
arms  149;  150;  Coat-of-arms  (ill.)  facing 
149 ;  connections  159 ;  Dublin  residence 
176;  extinction  in  Ireland  149;  410;  and 
Fitzgerald,  Lady  Anne  282;  283;  305; 
and  de  Fontenays  292;  Miss  Guiney  on 
189;  and  King,  Rufus  496;  and  Madden 
177;  212;  502;  and  Masons  189;  political 
views  178 ;  professions  158 ;  records,  loss 
of  158;  and  separation,  political  179; 
spellings  of  name  176 ;  and  Temples  188 ; 
traditions,  lack  of  156n;  visitors  in  Dub- 
lin 176 

 In  New   York,  ball  461 ;   and  Bien- 

hausers  445 ;  and  Blennerhassetts  455 ; 
festivities  449 ;  home  life  438 ;  and  Mc- 
Evers  442;  444;  446;  residences  438 

Emmet,  nephew  of  Christopher  Emett  154 

 Anna  Tom  (Mrs.  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.) 

442  ;  442n  ;  446 

 Anne    Western    Temple    177 ;  Miss 

Guiney  on  190;  marriage  191;  portrait, 
facing  191 

 Byrd  Tucker  (Mrs.  John  Patten)  469 

 Catherine,    daughter    of  Christopher 

Temple  Emmet  192;  285;  291;  294;  296; 

444;  444n;  Dr.  R.  Emmet's  will  185; 

and  Emmet,  T.  A.  437 
 Catherine,  daughter  of  T.  A.  Emmet 

391 

 Christopher   Temple    (b.    1761)  180; 

burial  certificate  192 ;  Burrowes  on  194 ; 
character  503;  death  160;  191;  206;  483; 
506;  "The  Decree"  xv;  195-8;  Dictionary 
of  National  Biography  on  191 ;  Grattan 
on  192;  Miss  Guiney  on  189;  190;  intel- 
lectual attainments  181;  464;  learning 
213;  legal  ability  192;  194;  Madden  on 
177;  188;  192;  marriage  177;  191;  and 
Monks  of  the  Screw  194 ;  poems  194 ; 
195 ;  poetical  faculty  194 ;  political  views 
178;  university  standard  202 

 Christopher  Temple,  Lieut,   (b.  1798) 

289  ;  301 ;  304  ;  305  ;  306  ;  391 ;  402n  ;  423  ; 
437;  440;  death  455;  562 
 Christopher  Temple   (b.  1868),  mar- 
riage 450n 

 Deborah,  birth  record  154 

 Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Maurice  151 

 Elizabeth,  daughter  of  T.  A.  Emmet 

See  Le  Roy,  Elizabeth  Emmet  (Mrs.  W. 
H.) 

 Elizabeth  Btirrage  (Mrs.  Maurice)  151 

 Elizabeth  Mason   (Mrs.  Dr.  Robert) 

character  502;  503;  charity  181;  death 
187;  Dr.  Emmet's  death  186;  Dr.  Em- 
met's  will  185 ;  grave  187 ;  individuality 
188;  Letters  to  Emmet,  T.  A.  186;  fac- 
simile, facing  186  ;  280-288  ;  291 ;  294-301 ; 
303-309;  Dr.  Madden  on  177;  187;  virtue 
189 


Index 


569 


Emmet,  George,  son  of  Maurice  151 

 Hall,  Lancashire  151 

 Henry,  son  of  John  152 

 Henry,  son  of  Maurice  151 ;  seal  152 

 James,  of  the  Hillsboro'  District  155 

 Jane  Erin.    See  McEvers,  Jane  Erin 

Emmet  (Mrs.  Bache) 

 Jane   Patten    (Mrs.    Thomas  Addis) 

220;  298;  332;  and  Mrs.  Blennerhassett 
455;  character  562;  death  562;  and  Em- 
met family  303 ;  311 ;  and  Emmet,  Thos. 
Addis,  M.D.  559;  at  Fort  George  275; 
276;  282;  285;  296;  327;  girlhood  560; 
as  a  hostess  559;  in  Kilmainham  266; 
326;  Mrs.  Le  Roy,  visit  to  455;  and  let- 
ter writing  560 ;  Madden  on  561 ;  as  a 
mother  559;  Neil  son  on  336;  in  New 
York  437 ;  440 ;  old  age  559  ;  560 ;  Patten, 
John,  letter  to  560;  and  Portland  275; 
281;  327;  507;  portrait  562;  portrait, 
facing  438  ;  portrait,  facing  455  ;  portrait, 
facing  561 ;  Russell's  poem  276 ;  Wm. 
Sampson  on  528 ;  tomb  562 ;  and  Bishop 
Waynfleet,  resemblance  to  221 

 Jeannette.    See  McEvers,  Jane  Erin 

Emmet  (Mrs.  Bache) 

 J.  K.  155 

 John,  son  of  Henry  151 

 John,  of  London  152 

 John,  son  of  Maurice  151 

 John    Patten    562 ;    baptismal  record 

175;  birth  222;  in  Charleston  439;  448; 
childhood  287;  288;  289;  294;  295;  297; 
298;  300;  391;  death  560  ;  Emmet,  T.  A., 
bust  of  468;  482;  535;  Emmet,  T.  A., 
bust  of  (ill.)  facing  535;  "Evening  at 
Home"  439;  "Evening  at  Home"  (ill.) 
facing  439;  Jane  Macneven's  drawing  of 
(ill.)  facing  446;  marriage  469;  medical 
studies  437 ;  Dr.  Mitchell,  drawing  of 
513;  Dr.  Mitchell,  drawing  of  (ill.),  fac- 
ing 513;  New  York,  arrival  in  402n;  at 
school  423;  young  manhood  442;  446 

 Rev.  M.,  Methodist  minister  159 

 Margaret   402;    562;    childhood  285; 

288;  294;  299;  303;  330;  391;  and  Mrs. 
T.  A.  Emmet  559 ;  Ireland,  visit  to  156n ; 
Le  Roy,  Elizabeth  Emmet,  letter  to  457 ; 
458 

 Mary,  daughter  of  Henry  151 

 Mary,  of  Plymouth  152 

 Mary,  daughter  of  William  151 

 Mary  (b.  1650),  birth  record  154 

 Mary  Anne,  daughter  of  T.  A.  Emmet. 

See  Graves,  Mary  Anne  Emmet  (Mrs. 

Edward  Boonen) 
 Mary  Anne,  sister  of  T.  A.  Emmet. 

See  Holmes,  Mary  Anne  Emmet  (Mrs. 

Robert) 

 Maurice  (Morrice)  151;  Pedigree  of 

Family  (ill.)  facing  152 

 Maurice,  son  of  Maurice  151 

 Richard,  son  of  Maurice  151 

 Richard   S.    (son  of  Judge  Robert) 

and  Macready  467n 
 Robert,     M.D.     165;     176n;  402n; 

"Casino"  181;  182;  281;  298;  299;  300; 


301;  304;  306;  307;  "Casino"  (ill.)  fac- 
ing 183;  character  503;  charity  181; 
children  180;  children's  deaths  180n ; 
Curran  on  180;  death  183;  death 
mask  bust  (ill.)  facing  294;  descendants 
160;  Dublin  residence  175;  176;  T.  A. 
Emmet  on  186;  T.  A.  Emmet,  arrest  of 
248;  280;  T.  A.  Emmet,  letters  to  289; 
290;  293;  T.  A.  Emmet's  views,  knowl- 
edge of  179;  epitaph  184;  fortitude  283; 
government  positions,  resignation  of  178 ; 
and  Grattan  180  ;  Grattan's  portrait  180n  ; 
grave  183;  guardianship  of  cousins  177; 
Miss  Guiney  on  189;  heraldic  motto  150; 
individuality  188;  legacy  162;  Mrs.  Mac- 
oubry,  letter  to  165;  248;  Mrs.  Mac- 
oubry,  letter  to,  facsimile,  facing  248; 
Madden  on  177 ;  marriage  175 ;  marriage 
contract  176 ;  Molesworth  Street  resi- 
dence (ill.)  facing  175;  Phillips  on  180; 
philosophy  293;  poems  165;  poems,  criti- 
cism of  Mr.  Clarke  166;  politics  178; 
181;  politics,  Madden  on  179;  portrait 
165  ;  180n  ;  portrait,  facing  165  ;  relations 
by  marriage  175 ;  and  St.  Patrick's  Hos- 
pital 149 ;  scientific  writings  165 ;  silver 
salver  159;  silver  salver  (ill.),  facing 
150;  spelling  of  name  176;  as  State 
Physician  176;  506;  Stephen's  Green 
residence  (ill.)  facing  176 ;  tombstone  184  ; 
visitors  176;  White,  Samuel,  letter  to 
178 ;  will  184 

Emmet,  Robert,  patriot  180;  apostrophe  to 
his  father  180;  arrest  367;  371;  arrest 
of,  and  Fitzgerald,  Lady  Anne  305n; 
baptismal  record  175 ;  death  mask  by 
Petrie  (ill.)  facing  372;  and  Col. 
Despard  555;  and  Douglas,  Rev.  Archi- 
bald 502 ;  Dublin  acquaintance  181 ; 
Dr.  Emmet's  death  186 ;  Dr.  Emmet's 
will  185;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  xx ;  333; 
333n;  372;  372n ;  on  his  epitaph  533; 
family  pride  157 ;  and  French  Revolu- 
tion 179;  Miss  Guiney  on  189;  190;  Hall 
on  403 ;  Dr.  Madden  on  177 ;  and  Mason, 
St.  John  176 ;  and  O'Connor-Emmet  dis- 
pute 338;  popularity  182;  "Press",  con- 
tributions to  231;  projects  xx ;  Quaid's 
work  175 ;  and  Russell  269 ;  seal 
ring,  Byrne  368n ;  signature  to  father's 
poems  165n ;  speech  misrepresented  in 
France  372;  374;  375;  and  Trevor  511; 
Trinity  College,  dismissal  from  182 ;  and 
United  Irishmen  333n 

 Robert,    Judge    562;    childhood  281; 

284;  285;  287;  288;  289;  299;  330;  391; 
and  Blennerhassett  455n ;  Emmet  bust 
535;  and  Emmet's  rejection  of  Solicitor 
Generalship  510 ;  at  Fort  George  277 ; 
277n;  Hibernian  Relief  Society,  honor- 
ary member  of  501 ;  King,  Charles,  letter 
from  496;  Le  Roy,  Elizabeth  Emmet,  let- 
ters to  438  ;  439  ;  444  ;  446  ;  on  Macneven 
277n ;  and  Macready  467 ;  Macready,  let- 
ter from  468;  marriage  437;  and  Napo- 
leon's answer  to  memoir  386n ;  young 
manhood  443 


570 


Index 


Emmet,  Robert,  brother  of  Mrs.  Botha  159 

 Rosina  (Mrs.  Robert)  440;  444 

 Temple.      See    Emmet,  Christopher 

Temple 

 Thomas,  of  Plymouth  152 

 Thomas  Addis  180;  272;  on  aerial  acid 

203;  agency  in  Paris  339;  340-380;  and 
Aherne  (Capt.)  356;  and  Aherne  (phy- 
sician)   356;    alienage   414;  appearance 
and  deportment  521;  appearance,  Hall  on 
404 ;   Arcularius  case  420 ;   421 ;  arrest 
248;  318;  322;  483;  507;  anonymous  ar- 
ticle ascribed  to  241;  and  Astor  suit  471; 
496 ;  509 ;  as  Attorney-General  of  New 
York  424 ;  483 ;  488 ;  509 ;  and  Augereau 
388;  B.  A.  degree  202;  and  Bar,  Ameri- 
can 512;  and  Bar,  Irish  206;  483;  Bar  of 
N.  Y.,  admission  plea  395;  Bar  of  N. 
Y.,  admission  to  404;  406;  483;  Bar  of 
N.  Y.,  memoir  of  505;  Bar  of  N.  Y., 
memorial  tablet  535;  and  Judge  Benson 
478;  and  Berthier  351;  353;  354;  358; 
359  ;  363  ;  364  ;  375  ;  376  ;  Berthier,  letter  to 
373;  374;  birth  202;  506;  birthplace  487; 
and  Blennerhassett  406 ;  407 ;  455n ;  and 
Bond  318;  and  Bonneville  361;  363;  365; 
369 ;  and  Mme.  Bonneville  426 ;  Brow- 
erre's  bust  of  482;  535;  at  Brussels  331; 
333;  335;  and  Bryant,  William  C.  on 
493 ;  burial,  in  Jones'  vault  530n ;  burial, 
St.  Mark's  Church  482;  530n ;  and  Burr 
424;  and  Burrowes,  Peter  156;  163;  409; 
Burrowes  on  512;  and  Byrne,  Miles  368; 
368n ;  career  in  Ireland  511 ;  Carhampton 
(Satanides),  letter  to  238;  and  Casino 
185;  and  Castlereagh  212;  264;  510;  511; 
531;  and  Catholic  belief  464;  and  Cath- 
olic Emancipation  xix ;  463  ;  533  ;  538  ; 
546;  549;  557;  character  206;  474;  480; 
487;  494;  500;  502;  522;  524;  527;  char- 
acteristics 543 ;  chemistry,  taste  for  203 ; 
children  437 ;  children  surviving  his  death 
562;  and  Clinton,  De  Witt  395;  Clinton, 
De  Witt,  facsimile  of  plea  before,  facing 
399;  Clinton,  De  Witt,  projected  eulogy 
529 ;  and  Clinton,  George  395 ;  Cloncurry 
on    226;    and    Cobbett,    William  418; 
493;  494;  and  Colden  404;  410;  456;  and 
Coleman,  Wm.  494 ;  college  career  205 ; 
and  College  Historical  Society  512;  Com- 
mercial Advertiser  on  479 ;  and  Com- 
mittee of  United  Irishmen  376 ;  377 ;  384 ; 
385;  and  Corbet,  Thomas  359;  365;  366; 
and  Curran,  John  Philpot  518;  522;  and 
Dalton  340;  341;  343;  344;  345;  348; 
349;  350;  357;  359;  360;  361;  362;  363; 
364;  365;  369;  373;  374;  375;  376;  378; 
379 ;  384 ;  385 ;  "De  aere  fixo"  203 
^— death  470;  509;  515;  and  Albany  Bar 
492;  "Albion"  on  487;  Argus  and  City 
Gazette  (Albany)  on  492;  and  Bar  of 
New  York  479;  485;  and  Bleecker,  Har- 
manus  492 ;  and  Board  of  Aldermen,  New 
York  530;   cause  473;   and  "Commer- 
cial   Advertiser"    477;    and  Common 
Council,   New   York  475 ;    Courier  on 
476;   and   Court  of   General  Sessions, 


New  York  476;  and  Cuming,  George 
490;  Daily  Advertiser  (Albany)  on  503; 
and  Judge  Duer  492;  and  Evening  Post, 
New  York  472;  473;  501;  and  Henry, 
John  V.  492 ;  and  King,  James  492 ;  Lon- 
don Times  on  501 ;  and  Macneven  490 ; 
"Recorder  and  Telegraph"  (Boston)  on 
497;  Truth  Teller  on  483;  and  Judge 
Van  Rensselaer  492;  and  Van  Vechten, 
Abraham  492 ;  and  White,  C.  P.  490 

Emmet,  and  Delaney  346 ;  deportment  at  the 
Bar  521 ;  Despard's  memorial  verses  588  ; 
descendants  160;  Diary  335;  340-380;  and 
Lord  Dillon  507 ;  diploma,  facsimile,  fac- 
ing 206 ;  and  Directory  of  United  Irish- 
men 246;  317;  507;  and  Donzelot  378; 
388;  and  Dowdall  375;  W.  S.  Duane 
eulogy  503  ;  Dublin  Journal  on  323 ;  Duer 
on  549 ;  550;  at  Edinburgh  University 
203  ;  204  ;  and  Edkins  collection  195  ;  edu- 
cation 202  ;  203  ;  204  ;  483  ;  506  ;  eloquence 
472  ;  494;  500;  509;  515;  emigration  483; 
508 ;  and  Emmet,  Catherine  437 ;  Mrs. 
Emmet  (Elizabeth  Mason),  letters  from 
186;  facsimile,  facing  186;  280-288;  291; 
294-301;  303;  309;  J.  P.  Emmet's  bust 
of  468;  535;  J.  P.  Emmet's  bust  of  (ill.), 
facing  535;  Emmet,  Mary  Anne  (Mrs. 
Graves),  letter  from  453;  on  Dr.  Emmet's 
death  186 ;  Dr.  Emmet's  legacy  184 ;  Dr. 
Emmet's  will  184 ;  Dr.  Emmet,  letters  from 
289;  290;  293;  and  Emmet,  Robert  xx; 
333;  333n;  372n ;  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.,  on 
511;  and  Erskine  522  ;  Essay  on  the  His- 
tory of  Ireland  73;  278;  514;  "Evening  at 
Home"  439;  and  Evening  Post  (New 
York)  413 ;  493 ;  exile  566 ;  family  letters 
to  181 ;  family  pride  157 ;  and  Fenians  x ; 
H.  M.  Field  on  525 ;  fire  in  cell  276 ;  first 
case  in  America  491 ;  508 ;  543 ;  556 ;  and 
Fitzgerald,  Lord  Edward  x;  Fitzpatrick 
on  232  ;  and  Foot  520 

 at  Fort  George  272;  273;  274;  327; 

328;  488;  507;  523;  550n;  family  letters 
280;  mathematical  studies  278;  release 
from  314 ;  508 

 Fowler  vs.  Carver  case  471 ;  in  France 

508;  and  Francis,  John  W.  474;  and 
French  aid  x;  179;  246;  268;  317;  335; 
337;  366;  374;  393;  401;  French  negotia- 
tions 335 ;  and  French  Revolution  179 ; 
and  Fulton,  Robert  357 ;  427  ;  427n ;  428 

 Funeral  479;  512;  and  Columbia  Col- 
lege 530 ;  Commercial  Advertiser  on  482 ; 
Evening  Post  (New  York)  on  484; 
Grace  Church,  New  York  530;  A.  S. 
Hewitt  on  530 ;  Macneven  on  491 ;  Mad- 
den on  532;  Morning  Courier  on  484; 
and  New  York  Corporation  480;  pall 
bearers  486;  procession  480;  482;  486; 
and  Dr.  Wainwright  482 

 and  Gallagher  342 ;  342n ;  and  Garat 

371;  and  Geneva  College  476;  491;  and 
Gibbons  vs.  Ogden  case  459;  Goodwin 
trial  436 ;  and  Government,  agreement 
with  250;  251;  255;  415;  Government  re- 
ports, protest  262;  321;  322  ;  and  Grand 


Index 


571 


Assize  of  New  York  491;  and  Grattan 
xx ;  xxi ;  488 ;  and  Greenwich  village 
Irishmen  464;  465;  466;  Greenwich  vil- 
lage Irishmen,  testimonial  465 ;  Green- 
wich village  Irishmen  testimonial  (ill.), 
facing  465 ;  Miss  Guiney  on  190 ;  C.  G. 
Haines  on  484;  517;  518;  519;  520;  521; 
523;  Hall  on  403;  421;  at  Hamburg 
330;  and  Harper,  R.  G.  521;  and  Harty 
344;  349;  351;  353;  356;  357;  374;  380;  J. 
Harvey  on  499 ;  Countess  d'Haussonville 
on  228 ;  and  Henry  521 ;  Herbert's  por- 
trait of  301n ;  and  Hewitt,  Abraham  S. 
529;  530;  Lord  Holland  on  229;  in  Hol- 
land 330;  and  Holmes,  Mary  Anne  Em- 
met 326;  home  life  439;  and  Horry  392; 
illness,  last  "New  York  American"  on 
472;  imaginative  powers  519;  imprison- 
ment 264;  265;  315;  318;  328;  influence 
317;  328;  and  insurrection  317;  intel- 
lectual attainments  205;  509;  518;  Ire- 
land, devotion  to  484;  on  Irish  history 
6;  and  Irish-Americans  490;  and  Irish- 
American  memorial  491 ;  and  Irish  regi- 
ment in  New  York  424 ;  Jackson's  trial 
507;  J.  B.  S.  on  505;  506;  507;  508;  509; 
and  Keogh  488 ;  at  Kilmainham  326  ;  510 ; 
and  King,  Rufus  xx;  157;  410;  411;  412; 
415  ;  416 ;  417  ;  420  ;  508  ;  508n  ;  and  Knox, 
George  267 ;  and  Kosciuszko  392 ;  and 
Lafayette  458;  last  case  471;  491;  last 
case,  and  Evening  Post  (New  York) 
471;  Latinity  204;  and  Lawless  376n ; 
388  ;  as  a  lawyer  481 ;  488 ;  500 ;  501 ;  508 ; 
522;  524;  525;  as  leader  145;  Lecky  on 
xvi ;  xx ;  legal  ability  223 ;  404 ;  493  ;  legal 
career  420 ;  legal  studies  206 ;  Mrs. 
Lenox-Conyngham's  verses  in  memory 
of  554;  Mrs.  Lenox-Conyngham's  "The 
Righteous  Perisheth"  555 
Emmet,  Letters.  Baldwin,  Henry  429 ;  Blen- 
nerhassett,  Harman  422;  Burrowes,  Peter 
409;  Emmet,  Catherine  313;  Holmes, 
Mrs.  Robert  310;  314;  Hope,  Lord  311; 
King,  Rufus  413;  Lawless,  L.  451;  Le 
Roy,  Elizabeth  Emmet  431;  434;  450; 
454;  Le  Roy,  Wm.  H.  452;  Mclntyre, 
Archibald  425 ;  McCormick,  Joseph  393 ; 
Macneven  331;*333;  384;  387;  388;  389; 
Mrs.  Macoubry  165;  222;  facsimile,  fac- 
ing 222;  Ormsby,  Stephen  424;  425n; 
Partridge  426 ;  Patten,  John  437 ;  Rowan, 
A.  H.  331;  467;  Russell  266;  Sampson, 
William  435;  Thompson,  Smith  456;  Til- 
lary,  James  408;  Tone,  T.  W.  214;  Yates 
430 

 Lewis  vs.  Few  421 ;  LL.B.  degree  203 ; 

London  Courier  on  323 ;  and  McCormick 
392;  and  McDonnell  364;  377;  and  Mac- 
neven 394;  488;  502;  and  Mrs.  Macoubry 
222;  and  Macready  467;  469;  and  Mc- 
Sheehy  360;  Madden's  memoir  280;  335; 
Madden  on  177 ;  188 ;  205  ;  206 ;  229 ;  337  ; 
390;  512;  manifesto,  Buckingham  on 
312;  and  Manumission  Society  543;  mar- 
riage 220;  Mason  on  274;  and  Mason 
337;  M.D.  degree  203;  506;  mechanical 


skill  438 ;  medical  career  206 ;  medical 
course  203;  medico-legal  knowledge  424; 
and  Medical  Society  of  N.  Y.  408;  me- 
moir to  government  243;  252;  272;  318; 
324;  memoir  on  Irish  Union  261;  me- 
morial tablet  inscription  535 ;  memorial 
tablet  inscription,  translation  536;  me- 
morial tablet  inscription,  "U.  S.  F."  on 
536 ;  Mitchell's  eulogy  of  491 ;  memorial 
verses  by  "Mary"  497 ;  memorial  verses 
by  "Pierre"  488 ;  memorial  verses,  N.  Y. 
Truth  Teller  489;  Miranda's  case  408; 
515;  Mitchell,  S.  L.  on  203;  513;  514; 
Mitchell,  S.  L.,  Discourse  published 
513n;  S.  L.  Mitchell's  verses  on  515;  516; 
modesty  206;  213;  328;  464;  "Montanus" 
letters  xviii ;  233 ;  234 ;  facsimile  page, 
facing  234 

Emmet  monument  490;  531n  ;  534;  549;  as- 
tronomical inscription  542  ;  collectors  -197  : 
Baldwin,  Charles  495 ;  Boston  meeting 
499 ;  Colden,  C.  D.  495 ;  Commercial  Ad- 
vertiser (New  York)  495;  Cuming, 
George  496;  550;  Daily  Advertiser  (Al- 
bany) 495  ;  description  538 ;  553 ;  Des- 
pard  on  556;  disintegration  of  stone 
553;  Dolan,  John  T.  499;  Duer's  inscrip- 
tion 544;  Bp.  England's  inscription  544; 
English  inscription,  author  of  539 ;  Eng- 
lish inscription,  text  540 ;  and  Evening 
Post  490;  495;  496;  499;  expenses  552; 
Rev.  Dr.  Feltus  499 ;  and  Friends  of  Ire- 
land Society  544;  Gaelic  inscription  542; 
557 ;  Gaelic  inscription,  translation  557n ; 
Giovanozza  535;  illustrations  facing  542; 
facing  553 ;  and  Irish  Americans  496 ; 
Jay,  Peter  A.  495;  and  Kent,  James  495; 
Latin  inscription,  author  541;  Latin  in- 
scription, text  541 ;  location  53 ;  538 ; 
544n ;  location,  letter  in  N.  Y.  American 
537;  538;  McCarthy,  Dennis  499;  Mac- 
neven 539 ;  547  ;  Macneven's  report  543  ; 
553;  Madden  533;  medallion  likeness 
538;  553;  New  York  Courier  on  539; 
Ogden,  David  B.  495 ;  public  meeting 
543 ;  Roosevelt,  James  J.  495 ;  Sampson, 
William  495 ;  subscription  committee  539 ; 
subscription  committee,  treasurer  551 ; 
subscriptions  544;  551;  552;  unveiled 
539;  Verplanck's  inscription  544;  White, 
Campbell  P.  496 

 Mumford   vs.    McPherson   408;  and 

Murphy  364  ;  and  Napoleon  215  ;  336 ;  339 ; 
343;  344;  345;  347;  361;  362;  374;  Na- 
poleon, memoir  to  364;  371;  375;  383; 
384 ;  386 ;  Napoleon,  memoir  to,  reply  to 
386n ;  "narrative"  missing  332 ;  natural- 
ization 392 ;  392n ;  481 ;  and  Neilson, 
Samuel  xvi;  230;  and  "Nereide"  case 
527 ;  at  Newgate  249 ;  newspaper  con- 
tributions 539n;  in  New  York  391;  488; 
528;  New  York  residence  472;  477;  530; 
New  York  Enquirer  on  480 ;  Observa- 
tions on  the  Conquest  of  Ireland  5 ;  249 ; 
and  O'Connor,  Arthur  x;  xi;  xvii; 
xx;  317;  318;  319;  335;  336: 
337;     338;     341;     342;       344;  346; 


572 


Index 


351;  353;  355;  357n;  359;  360;  361; 
362;  365;  366;  369;  370;  371;  375;  378; 
379;  488;  and  O'Connor,  Roger  337; 
O'Driscoll,  defence  of  228 ;  offensive 
writing,  theory  323 ;  oratorical  ability 
204;  205;  519;  521;  522;  525;  527;  ora- 
torical ability,  Duer  on  539 ;  oratorical 
ability,  "U.  S.  F."  on  537;  and  O'Reilly 
375;  papers  confiscated  323;  in  Paris 
340-380;  Parliamentary  examination  252; 
253;  261;  320;  507;  Patterson  on  550; 
and  Paulding  475 ;  and  Percival  trial 
474 ;  Phillips  on  181 ;  physical  character- 
istics 205 ;  and  Pinkney,  William  460 ; 
520 ;  and  Pintard  409 ;  and  Pitt  511 ;  as  a 
pleader  519;  and  Plunket  262;  263;  as  a 
polemicist  514 ;  political  views  178 

Emmet  Portraits,  by  Aubry,  Frontispiece; 
by  Herbert,  facing  1 ;  by  Le  Roy,  Eliza- 
beth Emmet,  facing  453 ;  by  Martin,  fac- 
ing 391 ;  by  Morse,  facing  517 

 and    "The    Press"   231;    508;  prison 

calendar  264 ;  prison  employment  265 ; 
private  life,  Despard  on  556 ;  privilege 
declined  292;  as  Protestant  546;  and 
Randall's  will  suit  543n ;  and  Randolph, 
John  521;  at  Rathfarnham  222;  on  Re- 
bellion of  1798  227;  233;  246;  278;  549; 
and  Rebellion  of  1803  366;  367;  508;  re- 
ligious knowledge  213;  464;  religious 
tolerance  xix  ;  213  ;  464  ;  and  Republican 
meeting  419 ;  reticence  156 ;  Reynolds  on 
228 ;  and  Rowan,  Archibald  Hamilton 
207;  330;  488;  522;  529;  and  Rutger's 
medical  faculty  469 ;  and  Sailors'  Snug 
Harbor  472;  496;  509;  543n;  557;  Samp- 
son on  485 ;  528 ;  529 ;  Sampson's  pro- 
jected biography  529 ;  Sampson  reports 
408 ;  "Satanides",  epitaph  for  240 ;  satri- 
cal  verses  on  327;  Saturday  Evening 
Post  on  505;  Savage  on  232;  269; 
scholarship  202  ;  and  separation  x ;  317  ; 
320;  services  underrated  146;  328;  Sheil, 
Richard  Lalor,  letter  from  466 ;  shrewd- 
ness 405 ;  and  Simms,  Robert  400 ;  Sirr 
purloins  letters  310;  313;  and  Smith, 
William  S.,  defence  408;  515;  Smith  vs. 
Elder  421 ;  and  Solicitor-generalship  xxi ; 
211;  510;  511;  solitary  confinement  264; 
313;  319;  323;  326;  first  speech  at  Bar 
208 ;  spelling  of  name  423n ;  sportman- 
ship  202;  as  "State  physician"  206;  506n  ;• 
"Statesman"  (New  York)  on  499; 
Stephen's  Green  residence  (ill.)  facing 
176;  Joseph  Story  on  526;  527;  and 
Stuart  276 ;  278 ;  314  ;  and  Supreme  Court 
406;  and  Sweeny  352;  and  Sweetman 
384;  and  Tandy  207;  208;  211;  C.  H'. 
Teeling  on  512 ;  and  Judge  Thompson 
522 ;  tomb  of,  verses  of  M.  G.  Conway 
544;  and  Tompkins  395;  406;  556;  and 
Tone  xvi;  214;  267;  268;  transportation, 
prospect  of  282;  311;  and  treason  charge 
488;  at  Trinity  202;  and  Truguet  361; 
362;  363;  Trumbull  on  418;  and  Mrs. 
Tucker  469;  and  Turner,  Samuel  337; 
338;  and  Union,  Anglo-Irish  548;  and 


United  Irishmen  xvii;  211;  212;  214; 
278;  316;  317;  320;  342;  343;  344;  350; 
351;  354;  355;  488;  507;  523;  and  United 
States  308;  309;  331;  332;  389;  401;  uni- 
versity standard  202;  veracity  216;  and 
War  of  1812  556;  warrant  of  release 
314;  in  Washington  521;  Webb  on  246; 
247;  439;  and  White,  Campbell  P.  431; 
and  Williams,  Elisha  520;  and  Wilson, 
Hugh  442n;  and  Wirt,  William  521; 
writings  xviii ;  145;  213;  277;  332;  514; 
515;  539n;  Yates  vs.  Lansing  423;  and 
Young  Irelanders  x 

Emmet,  Thomas  Addis,  Jr.  306;  402n;  562; 
childhood  287;  288;  289;  292;  295;  296; 
297  ;  299 ;  300 ;  304 ;  391 ;  Le  Roy,  Elizabeth 
Emmet,  letter  to  441;  Madden,  letter  to 
511 ;  marriage  442n ;  446 ;  and  Moore 
153;  at  school  423;  and  Selden,  Dudley 
441n;  and  Wilson,  Edward  J.  442n; 
young  manhood  437 

 Thomas  Addis,  brother  of  Mrs.  Botha 

159 

 Thomas  Addis,  M.D.  and  Emmet,  Jane 

Patten  559;  Emmet  monument,  plan  for 
preservation  of  553  ;  Gaelic  studies  xii  n ; 
and  Mrs.  Greatorex  555;  and  Hewitt, 
Abram  S.  529;  Irish  affairs,  knowledge 
of  iii ;  on  Irish  in  America  vi;  and  Dr. 
Madden  177;  and  Neilson's  grave  231; 
portrait  facing  xxii ;  Winthrop,  Robert 
C,  letter  from  394 

 Thomas  Addis,  S.J.,  ancestry  159 

 William,  of  London  151 

 William  Colville  221;  449;  453;  562 

Emmett,  spelling  of  name  423n 

 Family,  Arms  (ill.)  facing  149 

Emmits,  family  of,  Frederic,  Md.  155 

Emmitsburg,  town,  origin  of  name  155 

Emmot,  Coat-of-Arms  149 

Emmott  family,  arms  149;  150;  arms  (ill.), 
facing  149 ;  spelling  of  name  151 

 General,  of  East  India  service  159 

 Mary,  marriage  149 

 Thomas  149 

Emmott  Hall,  Lancashire  149;  151 
Emot,  spelling  151 

 family  (of  Colne)  arms  150 

 Robert  de,  arms  150 

Emott  Family,  Arms  (ill.)  facing  149 
Emott,  Elossoboth,  birth  record  154 

 Honri  (Henry)  birth  record  154 

 James,  Judge,  of  Poughkeepsie  154 

 James,  settler  154 

 James,  of  New  York,  and  Capt.  Kidd 

288n 

 John,  birth  record  154 

 Robert  de  190 

England,  and  American  alliance  iv; 
commerce,  origin  of  36;  commercial 
policy,  Pitt  on  62;  Constitution,  and 
general  policy  36;  and  emigrants,  Irish 
vii ;  and  Fenians  xi ;  and  France,  peace 
negotiations  344;  345;  346;  349;  352; 
361;  362;  363;  364;  385;  389;  394;  and 
France,  war  with  380  ;  381;  508;  and 
French  invasion  of  Ireland  341;  342; 


Index 


573 


343;  351;  354;  382;  and  French  Revolu- 
tion 506;  and  French  spies  215;  German 
rivalry  v;  government,  basis  of  15;  gov- 
ernment, form  of  iii ;  greatness,  origin 
of  36;  Habeas  Corpus  renewal  of  297 
England  and  Ireland  xiv;  29;  36;  224;  228; 
236  ;  548  ;  commerce  37  ;  38  ;  547  ;  conquest 
of  31 ;  37 ;  history,  perversion  of  6n ;  im- 
perial government  of  53 ;  independence 
xi  n  ;  27  ;  legislation  for  26  ;  28 ;  oppres- 
sion 506;  popular  prejudice  against  43; 
separation  projected  x;  submission  of 
12 

 and  Irish  Brigade  349 ;  legislation  su- 
premacy, right  of  39;  liberty,  origin  of 
36 ;  maritime  supremacy  42 ;  merchant 
marine  v;  and  Napoleonic  invasion  243; 
387n  ;  national  development  11 ;  Norman 
ascendancy  v;  vi;  Norman  conquest  219; 
Parliament,  Irish,  domination  of  224; 
policy,  general  36;  rivalry,  Irish  40;  43; 
46;  214;  seal  of,  and  viceroy  of  Ireland 
208;  210;  treachery  xi ;  tyranny,  cause  of 
39;  41;  tyranny,  object  of  35;  Union  xv; 
316;  and  United  States  iii;  v;  Whigs 
326;  World  dominion  iv 
England,  Church  of,  in  Ireland  77 
England,  John,  Bishop  of  Charleston,  Em- 
met monument,  Gaelic  inscription  543; 
544 

Enelish,  Thos.  Dunn,  on  "Fag  a  bealac" 
vii 

Ennet,   Edward,   and   Emmet  monument 

subscription  551 
Erskine,  Thomas,  Baron,  and  Emmet,  T. 

A  522;  and  O'Connor  324;  as  an  orator 

519 

Established  Church  of  Ireland.  See  Ire- 
land, Established  Church  of 

Establishment,  Ecclesiastical,  and  United 
Irishmen  320 

"Euergetes"  pseudonym  231 

Evans,  Hampden  376n ;  and  Byrne  368n ; 
and  United  Irish  Committee  376;  377 

"Evening",  poem,  by  Dr.  Robert  Emmet 
166;  Mr.  Clarke's  criticism  166 

"Evening  at  Home",  drawing  439;  (ill.), 
facing  439 

"Evening  Post",  N.  Y.,  newspaper, 
Bryant's  editorship  494;  Coleman's  edi- 
torship 413n  ;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  413 ;  493 ; 
501;  on  T.  A.  Emmet's  death  472;  473; 
479 ;  on  T.  A.  Emmet's  funeral  484 ;  and 
T.  A.  Emmet's  last  case  471 ;  on  Emmet 
memorial  490;  495;  496;  499;  Emmet 
memorial  verses  497 ;  503 ;  Fowler  vs. 
Carver  case  471 

Executive  Directory  of  United  Irishmen. 
See  Directory  of  United  Irishmen 


"Fag  a  bealac",  battle  cry  vi ;  Napier  on  vii 
"Fag  a  bealac  Boys"  vii 
Fagan,  John,  and  Emmet  monument  551 
Fair  Street,  New  York,  Emmet  residence 
438 

Falkiner,  C.  Litton,  on  Fitzwilliam's  recall 


215 ;  historical  accuracy  218 ;  on  Tone, 

Theobald  Wolfe  270 
Fane,  John,  Earl  of  Westmoreland.  See 

Westmoreland 
Farnham,  residence  301;  301n 

 Lord,  death  288 

Federal  party,  in  New  York  410 

Fencibles,  outrages  226 

Fenians,  Emmet's  views  x 

Fermoy,  Col.  Philip  Roche,  on  Irish  in 

America  ix 
Feudalism  in  Ireland  37 
Few,  editor,  trial  for  libel  421 
Fingal,  Lord,  and  Catholic  Committee  84 
Finlay,  Elizabeth.    See  Dufferin,  Elizabeth 

Blackwood,  Baroness 
 Henry  300n 

First  National  Battalion,  Irish  93 
Fitzgibbon,  John.    See  Clare,  Earl  of 
Fitzgerald,  Lady  Anne  281n ;  and  Emmet 
family  176;  281;  282;  283;  305;  305n 

 Edward,  of  New  Park  350;  350n 

 Lord  Edward,  arrest  247 ;  and  Brisso- 

tins  115;  Cloncurry  on  226;  death  247; 
249;  and  Emmet  family  176;  and  Emmet, 
T.  A.  x ;  and  French  aid  324 ;  and  French 
spies  215 ;  and  Gallagher  342n ;  Countess 
d'Haussonville  on  229;  Lord  Holland  on 
247 ;  and  insurrection  317 ;  and  military 
organization  xvi ;  at  Newgate  249n ;  and 
O'Connor,  Arthur  324 ;  proclamation  op- 
posed by  95 ;  and  Reynolds  247 ;  507 ; 
Taylor's  Life  of  224;  and  United  Irish- 
men 225;  246;  247;  and  violent  measures 
xvi ;  233  ;  warrant  507 

 George  Robert,  and  Edkins  collection 

195 

 Lord  Henry,  on  Lord  Edward's  im- 
prisonment 249 

 Maurice,  Knight  of  Kerry  28n ;  305n 

 William,  and  Emmet  memorial  497 

Fitzhenry,  Jeremiah  344;  344n 

Fitzmaurice,  Miss,  and  Emmet  family  301 

Fitzpatrick,  William  John,  on  Emmet, 
Thomas  Addis  232;  on  French  spies  215; 
on  Napoleonic  invasion  of  Ireland  387n; 
on  Pitt  216 :  on  Turner,  Samuel  338 

Fitzwilliam,  William  Wentworth,  Earl  121; 
226;  and  Beresfords  124;  510;  and  Lord 
Carlisle  119;  124;  and  Catholic  Emanci- 
pation 122;  123;  127;  and  Clare  217; 
Falkiner  on  217;  and  Parliamentary  re- 
form 131;  and  Pitt  216;  and  Portland 
120 ;  124  ;  powers  121 ;  recall  126 

Flood,  Henry,  and  reform  223 

Fontenay,  Marquis  de,  and  Emmet  family 
281;  281n;  292 

Foot,   and  T.  A.  Emmet  520 

Forbes,  Treasury  board  bill  126 

Foreign  Affairs,  French  Office  of,  and 
Irish  expedition  341 ;  342 

Forrest,  Edwin,  and  Macready  467n;  Cf. 
Astor  House  Riot 

"Fortesque",  pseudonym  231 

Fort  George,  Emmet,  Jane  Patten  275; 
282 

 Emmet,  T.  A.  277;  488;  507;  family 


574 


Index 


letters  280;  released  508;  treatment  327; 
328 

Fort  George  fire  508 ;  Mason,  St.  John  274 ; 
337;  Neilson,  Samuel  230;  O'Connor,  Ar- 
thur 272;  319;  327;  335;  336;  O'Connor, 
Roger  336;  State  prisoners  of  '98  269; 
271;  277;  314;  327;  337;  550n ;  Turner, 
Samuel  338 

Foster,  John,  Baron  Oriel,  and  Protestant 
ascendancy  90;  and  Tandy's  suit  207 

Fotherall,  Col.  S.  E.,  and  Emmet  memorial 
497 

Fowler  vs.  Carver,  case  471 

Fox,  Charles  James,  and  Edkins  collection 
195n;  Emmet's  essay  249;  Emmet's  let- 
ter to  323 ;  and  O'Connor  324 

 Henry  Richard  Vassall,  3rd  Baron  Hol- 
land.  See  Holland 

France,  army,  Irish  legion  383 ;  385 ;  Em- 
met's agency  340 ;  343 ;  and  England ; 
peace  negotiations  344-46 ;  349 ;  361 ; 
362-64;  385;  and  England,  war  with 
380-81 ;  508  ;  and  Ireland  x  ;  75 ;  139 ;  179 ; 
215;  243;  246;  258;  268;  317;  320;  324; 
335;  339;  340-54;  358-59;  361-63;  366; 
369 ;  372-74 ;  377 ;  379  ;  383 ;  385  ;  387  ; 
401;  Irish  expedition  270;  Irish  expedi- 
tion, Macneven's  proclamation  386;  and 
Rebellion  of  1798  249;  260;  Revolution. 
See  Revolution,  French ;  and  Scotch 
patriots  343 ;  and  United  Irishmen  132 ; 
137  ;  139  ;  257  ;  333  ;  350 ;  351 ;  507 

Franchise  and  freehold  111 

Franchise  Act  (1793)  217 

Francis,  Dr.  John  W.,  and  Emmet  474 

Francis  Street  chapel,  Catholic  assembly 
130 

Franklin,  Dr..  of  Lisburn  105 

 Benjamin,  on  Irish  in  Pennsylvania  ix 

Frederick,  Md..  Emmits  155 
French,  Sir  Thomas,  Catholic  petition  93 
French     Revolution.       See  Revolution, 
French 

Friends  of  the  Constitution,  Liberty  and 
Peace.    See  Peace,  Friends  of 

 of  Ireland,  Emmet  subscription  551; 

Brooklyn  574;  Charleston  544;  New 
York  544 ;  Savannah  544 

Froude,  J.  A.,  on  Turner  338 

Fulton,  Robert,  artistic  studies  427n ;  Col- 
den  on  428;  death  428;  and  Emmet,  T. 
A.  357;  427;  428;  429;  and  Emmet, 
Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Le  Roy)  427n;  lawsuits 
423  ;  427  ;  and  Livingston  427  ;  428  ;  New 
Jersey  legislation  429;  and  Ogden 
458;  and  Roosevelt  429;  Stanhope  letter 
429;  430;  Yates  claims  430 

Gadsden,  Christopher,  surrender  417 
Gaelic  language,  and  Hebrew  150n ;  revival 

of  xii ;  xii  n 
Gallagher,  Patrick,  Lieutenant  342n ;  and 
Emmet  342 ;  384 

 Mrs.,  and  Emmet  family  368n 

Garat,  Dominique-Joseph,  Comte,  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  361 ;  and  Irish  expedition 
363;  and  Truguet  362 


Garland,  James  A.,  Col.  Emmett's  letters 
155 

Gates,  Horatio, .  Horry's  letter  to  392 ; 
Kosciuszko's  letter  to  392 

Genet,  Edward  C,  Republican  meeting  419 

Geneva  College,  medical  faculty,  and  Em- 
met 469;  491;  and  Emmet's  death  476; 
Mitchell's  discourse  512 

Geo.  I,  Act  6,  passed  46;  repeal  xiv;  52; 
repeal,  effects  56 

George,  Baron,  and  Emmet  family  176; 
and  Emmet,  Robert,  trial  of  176 

Gerdwood,  Diana  Macoubry  165 

 John  165 

 Mrs.  Sarah  165 

Germany,  and  English  domination  iv ;  mili- 
tarism iv ;  iv  n ;  rivalry  with  England  v 

Gibbons,  Austen  359 ;  359n 

 versus  Ogden  458;  459 

Gifford,  Sheriff,  trial  294;  and  Volunteers 
113 

 Samuel,    Junr.,    and    Emmet's  death 

475 

Giovanozza,   ,  Emmet  monument  535 

Glover's  Alley,  Dublin  175 
Goldsmith's  Corps  of  Volunteers,  dispersed 
95 

Goodwin,  Robert  M.,  trial  436 
Gormanston,  Lord,  and  Catholic  Committee 
84 

Government,  British,  and  Emmet  315-17; 
328 ;  and  Emmet,  solicitor  general- 
ship 510 ;  and  Irish  Whigs  120 ;  methods 
vi;  and  O'Connor,  Arthur  336;  338; 
policy  v;  Popery  laws,  Irish  506;  545; 
and  Rebellion  of  1803  368 ;  and  State 
prisoners  of  '98  275;  314;  and  United 
Irishmen  x;  356;  Cf.  England;  Pitt; 
Portland 

 French,  and  Emmet  360 

 Irish,  vi ;  and  Bond  253 ;  and  Emmet 

264 ;  nature  of  75 ;  officials,  character  of 
326;  and  Rebellion  of  1798  245;  and 
Rowan  116;  and  State  prisoners  of  '98 
250-58  ;  311 ;  312 ;  318  :  319 ;  State  prisoners' 
memoir  256;  272;  Cf.  Castlereagh ;  Clare 

Grace  Church,  New  York,  Emmet  funeral 
482;  484;  486;  487;  530;  (ill.),  fac- 
ing 482 ;  old  site  530 

Grattan,  Henry.  Catholic  Relief  Bill  97; 
136 ;  on  Catholic  disabilities  86 ; 
and  Catholic  Emancipation  xiv;  121; 
and  Edkins  collection  195 ;  on  Emmet, 
Christopher  Temple  192;  213;  464;  on 
Emmet,  Dr.  Robert  180;  and  Emmet,  T. 
A.  xx ;  xxi;  488;  Emmet  compared  with 
537;  and  Fitzwilliam  120;  on  French 
Revolution  123 ;  leadership  xv ;  and 
leather  tax  126 ;  Lecky  on  xv ;  on  Parlia- 
ment 224;  Parliamentary  session  of  1794 
112 ;  and  Parsons,  Sir  Lawrence  124 ; 
portrait  180n ;  and  reform,  Parliamentary 
95;  98;  131;  223;  and  representation, 
parliamentary  113;  resolutions  rejected 
112;  and  revenue  laws  126;  taxation, 
estimate  of  125;  Trinity  address  130; 


Index 


575 


and  Union  243;  and  United  Irishmen 
113;  225;  244;  507 

Grattan,  Henry,  Jr.,  on  United  Irishmen  225 

 Parliament,  ability  of  members  224; 

corruption  223 

Graves,  Edward  Boonen,  son-in-law  of  T. 
A.  Emmet  452;  burial  vault  562;  and 
Emmet,  Jane  Patten  562 

 Mary   Anne    Emmet    (Mrs.  Edward 

Boonen)  402;  442n;  449;  and  Emmet, 
Jane  Patten  559;  562;  Emmet,  T.  A.  let- 
ter from  453;  Mrs.  Le  Roy  (Elizabeth 
Emmet),  letters  to  449;  460;  Patten,  Mrs. 
John,  letter  to  560 

Great  Britain.   See  England 

Greatorex,  Eliza,  and  M.  Despard  555 ;  and 
Dr.  Emmet  555;  "Old  New  York"  555 

Greene-Emmott,  Richard  149 

Greenwich  village,  Irishmen  464 ;  466 ;  Em- 
met testimonial  465 ;  Emmet  testimonial 
(ill.)  facing  465 

Grenville,  Lord,  Buckingham's  letter  312 

Guiney,  Louise  Imogen,  on  Emmet  family 
189 

Gunpowder  Bill,  continued  112 


Habeas  Corpus  Act,  inoperative  in  Scot- 
land 281 ;  Portland  on  297 ;  renewal  of 
297 

Haines,  Charles  G.,  lawyer  517;  on  Cur- 
ran,  John  Philpot  518 ;  on  Emmet  460 ; 
466;  474;  517-23 

Hall,  A.  Oakey,  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  403; 
421;  424;  on  Emmet's  death  470;  on  Em- 
met in  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden  458 ;  on  Em- 
met and  Pinkney  460 

Hamburg,  Emmet  at  330;  State  prisoners 
of  '98  314 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  and  Burr  556;  death 

395;  monument  538 

 William,  and  Delaney  346n 

Hannay,  James,  on  Temple  family  189 
Hardy,  Jean,  General,  and  Irish  expedition 

362 

Harper,  Mrs.,  cousin  of  Jane  Patten  Em- 
met 157n 

 Messrs.,  and  Emmet  monument  552 

 Robert  Goodloe,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  521 

Harris,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  403n 
Hart,  Defender  145 

Harty  (Hartey),  General  344n;  and  Ber- 
thier  354;  and  Emmet  344;  347;  349; 
351;  352;  353;  355;  356;  357;  374;  380; 
and  French  aid  350;  and  Irish  expedi- 
tion 365 ;  and  McGuire  352 ;  and  O'Con- 
nor 352;  and  United  Irishmen  350;  352; 
353 ;  356 ;  and  United  Irish  reclamations 
357 

"Harvest  Day",  poem,  by  Dr.  R.  Emmet 
165;  Mr.  Clarke's  criticism  of  166 

Haussonville,  Countess  d',  on  Emmet,  T. 
A.  228;  on  Fitzgerald,  Lord  Edward  229 

Haviland,  Charles,  and  Emmet  426 

Hayne,  Col.  Isaac,  surrender  417 ;  417n 

"Hell  or  Connaught"  142 

Henry  II,  Ireland,  conquest  of  6;  Moly- 


neux  on  31;  Irish  policy  11;  Irish  sover- 
eignty 12 

Henry  VII,  Irish  policy  23 

Herbert,  artist  301n;  Emmet,  T.  A.,  por- 
trait of,  facing  1;  Macneven,  W.  J.,  por- 
trait of,  facing  332 

 Mary  301 

Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  529; 
on  Emmet's  funeral  530;  and  Emmet,  T. 
A.,  M.D.  529 

Hibernian  Relief  Society  (Boston)  and 
Emmet,  Judge  Robert  501 ;  and  Sampson, 
William  501 

Hierarchy,  Catholic,  and  Catholic  Com- 
mittee 88;  and  Defenderism  109;  edu- 
cational reform  110;  and  relief  measures 
109 

High  Treason.    See  Treason 
Hildreth,  Matthias  B.,  death  483 
Hill,  Edward  151 

— —Mary,  wife  of  Henry  Emmet  151 

History,  English  perversion  of  218 

"History  of  Ireland,  Part  of  an  Essay  to- 
wards the",  by  T.  A.  Emmet  213;  514 

Hobart,  John  2d  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire. 
See  Buckinghamshire 

 Robert,  4th  Earl  of  Buckingham- 
shire, Irish  secretary  83;  95;  and  Cath- 
olic deputies  96 

Hoche,  Louis-Lazare,  Gen.,  and  Cheriit 
362 ;  and  Irish  invasion  324 

Hoffman,  Josiah  Ogden,  and  T.  A.  Em- 
met's funeral  486;  and  Rutgers  Medical 
Faculty  469 

Holland,  Henry  Richard,  Vassal  Fox,  3d 
Baron,  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  229 ;  on  Fitz- 
gerald, Lord  Edward  247 ;  on  outrages 
in  Ireland  227 

Holmes,  Elizabeth.  See  Lenox-Conyng- 
ham,  Elizabeth  Holmes  (Mrs.  George) 

 Mary   Anne   Emmet    (Mrs.  Robert) 

282;  283;  285;  287;  289;  296;  303;  char- 
acter 503;. and  Emmet,  Thomas  Addis 
272;  326;  Emmet,  Thomas  Addis,  letters 
from  310;  314;  and  Emmet  children 
402n;  furniture,  disposal  of  180n;  Miss 
L.  I.  Guiney  on  190 ;  legacy  185 ;  marriage 
281 

 Robert,  Dr.  Emmet's  will,  trustee  184 ; 

Emmet,  Elizabeth  Mason  on  187 ;  Mar- 
garet Emmet's  description  of  157n ;  Miss 
Guiney  on  190  ;  and  Dr.  Madden  212; 
portrait,  facing  184 

 Mrs.  Robert.  See  Holmes,  Mary  Anne 

Emmet  (Mrs.  Robert) 

Holt,  General,  and  Rebellion  of  1798  253 

Home  Rule  xii ;  and  separationists  179  ; 
and  Union  xv 

Hope,  Lord,  T.  A.  Emmet's  letter  to  311 

 James,    United    Irishman    225;  and 

Hughes  400;  and  Rebellion  of  1803  xx 

Horace,  Ninth  Ode  of,  Dr.  R.  Emmet's 
rendering  173 

Horry,  C.  L.  Pinckney,  and  Emmet,  T.  A. 
392 

Hosack  family,  and  Emmets  449 

H'osack,  David,  President  Rutgers  Medical 


576 


Index 


faculty  469;  and  T.  A.  Emmet's  death 

476;  and  Mitchell,  Samuel  L.  513 
House  of  Commons.   See  Commons 
House  of  Lords.   See  Lords 
Howard,  Frederick,  5th  Earl  of  Carlisle. 

See  Carlisle 
Hudson,  Edward,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  222; 

at  Fort  George  273;  277;  and  O'Connor 

336 

Hudson-Kinahan.   See  Kinahan 
Hudson  Street.  New  York,  Emmet  resi- 
dence 438;  477 
Hughes,  John,  informer  256;  400 
Humbert,    Jean-Joseph-Amable,  General, 
Irish  expedition  349n ;  358;  359n;  362; 
and  O'Connor  360 
Hunter,  Robert,  at  Fort  George  273 
Huntley,  Marquis  of,  and  Rebellion  of  '98 
312 

Hussey,  Dr.,  and  Catholic  education  121; 
136 

Hutchinson,  Hon.  Francis,  on  State  prison- 
ers' advertisement  262 

H'utton,  Henry,  Sheriff  of  Dublin  95;  and 
Catholic  Emancipation  213;  463 

Imprisonment   without   trial,  Carhampton 

introduces  239 
Informers.    See  Spies 

Ingham,  Charles  Cromwell,  Emmet  monu- 
ment medallion  553 
Inheritance,  and  alienism  396 
Innes,  Edward,  and  Emmet  memorial  497 
Insurrection,  Irish  (1641)  14;  result  17 

 Irish  (1798).    See  Rebellion  of  1798 

 Irish  (1803).    See  Rebellion  of  1803 

"In  Vain  My  Dear  Betty",  poem,  by  Dr.  R. 

Emmet  173 
Ireland,  and  Anglo-French  peace  negotia- 
tions 362;  Anglo-Norman  policy  11; 
363 ;  area  76 ;  assemblies,  unlawful,  pro- 
hibited 110 ;  biogtry  xix ;  213  ;  Camden 
129;  226;  Carhampton's  outrages  239; 
Catholic  education,  plan  for  108 ;  Cath- 
olic disabilities  346n,  Cf.  Popery  laws; 
Catholic  Relief  Bill  (1793)  107;  Charles 
II,  reign  of  14;  civilization,  early  5;  com- 
merce crushed  38 ;  commercial  arrange- 
ment, Pitt's  62;  commercial  possibilities 
43  ;  commercial  restrictions  547  ;  commer- 
cial restrictions  removed  51 ;  commercial 
rivalry  with  England  43 
 conquest  of  37;  evils  27;  and  indepen- 
dence 27 ;  Molyneux  on  31 ;  32  ;  Observa- 
tions on,  by  T.  A.  Emmet  5;  249;  results 
of  18 ;  19 

 Convention  Bill  110;  Cornwallis  250; 

Correspondence  Bill  110;  corruption, 
Parliamentary  73;  and  Daendels  356; 
Defender  trials  140 ;  degradation  fostered 
545 ;  dependence  of.  Blackstone  on  47 ; 
48;  discontent  in,  1795  139;  disunion  pro- 
moted xii;  11;  18;  38;  42;  66;  546;  Em- 
met family,  extinction  of  410 ;  T.  A.  Em- 
met's devotion  to  484;  and  England  548; 
English  commercial  policy,  Pitt  on  62 ; 
English  legislation  20;  26;  39;  English 


legislation,  right  renounced  52;  English 
oppression  506;  English  policy  xiv;  36; 
224;  228;  English  treachery  xi ;  English 
tyranny,  object  of  35;  Fitzwilliam  119- 
24;  126;  131;  216;  217  ;  226 ;  food  scarcity, 
1798  325;  and  Franch  aid  x;  115;  179; 
215;  243;  246;  249;  257;  258;  259;  268; 
317;  320;  335;  339-54;  358;  361-63;  366; 
368n;  369;  372-74;  377;  379;  383;  385; 
386 ;  387  ;  387n ;  401 ;  and  French  aid,  Mac- 
neven  on  394 ;  Fulton's  promise  of  aid 
357;  Gaelic  revival  xii;  geographical  ad- 
vantages 47;  Government  officials  218; 
326;  Grattan  Parliament  223;  Habeas 
Corpus,  renewal  of  297;  hierarchy,  Cath- 
olic 109;  history,  English  perversion  of 
6n;  impoverishment  294 

Ireland,  independence  of  xi ;  Emmet's  me- 
morial 375;  English  grants  27;  53;  and 
Geo.  I  Act  6  xiv;  Napoleon's  policy  385; 
possibility  of  320;  theory  of  53 

 invasion    of    6;    James    I,    reign  of 

13;  15;  Kilkenny,  Statute  of  21;  Lecky's 
history  213;  legislative  subjection,  Moly- 
neux on  33;  Libel  Bill  111;  Lisburn,  at- 
tack on  105  ;  106 ;  magistracy,  and  military 
106;  maritime  resources  42;  martial  law 
239;  249;  257;  military  outrages  227;  242; 
Militia  Law  108  ;  misrule,  and  Emmet  538 ; 
Montanus  on  234 ;  and  Napoleon  274 ;  375 ; 
natives,  submission  of  12;  natives,  submis- 
sion of,  Molyneux  on  31 ;  natural  advanta- 
ges 11;  73;  Orangemen  141;  512;  Parlia- 
ment of  1782  54;  Parliament  of  1794  112; 
Parliamentary  reform  108 ;  Peep-o-Day 
Boys  140 ;  penal  laws  545 ;  people  outrag- 
ed 245;  Pitt's  policy  179;  214;  224;  316; 
Place  Bill  111 ;  Poynings'  Law  23 ;  prog- 
ress arrested  10 ;  Protestant  ascendancy 
223;  provincialized  6;  39;  58;  75;  provin- 
cial condition,  Montanus  on  235 ;  Rebel- 
lion of  1798  227  ;  245  ;  248  ;  249  ;  255 ;  316  ; 
381;  Rebellion  of  1803  342;  366;  367; 
368  ;  371 ;  religious  divisions  13  ;  religious 
wars  17 ;  resources  46 ;  76 ;  rivalry  with 
England  40 ;  salt  tax  325 ;  separation  ad- 
vocated x ;  179 ;  State  prisoners,  treat- 
ment of  275;  subjugation,  final  16; 
Union  xv;  316;  548;  Union,  Pitt's  policy 
215;  United  Irishmen  225;  247;  316; 
viceroy,  legal  status  208;  Volunteers  223; 
Volunteer  assemblies  prohibited  107; 
women,  heroic  562 ;  wretchedness  noted 
50 

 Established    Church    of   74;  ascend- 

acy  223 ;  and  Catholic  Emancipation  136 ; 

548;  and  Emmet  546;  Montanus  on  235; 

and  reform  82;  tithes  80;  and  United 

Irishmen  320 
Ireland  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  Lecky 

213 

 Part  of  an  essay  towards  the  History 

of,  by  T.  A.  Emmet  73 
 under  English  Rule,  by  T.  A.  Emmet, 

M.D.  215 

Irish,  race,  American  descendants  iv ;  Ameri- 
can prejudice  ivn;  ix;  402;  and  British 


Index 


577 


oppression  545;  "brogue"  404n;  calumni- 
ators 544 ;  England,  submission  to  31 ; 
and  English  colonists  514 ;  extirpation  of 
32;  inferiority,  question  of  73;  and  Puri- 
tans viii 

Irish  in  United  States  iv  n ;  vi;  vii ;  viii;  x; 
391 ;  and  Emmet  490 ;  Emmet  memorial 
490;  491;  496;  Emmet  memorial  meeting, 
Philadelphia  501  ;  503  ;  Emmet  monument 
544;  545 

"Irish  Confederates  and  the  Rebellion  of 

1798",  by  Field  525 
 Directory.    See  Directory  of  United 

Irishmen 

 History,   Contributions   to,  by   T.  A. 

Kmmet  277 

 Legion,  in  French  army  374 ;  383  ;  401 ; 

colors  385 ;  and  England  349 ;  formation 

359n ;  Macneven  on  394 ;  and  McSheehy 

:!60n  ;  and  Napoleon  385 
"Irishman,  An",  pseudonym  231 
Irishmen,  United.    Sec  United  Irishmen, 

Society  of 
Irish  Republic,  projected  335 
 Volunteers.    See  Volunteers,  Irish 

Jackson,  Henry  412;  arrest  322;  507;  and 
King,  Rufus,  letter  from  412;  satirical 
verses  on  327 

—Hugh,  arrest  507 

 William  115;  arrest  116;  507;  character 

132;  and  T.  A.  Emmet  507;  and  Tone 
116;  trial  and  death  131;  and  United 
Irishmen  507 

Jacob  family  561 ;  561n 

James  I,  alienism  397 ;  plantation,  scheme 
of  13 

 II,  Irish  Catholics  506;  Irish  policy  15 

Jamestown,  Catholic  resolutions  81 

Jarvis,    Macneven,  VV.  J.,  painting  of, 

facing  511 

Jay,  Peter  A.,  and  Emmet  memorial  495 
"J.  B.  S.",  on  T.  A.  Emmet  505-509;  on 
Emmet's   rejection   of  solicitor-general- 
ship 511 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  President,  and  Emmet 
398 

Johnson,  William,  and  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden 
Case  459 

John  Street,  New  York,  Emmet  residence 
438 

Jones.  Samuel,  Chancellor,  and  T.  A.  Em- 
met's  funeral  486;  vault  of,  Emmet's 
burial  530n 
Journal,  Dublin.    See  Dublin  Journal 
Jury,  trial  by,  subversive  proceedings  61 

Keady,  Defenders  142 

Keer,           schoolmaster  202 

Krmble,  John,  and  Edkins  collection  195 
Kenmare,  Lord,  and  Catholic  Committee  84 

Kennedy,          Defender  145 

Kent,    James,    Chancellor,    and  Emmet's 

funeral  486 ;  and  Emmet  memorial  495 ; 

Pintard  vs.  Ross  409;  Yates  vs.  Lansing 

423 

Keogh,  John,  and  Catholic  Committee  93 ; 


130;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  488;  and  Hobart, 
Robert  96 ;  London,  mission  to  84 
Kidd,  Capt,  William,  and  Bellamont  288n 
Kildare,  County  of,  and  Fitzwilliam's  re- 
call 129;  and  French  invasion  342;  Re- 
bellion of  1798  258 
Kildare,    Curragh    of.    United  Irishmen, 

massacre  of  255 
Kilkenny,  Statute  of  21 
Killala,  French  invasion  249;  359n 
Kilmainham,  Emmet,  T.  A.,  imprisonment 
248;   264;  319;  510;  illustration,  facing 
266;  Turner,  Samuel,  imprisonment  338 
Kihvarden,   Arthur  Wolfe,   1st  Viscount, 
and    Fitzwilliam    121;    122;    123;  and 
Tandy  207 ;  and  Tone  267 
Kinahan,  Lady  Hudson  222 
King     (sovereign),    and    alienism  397; 
suits  against  209 

 of  England,  and  Irish  Parliament  33 ; 

liberty  to  petition  110 

 Charles,  Emmet,  Robert,  letter  to  496 

 James,  and  T.  A.  Emmet's  death  492 

 Rufus,  Broadside  used  for  defeat  of 

(ill.)  facing  420;  and  Coleman  413;  and 
Emmet,  T.  A.  xx  ;  147  ;  157  ;  253  ;  410-413  ; 
415-417;  420;  508;  508n ;  514;  Jackson, 
Henry,  letter  to  412;  Portland,  letter  to 
411;  and  Republican  meeting  419;  and 
State  prisoners  of  '98  253;  411-413;  415; 
416;  514;  Trumbull  on  418 
Kingsborough,  Lord  326 
King's  Counsel,  Catholic  ability  for  85 
Knockena,  Dr.  Emmet's  property  184 
Know-Nothing    Party,  Forrest-Macready 
riot  467n 

Knox,  George,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  205 ;  and 
Tone  267 

Kosciuszko,  Tadeusz,  and  Emmet,  T.  A. 
392;  395 

Lafayette,   Marie-Jean,   Marquis   de,  and 

Emmet,  T.  A  458 
Lake,  Gerard,  General,  and  Irish  insurgents 

249 

Lamb,  Anthony,  and  Emmet's  death  475 
Land,  Irish,  English  legislation  28 ;  Protes- 
tant ownership  of  77 
Landed  tenure,  and  alienism  397;  and  Irish 

Catholics  545 
Langrishe,  Sir  Hercules,  Bill  85;  87 
Latouche,  David,  Belfast  petition  86 
Laurie,  Chaplain,  House  of  Representatives 
398 

Lavoisier.  Antoine-Laurent,  T.  A.  Em- 
met's use  of  203 

Law,  popular  consent  to  57 ;  profession  of, 
and  alienism  395:  399;  Catholics,  admis- 
sion of  84 ;  licence  to  practice  399 

Lawless,  L.,  Emmet,  T.  A.,  letter  from  451 

 Valentine    Brown,    Baron  Cloncurry. 

See  Cloncurry 

 William  375n ;  376n  ;  and  Emmet,  T. 

A.  373;  388;  and  French  army  393;  mar- 
riage 376n ;  and  United  Irish  committee 
376 

Lawlor,  Dr.,  and  St.  John  Mason  301 


578 


Index 


Leather,  tax  on  126 

Lecky,  William  Edward  Hartpole,  on  Em- 
met xvi ;  xx ;  213;  on  Irish  Whigs  xv; 
on  O'Connor  xxi 

Leinster,  Province  of,  Defenderism  115 ; 
139;  140;  United  Irish  delegates  507 

Lenox-Conyngham,  Elizabeth  Holmes 
(Mrs.  George)  and  Emmet,  Catherine 
193;  Emmet,  T.  A.,  verses  in  memory  of 
544;  poem,  "The  Righteous  Perisheth" 
555 

Le  Roy,  Alexander,  and  Emmets  447 
 Cornelia  448 

 Elizabeth    Emmet    (Mrs.    Wm.  H.) 

437;  441;  562;  childhood  285;  287;  330; 
391 ;  Colville,  Margaret  Thompson,  min- 
iature of,  facing  220 ;  and  Emmet,  Cath- 
erine 192 ;  Emmet,  Jane  Patten,  portrait 
of  562;  562n;  Emmet,  Jane  Patten,  por- 
trait of  (ill.),  facing  438;  facing  561; 
Emmet,  Margaret,  letter  from  157;  457; 
458 ;  Emmet,  Mary  Anne,  letter  from 
460;  Emmet,  Robert  (Judge),  letter 
from  438;  439;  444;  446;  Emmet,  T.  A., 
letter  from  431 ;  434 ;  454 ;  Emmet,  T.  A., 
painting  of,  facing  453  ;  Emmet,  T.  A.,  Jr., 
letter  from  441 ;  and  Fulton  427n ;  Mc- 
Evers,  Jane  Emmet,  letter  from  443 ; 
447 ;  in  Potsdam,  N.  Y.  439 

 Jane  453 

 Susan,  Emmet,  Margaret,  letter  from 

156n 

 William  H.  431;  439;  Emmet,  T.  A., 

letter  from  452 

"Let  Green  Spring  Deck  the  Fields",  poem, 
by  Dr.  R.  Emmet  174 

"Letter  to  a  Friend,  A",  poem,  bv  Dr.  R. 
Emmet  166;  171 

"Letters  from  the  Mountains".  See  Mon- 
tanus  letters 

Lewins,  Edward  376n ;  and  Jackson,  Wil- 
liam 116;  and  United  Irishmen  376;  377 

Lewis,  Morgan,  candidacy  420;  libel  suit 
421 

Libel  Bill,  passed  111 

Liberty,  Catholic  fitness  for  79;  and  chart- 
ers 28 ;  English,  origin  of  36 ;  man's 
right  to  28 ;  and  national  development  8 

Libertv,  Friends  of.  See  Peace,  Friends 
of 

Liberty  Corps,  Dublin  99 
Limerick,  Articles  of,  violated  15 
Linen,  Irish  trade  in  76 
Lisburn,  attack  on  105-07 
Livingston,  Allen  458 

 Brockholst  421;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  520 

 John  R.  and  Fulton  428;  New  Jersey 

legislation  429 

 Julia,  and  Emmets  447 

 Morgan,  and  Emmets  447 

 Robert,  and  Captain  Kidd  288n 

 Robert  R.,  and  Fulton  427;  in  Paris 

352;  352n;  353 

 William,  Governor,  and  Astor  suit  471 

Lloyd,  Thomas,  and  W.  S.  Smith  trial  515 
Locke,  John,  and  Molyneux  32 
London  Courier.   See  Courier 


Londonderry,  assembly,  and  Catholic 
Emancipation  90;  and  Fitzwilliam's  re- 
call 129 

"London  Pride  and  Shamrock",  poem,  by 
Robert  Emmet  231 

Longford,  County  of,  Defenders  140 

Lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland  210 ;  legal 
status  208  ;  210;  office  of,  Catholics  barred 
546 ;  Tandy's  suit  207 ;  209 

Lords,  House  of,  English,  Norman  ances- 
try v;  219 

 House  of,  Irish,  and  Commons  75; 

Emmet,  examination  of  261 ;  and  State 
prisoners  of  '98  318 

Lot,  enlistment  by  108 

Loudon,  John  152 

Loughborough,  and  Fitzwilliam  217 

Lough  Brickland,  affray  141 

Loughgall,  Fair  of,  affray  141 

Louvain,  University  of,  reply  to  Pitt  88 

Lovat,  Lord,  and  Mansfield  466 

Lozier,  John,  and  Emmet's  death  475 ;  and 
Emmet  monument  subscription  551 

Lutherans,  in  Ireland  78 ;  78n 

Lyne,  Betty,  marriage  295 

Lyttelton,  George,  1st  Baron,  on  Scandi- 
navians in  Ireland  41 


Macaubry.   See  Macoubry 

McBride,   James,  and  Emmet  monument 

497 ;  Emmet  monument  subscription  552 
MacCabe,  W.  Putnam  346n ;  and  O'Connor 

346 

McCormick,  Joseph,   and   Emmet,   T.  A. 
392;   393;   at   Fort   George  273;  Mac- 
neven's  letter  to  394 ;  and  United  Irish- 
men 228  ;  warrant  507 
McCracken,  Miss,  and  Russell's  poem  276 
MacDonald,  James  J.  359n;  Cf.  McDonnell 
MacDonald,  Joseph,  General  349n  ;  Cf.  Mc- 
Donnell 

McDonnell,  James  Joseph,  and  Emmet,  T. 
A.  364;  377;  and  French  aid  401;  and 
O'Connor  359 ;  and  United  Irish  com- 
mittee 376 ;  Cf.  MacDonald 

McDowell  349;  Cf.  MacDonald;  McDon- 
nell 

McEvers  family,  and  Emmets  442 ;  442n ; 

444;  446;  449 
 Bache  444 ;  country'  place  156n ;  and 

Emmets  446 ;  marriage  439 ;  and  Wilson, 

Hugh  442n 
 Charles  446 

 Charles.  Jr.  442;  442n;  443;  and  Em- 
mets 446 ;  practical  joke  on  446 
 Mrs.  Charles  446 

 Eliza   442n ;    458 ;   461 ;   and  Emmet 

family  442  ;  445  ;  447 

 Jane  (Jeannette)  Erin  Emmet  (Mrs. 

Bache)  391:  402;  434;  439;  562;  445; 
birth  330;  Mrs.  Le  Roy,  (Elizabeth  Em- 
met), letters  to  447;  455 

 Mar}',  and  Emmet  family  445 

McGinn,  informer  256 

McGuire,  Simon  350n ;  and  Emmet  214; 
and  Harty  350 ;  352 


Index 


579 


Mclntyre,    Archibald,    Emmet's    letter  to 
425 ;  Emmet  monument  subscription  551 

McKean,  Thomas,  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Emmet,  T.  A.  398 

McLauklin  family,  and  Emmets  175 

MacMahon,  Arthur  378n;  and  United  Irish 
Committee  378 

McNaghten     (McNaughten),    and  State 
prisoners  of  '98  262;  263;  414 

M'Nallv,  Leonard,  as  informer  208 ;  and 
Tandy  207 ;  208 

Macneven,    Jane,    Emmet,    John  Patten, 
drawing  of,  facing  446 

 William  James,  arrest  322 ;  507 ;  burial 

place  531 ;  and  Byrne  368n ;  Catholic  as- 
sembly 130 ;  Catholic  education,  plan  for 
110;  Cloncurry  on  226;  and  Cook  250; 
and  Dalton  501 ;  and  Directory  of  United 
Irishmen  246;  317;  "Dublin  Journal"  on 
323 ;  Duponceau,  P.  S.,  letter  to  501 ;  and 
Emmet  family  176 ;  on  Emmet,  Judge 
Robert  277n ;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  317; 
339;  363;  394;  488;  502;  547;  on  Em- 
met's advocacy  of  Catholic  Emancipation 
538;  on  Emmet's  death  490;  Emmet's  es- 
say 279 ;  on  Emmet  at  Fort  George  277 ; 
Emmet's  letters  to  331;  332;  333;  384; 
387;  388;  389 

 and  Emmet  monument  497;  538;  539; 

committee  550 ;  report  543 ;  553 ;  fac- 
simile page  of  report,  facing  543 ;  sub- 
scriptions 551 ;  552  ;  unveiling  539 

 on  Emmet's  punishment  316;  on  Em- 
met's rejection  of  solicitor-generalship 
211;  510;  511;  at  Fort  George  273;  277; 
277n;  550;  and  French  aid  332;  401;  in 
French  army  383 ;  393 ;  Government, 
agreement  with  250;  251;  254;  255;  258; 
Government  report,  protest  against  262; 
321;  322;  Herbert's  portrait  of  301n; 
facing  332;  historical  work,  Emmet's 
contribution  213;  Jarvis'  portrait,  facing 
511;  "London  Courier"  on  323;  McCor- 
mick,  letter  to  394 ;  manifesto,  Bucking- 
ham on  312 ;  marriage  154 ;  memoir  to 
government  243;  261;  318;  and  Mitchell, 
Samuel  L.  513;  on  "Montanus  letters" 
234 ;  monument  277 ;  Napoleon,  distrust 
of  215;  and  O'Connor  318;  359;  360; 
366 ;  papers  confiscated  323  ;  Parliamen- 
tary examination  252 ;  on  patriotism  545 ; 
"Pieces  of  Irish  History"  514;  on  Plun- 
ket  263;  proclamation  383;  386;  satirical 
verses  on  327 ;  and  Secret  Committee 
320;  and  United  Irishmen  228;  and  Unit- 
ed Irish  committee  376;  378;  379 

 Mrs.  William  James  154 

Macoubry,  Diana.  See  Gerdwood,  Diana 
Macoubry  (Mrs.  John) 

 Dr.,  of  Anacloy  165 

 Mr.,  grandson  of  Diana  Emett  284n 

 Mrs.,   Dr.   Robert   Emmet's   letter  to 

248 ;  T.  A.  Emmet's  letter  to  165 ;  222 
Macready,  William  Charles  467n ;  Emmet, 
Robert  (Judge),  letter  to  468;  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  466;  467;  469;  nationality 
469;  and  Rowan  466;  and  Shiel  466 


McSheehy,  Adj.  Genl.  360n;  and  Emmet, 
T.  A.  360;  and  Irish  expedition  373; 
379;  and  Irish  Legion  383;  and  O'Con- 
nor 360 

Madden,  Richard  Robert,  on  Byrne  368n ; 
on  Emmet,  spelling  of  name  176 ;  and 
Emmet  family  212 ;  on  Emmet  family 
176;  177;  280;  502;  on  Emmet,  Chris- 
topher Temple,  192 ;  on  Emmet,  Jane 
Patten  561 ;  on  Emmet,  Dr.  Robert  177 ; 
179;  183;  and  Emmet,  Thomas  Addis  3  57  ; 
177;  205;  206;  227;  390;  512  ;  on  Emmet 
and  O'Connor  337;  on  Emmet  and  Pitt 
216;  on  Emmet's  funeral  532;  on  Em- 
met's letter  to  King  412 ;  Emmet  memoir, 
material  for  335 ;  and  Emmet  monument 
533;  T.  A.  Emmet,  Jr.,  letter  from  511; 
on  English  policy  towards  Ireland  228 ; 
on  Macneven's  proclamation  386 ;  386n ; 
on  "Montanus  letters"  233 :  on  Plunket 
262;  on  Rebellion  of  '98,  248;  on  Russell 
269;  on  Sirr  310;  and  State  prisoners  of 
1798,  254 ;  on  State  prisoners  and  Gov- 
ernment 261 ;  on  Stuart  277 ;  on  Tandy 
vs.  Westmoreland  207;  on  Turner  338; 
United  Irishmen,  work  on  212 

Mahony,  John,  nephew  of  C.  Emett  165 

Maidstone,  State  trials  324 

Mangot,  Commandant  349 

Mansfield,  William  Murray,  1st  Earl  of, 
Governor,  suit  against,  opinion  209;  210; 
and  Lovat  466 

Manumission  Society,  Emmet  counsel  for 
543 

"Marcus",  pseudonym  231 

Markey,  Captain  Thomas  371 ;  371n 

Marriage,  and  Popery  Laws  85 

Marsden,  Alexander,  and  King  416 ;  and 
State  prisoners  of  '98  415 

Marshall,  John,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  520 ; 
and  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden  case  459;  Life  of 
Washington,  Emmet  on  453 

Martial  law  242 ;  249  ;  257  ;  Carhampton  en- 
forces 239  ;  240 

Martin,    Emmet,  T.  A.,  painting  of, 

facing  391 

"Mary",  memorial  verses  to  T.  A.  Emmet 
497;  498 

Mason,  town.  New  Hampshire  vi 

 family,   and   Emmets   175;   189;  449; 

Miss  Guiney  on  189;  and  Temples  189 
Mason   ,  woodcut,  Emmet  monument 

552 

 Catherine  Power  175 

 Elizabeth.  See  Emmet,  Elizabeth  Ma- 
son (Mrs.  Dr.  Robert) 

 Henry  Joseph  Monck,  "Essay  on  the 

Antiquity  and  Constitution  of  Parlia- 
ment" 531 

 James,  of  Ballydowney.  father-in-law 

of  Dr.  Emmet  175 

 St.  John  305;  308;  and  Emmet  family 

176;  on  Emmet,  Christopher  Temple  192; 
at  Fort  George  274 ;  282 ;  337 ;  lawsuit 
301 ;  on  Plunket  and  Emmet  263 ;  prison 
experience  265n;  and  Russell  274;  on 


580 


Index 


Tandy  vs.  Westmoreland  208  ;  and  Tre- 
vor 511 

Massena,  Andre.  General,  and  Emmet,  T. 
A.  345;  and  Irish  expedition  340;  342; 
343  ;  345  ;  360  ;  369  ;  373  ;  374  ;  and  O'Con- 
nor 347 

Meath,  Rebellion  of  1798,  257 

Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  New 

York,  and  Emmet  408 
Medicine,  Royal  Society  of,  of  Edinburgh, 

and  T.  A.  Emmet  204 
"Memory  of  Sorrow"  (Norman  conquest) 

219 

Merchant,  George,  and  Republican  meeting 
419 

Merchants'  Corps,  Dublin  99 
Middle  Road,  New  York  438 
Militia,  and  United  Irishmen  145 
 Bill  99;  108 

"Militia  Officer,  A",  pseudonym  231 
Milton,  Lord,  and  Catholics  122;  Treasury 

board  bill  126 ;  and  Wyndham  123 
Miltown,  Emmet  residence  181 
Miranda's  Expedition  408  ;  515 
Missionaries,  Irish,  on  Continent  6 
Mitchell,   Samuel  L„  and  Emmet,  T.  A. 

203;  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  204;  484n;  491; 

513;  513n;  514;  529;  drawing  of,  by  John 

Patten  Emmet  513;  facing  513  ;  verses  on 

T.  A.  Emmet  515 ;  516 
Moira,    Second    Earl   of.     See  Rawdon, 

Francis 

Molesworth  Street,  Dublin.  R.  Emmet's 
residence  175;  illustration,  facing  175 

Molyneux,  William,  and  Blackstone  48 ; 
"Case  of  Ireland"  30;  on  Irish  legisla- 
tive subjection  33 

"Moniteur",  newspaper  346n  ;  386 ;  Robert 
Emmet's  speech  375 

"Monks  of  the  Screw"  194 

"Monopoly,  the  Root  of  All  Evil"  by 
O'Connor  337 

Monroe,  James,  in  Paris  352;  352n :  353 

"Montanus",  pseudonym  231 ;  identity  con- 
cealed 237 ;  letters  xviii ;  233 ;  letters, 
authorship  233 ;  letters,  facsimile  page, 
facing  234;  1st  letter  234;  "Satanides", 
epitaph  for  238:  "Satanides",  letter  to 
240 

Montcastle.  Lady,  and  Emmet  family  392  : 

and  Emmet,  T.  A.  392 
Montgomery,  John  B.,  and  T.  A.  Emmet 

memorial  497 

 Gen.  Richard,  monument  534 

Moore  family,  and  Emmets  153 

 Sir  John,  and  Rebellion  of  '98  312 

 Mary,  sister  of  Thomas  153 

■  Thomas,  grandson  of  Katherine  Emet 

153 

 Thomas,  poet,  on  Fitzwilliam's  recall 

■226 ;  and  The  Press  231 
Morlaix,  United  Irishmen  at  384 
"Morning",  by  Dr.  Emmet,  Mr.  Clarke's 

criticism  166 
Morris,  Mary,  and  Morris  estate  471 
 Roger,  and  Astor  471 


Morse,   Emmet,  T.  A.,  portrait  of,  fac- 
ing 517 

Mott,  Valentine,  and  Emmet's  death  476 

 William  W..  and  Emmet's  death  475 

Motto,  of  Emmets  149;  150 
Mountains,  Letters  from.    See  Montanus, 
letters 

Mount  Alto,  McEvers  residence  156n 
Mulden,  Michael,  and   Emmet  monument 

497  ;  subscription  551 
Mumford  v.  McPherson,  case  408 
Mnnster,  Defenderism  in  115;  loyalty  320 
Murphy.  Capt.  John  349;  349n;  359;  and 

Emmet,  T.  A.  364:  and  Irish  expedition 

347  ;  361 ;  363  ;  364  ;  365  ;  369 
"Myrtle,    The",    poem,    by  Christopher 

Temple  Emmet  195 ;  199 ;  200 ;  201 

Napier,  Sir  William  on  "Fag  a  bealac"  vii 

Napoleon,  Egypt,  invasion  of  381;  and 
Emmet  179;  336;  339;  343;  344;  345- 
47;  349;  361;  362:  397;  Emmet's 
memoir  364;  375;  383;  384;  386;  Em- 
met's memoir,  reply  to  385;  England,  in- 
vasion of,  averted  243  ;  generalship  382 ; 
and  Irish  expedition  339;  340;  342-344: 
349;  361;  375;  377:  381:  382;  387  ;  387n ; 
and  Irish  independence  374:  and  Irish 
Legion  385;  394:  and  Irish  officers  374; 
and  Macneven  332 :  and  O'Connor,  Ar- 
thur 339;  and  Pitt  215;  242;  381;  382; 
and  Rebellion  of  1803  258;  368n ;  and 
United  Irishmen  376;  377;  381 

Napper  Tandy  Publishing  Company,  and 
Madden's  work  212 

Nassau  Street,  New  York,  Emmet  resi- 
dence 438 

Nationalism,  Irish  32 ;  development  of  7 ; 
English  opposition  to  60;  61;  and  pro- 
vincialism 8:  United  Irishmen  69 

National  Philosophy  Society  of  Edinburgh 
University  204 

Natural  History  and  Research,  Society  of, 
Edinburgh,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  204 

Naturalization,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  481 ; 
and  Irish  iv  n 

Navigation,  and  State  rights  459 

Navy,  British.  Irish  members  76:  plan  for 
insurrection  373 ;  and  United  Irishmen 
245;  381 

Neilson,  Samuel  I14n:  and  Act  of  '98  261: 
arrest  269:  and  Cooke  414;  and  Emmet, 
Thomas  Addis  xvi ;  230;  339;  Emmet 
monument  subscription  552 ;  at  Fort 
George  273 ;  memorial  to  Government 
318:  monument  231;  on  O'Connor.  Gov- 
ernment treatment  of  336 ;  and  Ponsonby 
Bill  244;  protest  to  Government  414;  and 
United  Irishmen  xvi;  225:  230;  316 

"Nereide"  case,  and  Emmet  527 

Newenham.  Sir  Edward,  and  Emmet 
family  176 

Newgate  prison  249 ;   Emmet's  imprison- 
ment 248 ;  249 :  Fitzgerald,  Lord  Edward, 
cell  249:  illustration,  facing  249 
"New  Hampshire  Grants"  vi 
New  Jersey,  steamboat  legislation  428 


Index 


581 


New  Perth,  town.  X.  J.,  origin  of  name 
154 

New  Ross,  battle  250;  257;  261 

New  York,  alienism,  laws  governing  398; 
399 ;  allegiance,  oath  of  399 

 -Bar,  Emmet's  admission  to  406 ;  483 ; 

Emmet's  death  484 ;  Emmet's  deportment 
521 ;  Emmet  eulogy  495 ;  Emmet  memoir 
505 ;  Emmet  memorial  tablet  535 ;  Emmet 
resolutions  479 

 Board   of   Aldermen,   Emmet's  death 

530;  Common  Council,  Emmet  resolu- 
tions 475 ;  Corporation,  Emmet  funeral 
480;  Emmet's  death  491;  Court  of  Errors, 
Emmet's  reply  to  Henry  521 ;  Friends  of 
Ireland,  and  Emmet  monument  544 ;  old 
streets  438 ;  political  parties  410 ;  reli- 
gious intolerance  402  ;  464  ;  465  ;  Robin- 
son's drawing  of  555;  Yellow  fever  epi- 
demic 456 

"No  More  My  Fond  Bosom",  poem,  by 
Dr.  R.  Emmet  174 

Nonconformists.    See  Dissenters 

"Noon",  by  Dr.  Emmet,  Mr.  Clarke's 
criticism  166 

Norbury,  John  Toler,  1st  Earl  of,  and 
Beresford  faction  510;  and  Fitzwilliam 
122;  121;  and  Pitt  510 

Norfolk,  Duke  of,  and  O'Connor  324 

Normandy,  and  England  11 
•  Normans,  Emerson  on  219 ;  English  de- 
scendants v ;  vi 

North  Carolina,  Irish  settlers  vii 

"Northern  Star",  newspaper  82;  101;  104; 
prosecution  94 ;  115 

"Northern  Whig",  pseud.  82 

Nugent,  General,  and  Rebellion  of  '98;  312 


Oakley,  Thomas  J.,  and  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden 
case  459 

Oath,  and  office  399;  Parliamentary  111; 
of  United  Irishmen  118;  246 

"Observations  on  the  Conquest  of  Ireland", 
by  T.  A.  Emmet  5 

O'Connor,  Arthur,  ability  232 :  ambition 
339 ;  379  ;  400 ;  401 ;  and  British  Govern- 
ment 336  ;  338  ;  339  ;  and  Byrne  357n ; 
on  Catholic  Bill  136;  Cloncurry  on  226; 
and  Corbet  365 ;  366 ;  and  Dalton  341  ; 
360 ;  and  Directory,  United  Irish  246 ; 
317 ;  "Dublin  Journal"  on  323 ;  egotism 
232;  and  Emmet  family  176;  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  x;  xi;  xvi;  xvii ;  xx;  246; 
317;  336;  337;  338;  341;  342;  344;  351; 
353;  355;  357n ;  359;  360;  361;  362;  365; 
366;  369;  370;  371;  375;  378;  379;  380; 
488;  and  Erskine  324;  and  Fitzgerald 
324  :  at  Fort  George  273;  319;  327;  335; 
336  ;  and  Fox.  C.  J.  324  ;  and  French  aid 
324 ;  346 ;  369 ;  and  French  army  393 ; 
French  negotiations  373;  and  French 
spies  215;  Government,  agreement  with 
251;  Government  report,  protest  262; 
321;  322;  and  Harty  352;  as  informer 
272;  319;  338;  intrigues  335;  Lecky  on 
xx ;  xxi ;  "London  Courier"  on  323  ;  and 


McMahon  378;  and  Macneven  366;  Mad- 
den on  337;  "Manifesto"  312;  319;  and 
Massena  347;  memoir  to  Government 
243;  261;  272;  318;  military  ambition 
377;  379;  "Monoply,  the  Root  of  All 
Evil"  337  ;  and  Napoleon  339  ;  Neilson  on 
336 ;  and  Norfolk,  Duke  of  324 ;  and  Ox- 
ford 325 ;  papers  confiscated  323 :  in 
Paris  344 ;  Parliamentary  examination 
252;  and  "The  Press"  xviii;  212;  231; 
and  reclamation  list  353;  357;  reform 
resolutions  243 ;  and  Russell,  Lord  John 
325 ;  satirical  verses  on  327  ;  and  Sheri- 
dan 324;  and  State  prisoners  320;  336; 
and  Suffolk,  Earl  of  324;  and  Taylor, 
M.  A.  324 ;  and  Thanet  325 :  and  Tierney 
325;  and  Turner  338;  and  United  Irish- 
men 339;  344;  350;  351;  353;  355;  356; 
363;  370;  and  United  Irish  committee 
376  ;  377  ;  384  ;  and  violent  measures  233  ; 
Whig  evidence  for  324 ;  and  Whitbread 
325 ;  Wickham's  reference  to  271 

O'Connor,  Mrs.  Arthur,  at  Fort  George 
282;  327;  335;  336 

 Bernard,  and  Emmet  memorial  497 

 Lawrence,  Defender  140 

— —Roger,  and  Emmet  337 :  at  Fort  George 
237;  and  "The  Press"  231;  and  State 
prisoners  336 ;  as  United  Irishman  228 

 William,  Emmet  monument  subscrip- 
tion 552 

O'Conor,  Charles,  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  464 ; 

Emmet  monument  subscription  552;  on 

Emmet's  newspaper  contributions  539n ; 

on. intolerance  in  N.  Y.  465 

O'Driscoll,  ,  trial  228 

Ogden,  David  B..  lawyer  421 :  and  Astor 

suit  471;  and  Emmet's  death  473;  485; 

and  Emmet's  funeral  486 ;  and  Emmet 

memorial  495 ;  Gibbons'  suit  against  458 ; 

459 

 Hannah,  and  Emmets  449 

 Harriet,  and  Emmets  461 

 Sally  447 

Ogle,  Mr.,  and  Catholic  relief  126 
O'Hara  family,  and  Emmets  175 
 Mr.,  petition  85 

"Old  New  York  from  the  Battery  to  the 
Bloomingdale",  by  Eliza  Greatorex  555 

"On  Mrs.  Emmet's  Visit  to  Her  Husband", 
poem,  by  Russell  276 

Orangemen  141:  and  Catholics  142;  and 
Defenders  142:  at  the  Diamond  141; 
and  T.  A.  Emmet's  memory  533;  and 
Greenwich  village  Irishmen  464 ;  466 ; 
legal  prosecution  of  143 ;  and  United 
Irishmen  143  ;  and  Volunteers  141 

O'Reilly,  George,  and  Tandy's  suit  207 

—Terence  375 ;  375n 

Orendorf,  Henry,  Emmet  letter  424 

Oriel,  John  Foster,  Baron.  See  Foster, 
John,  Baron  Oriel 

Ormsby,  Peter  Benson,  and  Burr  424 

 Stephen,   of  Kentucky  424 ;  Emmet's 

letter  to  424 

 Station,  Kentucky  424 

Ostmen.    See  Scandinavians 


582 


Index 


Ostrander,  Gideon,  and  Emmet's  death  475 
Ottiwell,  Mr.,  contempt  of  Parliament  137 
Ovidstown,  capitulation  of  255 
Oxford,  Magdalen  foundation  221 
 Lord,  and  O'Connor,  Arthur  325 


Packed  jury  211 

"Paddies  from  Cork"  402n 

Pale,  system  of,  in  Ireland  12 

Palmer,  Augusta  Temple,  marriage  286n 

 Capt.,  on  United  States  308 

 William,  at  Casino  286 ;  marriage  286n 

Pardon  and  Banishment  Act.  See  Banish- 
ment Act 

Parliament,  English,  Catholic  rent  prohibit- 
ed 544;  corruption  in  58;  and  Irish  dis- 
tress 50;  and  Parliament,  Irish  45;  46; 
52;  Pitt's  commercial  measure  modified 
63  ;  prison  investigation  265n  ;  reform  op- 
posed 508 ;  representation,  Irish  548 ;  and 
trade,  Irish  38 ;  and  Volunteers  547 

 Irish,  Act  of  1798  261;  and  Anglo- 
Irish  relations  548 ;  annual  sessions, 
United  Irishmen  advocate  507 ;  Catholic 
disabilities  546 ;  Catholic  education  plan 
137 ;  and  commerce,  British  38 ;  corrup- 
tion in  58;  59;  64;  73;  early  37;  English 
domination  224;  English  legislation  26; 
33  ;  52  ;  liberty  to  petition  110 ;  legislative 
power  23 ;  Molyneux  on  33 ;  Pitt's  com- 
mercial measure  62 ;  popular  representa- 
tion in  58 ;  and  Poynings'  Law  24 

—^reform  xiii ;  59;  65;  81;  117;  131; 
Catholic  relief  66 ;  and  Fitzwilliam's  re- 
call 127;  and  Friends  of  Peace  111;  and 
general  committee  108 ;  Sir  Lawrence 
Parsons  124  Ponsonby  Bill  111;  113; 
and  Union,  Anglo-Irish  548 ;  and  United 
Irishmen  82;  111;  114;  133;  135;  211; 
225;  243;  507;  545;  547;  and  Volunteers 
223  ;  547 

 Religious  bigotry  38 ;  representation  in, 

and  United  Irishmen  507 ;  session  of  1782 
54;  session  of  1794  112;  subjugation  24; 
26;  35;  39;  45;  46;  56;  63;  Union  316; 
Volunteer  plan  rejected  60 
Parliamentarians,  Cromwellian  14 
Parnell,  Sir  John,  amendment  112 ;  and  re- 
form 98 

Parsons,  Sir  Lawrence,  and  absentee  tax  126  ; 
on  Catholic  relief  99 ;  and  Fitzwilliam's 
recall  128;  and  militia  114;  and  Parlia- 
mentary reform  99 ;  124 ;  125 ;  on  repre- 
sentation, parliamentary  113 ;  taxation, 
estimate  of  125 

 Sir  William  14 

Partridge,  Capt.,  Emmet's  letter  to  426 

Patrick  Street,  explosion  368 

Patten  family  220;  coat  of  arms  221;  and 

Mrs.  T.  A.  Emmet  222 

 Jane.    See  Emmet,  Jane  Patten 

 John  222;   302;   arrest  367;   369;  at 

Casino   288 ;    and    Emmet   family   307 ; 

Emmet,  Jane   Patten,  letter  from  561; 

Margaret  Emmet's  description  of  157n; 

Emmet,  T.  A.,  letter  from  437;  at  Fort 


George  286;  and  Dr.  Madden  212;  and 

O'Connor  338 
Patten,  Mrs.  John,  and  Mrs.  Graves  560 
 John,  Jr.  222 

 John,  Dean  of  Chichester  220 

 Rev.  John,  father-in-law  of  T.  A.  Em- 
met 220 

— — Margaret  Colville  220;  at  Casino  284 

 Margery  Brereton  220 

 Richard,  of  Derbyshire  220 

 Richard,  of  Waynfleet  220 

 William.    See  Waynfleet,  William 

 Rev.  William,  arms  221 

Patterson,  Charles,  on  Emmet  550 

 Helen  Bache,  and  Emmets  444 

 General  Robert,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  me- 
morial 503 
Pattison,  Commandant,  and  Hayne  417n 
Peace,   commission   of  the,   and  military 
officers  106 

Peace,  Friends  of,  Society  111 ;  and  United 

Irishmen  118 
Peasantry,  Irish,  degradation  79 
Pecp-o-Day  Boys  140 ;  141 ;  and  Defenders 

103;  225;  organized  100 
Peerages,  Government  sale  of  64 
Peers,  legal  actions  against  210;  English, 

and  alienism  397 
Penal  laws,  Catholic.    See  Popery  Laws 
Pennefather,  Judge  Edward,  and  Emmet 

family  176 

 Richard,  and  Emmet  family  176 

Pennsylvania,  Irish  in  ix 

Percival   Lieutenant,  and   Emmet,   T.  A. 

474 ;  trial  474 
Perth,  James,  Earl  of,  and  Perth  Amboy 

154 

Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  origin  of  name 

154 

Perrot,  Sir  John,  Irish  policy  42 

Petrie,  George,  Emmet,  Robert,  death  mask 
(ill.)  facing  372 

Petty,  Lord  Henry,  St.  John  Mason's  let- 
ter to  274 

Phibbs,  Mary.    See  Cuthbert 

Philip,  Mr.  477;  477n 

Philips,  Joanna,  and  Astor  suit  471 

Phillips,  Charles,  on  Burrowes  194 ;  on  Dr. 
R.  Emmet  180;  on  Tone  267 

Pichegru,  and  Pitt  215 

"Pierre",  memorial  verses  to  T.  A.  Em- 
met 488;  489 
Pine  Street,  New  York,  Emmet  residence 

438 

Pinkney,  William,  and  Emmet  460 ;  520; 
Judge  Story  on  526 

Pintard,  John,  and  Emmet  409 

"Pitch  cap",  inventor  326 

Pitt,  William,  and  Beresford  123;  and 
Camden  216 ;  on  English  commercial 
policy  62  ;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  xxi ;  211 ;  316 ; 
318;  511;  Falkiner  on  217;  and  Fitzwil- 
liam's recall  127 ;  Irish  commercial  meas- 
ure 62;  63;  Irish  policy  178;  214;  218; 
224;  228;  248;  316;  and  Irish  reform  60; 
"Montanus"  on  236 ;  and  Napoleon  215 ; 
242;  381;  382;  and  Toler  (Lord  Nor- 


Index 


583 


bury)  510;  and  treason  555;  universities 
questioned  88 ;  and  Whigs,  English  119 ; 
and  Whigs,  Irish  120 
Place  Bill,  passed  111 
Plantation,  system  of,  in  Ireland  12;  16 
Plunket,  William  Conyngham,  and  Emmet, 

T.  A.  262;  263 
Plymouth,  England,  and  Emmets  152 
Pollock,  John,  and  Emmet  214 ;  as  inform- 
er 214 

Ponsonby  family,  and  Catholic  Emancipa- 
tion 121 

 George,  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  126 ; 

128  ;  and  leather  tax  126  ;  reform  bill  111 ; 
113;  243;  244;  and  Tone  267 

 William,    and    Fitzwilliam    120;  and 

Parliamentary  reform  125 

Popery  Laws,  Irish  17  ;  74  ;  78  ;  506  ;  545  ; 
Butler's  "Digest"  of  87 ;  Catholic  agita- 
tion 83 ;  clause  100 ;  Emmet  on  463 ;  en- 
acted 45 ;  of  James  I  13 ;  and  Peep-o- 
Day  Boys  141;  relaxation  of  18:  54;  and 
Tone  82 ;  and  United  Irishmen  114 

"Porcupine,  Peter",  pseudonym.  See  Cob- 
bett 

Portland,  Duke  of,  and  Catholic  Emanci- 
pation 122;  123;  and  Emmet,  Jane  Pat- 
ten 275;  327;  507;  Falkiner  on  217;  and 
Fitzwilliam  120;  124;  129;  217;  on 
Habeas  Corpus  297 ;  King,  Rufus,  letter 
from  411;  and  Pitt  119:  and  State  pris- 
oners of  '98  274 ;  Stuart,  letter  to  275 ; 
and  Union  243 

"Popish  Congress"  102 

Powell,  Rev.  Wm.,  schoolmaster  442n ;  and 
Emmet  family  442:  and  T.  A.  Emmet 
memorial  497 ;  Emmet  monument  sub- 
scription 551 

Power,  Mr.  Baron,  and  Tandy  vs.  West- 
moreland 210 

 Catherine.      See    Mason,  Catherine 

Power  175 

 Rev.  John,  and  Emmet  monument  sub- 
scription 551 

 Laurence,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  memorial 

497 

 Dr.  Maurice.  Emmet  monument  sub- 
scription 551 
 Pierce  175 

Poynings'  Law  23 ;  37 ;  importance  24 ;  na- 
ture 24  ;  repeal  52 ;  56 ;  results  25 

Presbyterians  223 ;  and  Catholics  16 ;  143 

Press,  Government  attacks  114;  repression 
61;  140;  political  influence  82 

"Press,  The",  newspaper  xviii ;  212;  230; 
231 ;  anonymous  article  241 ;  T.  A.  Em- 
met's contributions  232 :  Montanus  letter, 
facsimile  page,  facing  234;  suppression 
237  •  322 

Preston,  Wm.,  and  "The  Press"  231 
Prime.  Emily  447 

Pringle,  Sir  John,  T.  A.  Emmet's  use  of 
203 

"Priory,  The",  Curran's  residence  194 
Prisons,  Irish,  abuses  249;  264;  265;  266; 
275 

Property,  and  franchises  111 


Protection,  commercial,  popular  demand 
for  63 

Protestant  Ascendancy  xiv ;  17  ;  77  ;  223  ; 
346n;  agitation  for  89;  defined  90; 
Grattan  on  S6 ;  in  Ireland  546 ;  Montanus 
on  236 

Protestants,  Irish  12;  14;  16;  77;  and  Cath- 
olics 546;  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  129; 
and  Parliamentary  reform  108;  and  per- 
secution 546 ;  as  United  Irishmen  143 

Provisional  Government,  Irish  359 :  failure 
368 ;  and  Napoleon  361 ;  and  O'Connor 
363;  proclamation  369 

Public  Safety,  Committee  of,  French  112 ; 
and  Jackson,  William  115 

Pynes,  Elizabeth  151 

Quaid,  David  A.,  on  Robert  Emmet  175 ; 

on  Dr.  Emmet's  will  184;  185 
Quigley,           and  Covenanters  133 

Randall.  Robert  Richard,  and  Sailors' 
Snug  Harbor  496;  543n 

Randolph,  John,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  521 

 Stuart,  F.,  and  Emmet's  death  475 

Rathfarnham.  Emmet  home  222;  Russell 
at  267 ;  268 ;  Tone  at  267 ;  268 

Rawdon.  Lord  Francis,  and  Hayne  417n 

Read  (Reed),  Thomas,  plan  for  naval  in- 
surrection 373  ;  373n 

Rebellion,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  549 ;  and 
United  Irishmen  549 

 of  1798  246;  250;  battles  257;  Em- 
met's account  of  278 ;  and  Emmet 
233;  failure  255;  260;  and  French  aid 
258;  260;  Governmental  policy  227;  248; 
318;  Lord  Holland  on  227;  Madden  on 
248;  O'Connell  on  271;  Pitt  214;  316; 
317;  381;  and  Rebellion  of  1803  333n; 
Russell.  Lord  John,  on  228;  slaughter 
316 ;  State  prisoners'  agreement  253 ; 
312;  suppression  249;  Turner  338;  and 
Union,  Anglo-Irish  316;  and  United 
Irishmen  317 

 of  1803  371 ;  372n  ;  cause  381 ;  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  366;  367;  failure  368;  369; 
and  Fenianism  xi;  McCabe  346n;  and 
Rebellion  of  '98  333n;  Russell  269 

Redman,  Dr.  435  ;  435n 

Reformation  74;  and  Covenanters  132 

Reform  Bill,  Ponsonby's  113 

Regent,  and  great  seal  of  England  210 

Reily,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  Catholic 
education  109 

Reilly.  Terence.    See  O'Reilly 

Relief  Bill,  Catholic  (1793)  97;  opposed 
98 ;  royal  assent  107 

 Bill.    Catholic    (1829)    533;    544;  Cf. 

Catholic  Emancipation 

Remmetson.  Dr.,  of  Plymouth  153 

Representation,  Parliamentary  75 ;  Catholic 
disabilities  546:  Grattan  on  113;  national 
57;  Ponsonby  Bill  111;  popular  58;  Se- 
cret Committees'  report  110;  and  United 
Irishmen  243  ;  507 

Republicanism,  and  Covenanters  132:  Dr. 


584 


Index 


R.  Emmet  advocates  178 ;  and  Friends  of 
Peace  ill ;  in  Ireland  91 ;  93 ;  and  Secret 
Committee  103;  and  Temple  family  189; 
and  United  Irishmen  135 

 French,  and  United  States  508 

Republican  partv,  New  York  410 ;  meeting 
418 

Responsibility  Bill,  introduced  131 
Revenue  laws,  revision  of,  Grattan  sug- 
gests 126 

Revolution, .American,  influence  in  Ireland 
51 ;  Temples,  attitude  of  177 

 English,  of  1688,  and  Ireland  29;  and 

elective  franchise  57 ;  vindication  of  15 

 French  112;  and  democracy  112;  Em- 
met family  179;  Grattan's  speech  123;  and 
Great  Britain  506 ;  and  Ireland  73 ;  79 ; 
91 ;  and  Volunteers  89 ;  and  United 
States  412 

Reynolds.  Dr.,  and  the  Brissotins  115;  es- 
cape 116;  and  French  aid  116;  imprison- 
ed 102;  and  Jackson,  William  116 

 Thomas,  informer  247;  256;  258;  507; 

and  Bond  507 ;  and  Fitzgerald,  Lord  Ed- 
ward 507 

"Righteous   Perisheth,   The",   poem,  Mrs. 

Lenox-Conyngham  555 
Riker  family,  burial  ground  531n 
 Miss.     See   Macneven,   Mrs.  William 

James  154 

 Mr.,   father-in-law   of   Dr.  Macneven 

154 

 Richard,     District  Attorney-General 

421 ;  and  Emmet's  death  475 ;  476 

Robertson,  William,  Principal  of  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh  203 

Robinson,   old  New  York,  drawings  of 

555 

 B.  Beverly  435 

Rockfield,  residence  440 
Roden,  Lord,  United  Irishmen,  massacre 
of  255 

Rogers,  Dr.  John,  and  Emmet.  T.  A.  205 

Rokeby,  residence  450n 

Rome,   ancient,   conquest,   system   of  40; 

literature,  Irish  preservation  of  6 
Roosevelt,  James  J.,  and  Emmet's  death 

485 ;  and  Emmet  memorial  495 

 Nicholas  J.,  and  Fulton  429 

Roscommon,  County  of,  Defenders  140 

Rose,  in  Patten  arms  221 

Roseberrv,  Lord,   on   Fitzwilliam's  recall 

217 

Rossmore,  Lord,  death  305 

Rowan,  Archibald  Hamilton,  arrest  507 ; 
and  Brissotins  115;  and  Emmet  207; 
331:  466;  522;  529;  Emmet's  letter  to 
467 ;  in  England  350 :  escape  116 ;  507 ; 
522;  523;  imprisonment  113;  and  Jack- 
son, William  116;  and  Reynolds,  Dr. 
116;  Sampson.  William,  letter  from  528; 
529;  as  Secretary  of  United  Irishmen 
507 ;  and  Sheil  466 ;  and  State  prisoners 
330 ;  trial  488 

 Mrs.   Archibald  Hamilton,  and  Mrs. 

Sampson  528 

Royalists,  and  Catholics  14 


Royal    Medical    Society.     See  Medicine, 
Royal  Society  of  204 

 Physical  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  T. 

A.  Emmet  204 
Russell,  Grace.    See  Emmet,  Grace  Russell 
 Lord  John,  and  O'Connor  325 ;  on  Re- 
bellion of  1798  228 

 Thomas,  and  Delany  346n ;  and  Emmet 

214 ;  Emmet,  letter  from  266 ;  at  Fort 
George  269;  273;  and  French  aid  268; 
and  Mason,  St.  John  274 ;  poem,  on  Mrs. 
Emmet's  visit  to  her  husband  276 ;  proc- 
lamation 368;  at  Rathfarnham  267:  268; 
and  Rebellion  of  1803  269;  Savage  on 
269 ;  State  prisoners,  appeal  to  267 ;  and 
United  Irishmen  225 ;  333 
Rutgers  Medical  Faculty,  and  Emmet  469 
Rutherford,  Griffith,  General,  surrender  417 
Ryan,  Dr.,  Catholic  assembly  130 ;  Catholic 
education,  plan  for  110 


SafTord,  Appleton,  State  charges  against 
426 

Sailors'  Snug  Harbor  496;  lawsuit,  and 
Emmet  472;  474;  477;  509;  543n  ;  557 

Saint  Ann's  Catholic  Church,  New  York 
438n 

 John's  Chapel,  illustration,  facing  472 

 John's    Square,    New    York,  Emmet 

residence  438 

 Mark's    Church,    illustration,  facing 

484;  facing  530 

 Mark's  Churchyard,  New  York,  Em- 
met burial  482;  484;  487;  530n 

 Patrick's  Hospital,  Dublin,  illustration 

facing  178 ;  salver  presented  to  Dr.  R. 
Emmet  149  ;  facing  150 

 Paul's  Church,  illustration,  facing  553 

 Paul's  Churchyard,  New  York,  Emmet 

monument  531n  ;  533  ;  538  ;  544  ;  553  ;  il- 
lustration, facing  542 

 Peter's,  Dublin  175;  burial  certificate 

of  Temple  Emmet  192;  Dr.  Emmet's 
grave  183 

Salt,  tax  on  325 

Salver,  silver,  gift  to  Dr.  Emmet  149;  178; 
illustration,  facing  150;  inscription  150 

Sampson,  William,  Arcularius  case,  report 
of  420;  and  Boston  Hibernian  Relief  So- 
ciety 501 ;  burial  place,  531 ;  Clinton.  De 
Witt,  letter  to  495;  Clinton,  De  Witt, 
letter  from  495;  death  529;  on  Emmet, 
Jane  Patten  528;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  408; 
Emmet  biography  projected  529 :  Em- 
met eulogy  485;  528;  529;  and  Emmet 
funeral  486 ;  Emmet's  letter  to  435 ; 
435n ;  and  Emmet  memoir  484n ;  and  Em- 
met memorial  495;  and  Emmet  monu- 
ment 544 ;  in  Georgetown  529 ;  Goodwin 
trial,  report  of  436;  and  "The  Press" 
231;  reform  resolutions  243;  Rowan,  let- 
ter to  528 ;  529 ;  satirical  verses  on  327 ; 
Joseph  Story,  letter  from  526;  527;  and 
Tone.  Captain  William  528 ;  and  United 
Trish  Committee  378 ;  warrant  against 
507 


Index 


585 


Sampson,  Mrs.  William,  and  Mrs.  A.  H. 
Rowan  528 

San  Domingo,  French  expedition  358 

Sandy  Mount  156 

"Sarsfield",  pseudonym  231 

"Satanides",  epitaph  240;  "Montanus"  let- 
ter to  238 

"Scaevola",  pseudonym  231 

Scandinavians,  in  Ireland  42 

Schiefflin,  Effingham,  and  Emmet's  death 
475 

Schmidt,  consul  446 

 Eliza  Bache  442;  and  Emmet  family 

442  ;  444;  445  ;  446 
Schools,  Catholic,  relief  measures  109 
Scotland,  and  France  343 ;  Habeas  Corpus 

inoperative   2ft  1  :   and   United  Irishmen 

342;  343 

Secretary,  of  United  Irishmen  134 
Secret  Committee,  Parliamentary,  Em- 
met's examination  227  :  252  :  253  ;  261 ; 
264;  320:  507:  and  King.  Rufus  414; 
Macneven's  examination  227;  507;  oath, 
administration  of  102 ;  O'Connor's  ex- 
amination 324 ;  507 ;  report  103 ;  and 
State  prisoners  of  '08  252;  320;  321; 
322 

Selden,  Dudlev  441;  441n ;  442;  443;  455; 
461 

Seminary,  Catholic,  in  Ireland  109 
Seton,  Mary  448 

 Sarah,  and  Emmets  458 

Sheares,  John.  Grattan  on  225 :  and  the 
Press  231 

Shiel.  Richard  Lalor.  Emmet,  T.  A.,  letter 

to  466 ;  and  Macready  466 
Shelburne.  Lord,  and  Union  243 
Shelley,  Tercy  Rysshe.  on  Castlereagh  531 
Shepherd,  John.  Jun'r.  and  Emmet's  death 

475 

Sheridan,  Richd.  Brinsley,  and  Edkins  col- 
lection 195:  and  O'Connor  324 

Sherlock,  David,  deed  of  partnership  175 

 Thomas,  deed  of  partnership  175 

Shirley  family,  and  Temples  177 

Simms.  Robert,  Emmet's  letter  to  400;  at 
Fort  George  273 

Simpson.  and  Emmet  369 

Sirr.  Henry  Charles,  Major,  Madden  on 
310;  prisoners,  treatment  of  249;  pur- 
loined letters  310;  313 

Sixty-eight,  and  Catholic  Committee  85; 
88 

Slavery,  and  Emmet's  attitude  393 ;  556 ; 
and  national  development,  T.  A.  Emmet 
on  8 ;  and  rights  of  man,  T.  A.  Emmet 
on  28 

Smith.  William  S.,  trial.  Emmet's  defence 
408;  515 

Smith  vs.  Elder,  case  421 

Snuffbox,  heirloom  164 

Society  of  United  Irishmen.  See  United 
Irishmen,  Society  of 

Solicitor,  status  395;  398 

Solicitor-Generalship  of  Ireland,  and  Em- 
met, T.  A.  211 ;  508;  510 

"Sophister",  pseudonym  231 


South  Carolina,  Irish  settlers  vii 
Spencer,  Ambrose,  Judge,  and  Yates  423 

 George  John,  2nd  Earl,  and  Fitzwil- 

liam  217 

Spies,  among  United  Irishmen  24  "> ;  246; 
256;  257;  258;  261 

"Spirit  of  Toleration  and  of  '76",  broad- 
side 419 

Stanhope,  Lord,  Fulton's  letter  to  429 ; 
430 

Stark,   ,  and  Emmet  214 

State  papers.  Irish,  access  denied  328 ;  re- 
moval to  England  329 

"State  Physician",  office.  Dr.  Robert  Em- 
met 176;  Dr.  Robert  Emmet  resigns  178; 
T.  A.  Emmet  206 

 prisoners  of  '98 ;  correspondence  in- 
spected 274;  examination  261;  families, 
restrictions  336;  at  Fort  George  269; 
273:  327;  336;  337;  at  Fort  George,  re- 
moval, question  of  280 ;  Fort  George,  re- 
lease from  314;  330;  Government,  agree- 
ment with  249;  250;  255;  256;  257;  258; 
260;  311;  312;  318;  415;  Government, 
correspondence  concerning  271 ;  Govern- 
ment report  319 ;  Government  report,  pro- 
test 253;  321;  414;  417;  and  Govern- 
ment treachery  253 ;  and  Habeas  Corpus 
297:  and  King,  Rufus  253;  411;  412; 
413;  415;  416;  419;  514;  London, 
"Courier"  on  323;  memoir  to  Govern- 
ment 256;  272;  318;  and  O'Connor,  Ar- 
thur 336 ;  Parliamentary  examination 
252;  318;  320:  and  Rowan  330;  Russell's 
appeal  to  267;  solitary  confinement  319; 
and  Stuart  330;  transported  330;  treat- 
ment 249;  253;  275;  and  Turner  338 

 rights,  and  steam  navigation,  Fulton 

litigation  459 

Steamboats,  Fulton  inventions  427 ;  430 ; 
Gibbons  versus  Ogden  459 ;  litigation 
427 ;  New  Jersey  legislation  428 ;  429 

Stephen's  Green,  Dr.  R.  Emmet's  residence 
175;  illustration,  facing  176;  T.  A.  Em- 
met's residence  248 

Steven,  John,  residence  427 

Stewart,  Robert,  Colonel.    See  Castlereagh 

Stokes,  patriot,  and  Emmet  214 

Stokes.  Mrs.  lawsuit  451 

Storms.  Henry,  and  Emmet's  death  475 

Stoughton.  James,  death  436 

Story,  Joseph,  on  Emmet,  T.  A.  xxi ;  526; 
527 ;  and  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden  case  459 ; 
on  Pinkney.  William  526 ;  Wm.  Samp- 
son, letter  to  526;  527 

Strafford,  Thomas  Wentworth,  First  Earl 
of,  Irish  policy  13;  on  Poynings'  Law  24 

Stuart.  Dougal,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  205 

Stuart,  James,  Lieut. -Gov.  of  Fort  George 
273;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  292n;  314;  327; 
328;  and  Emmet  children  330;  humanity 
275;  276:  Madden  on  277 ;  Portland's 
letter  to  275;  and  State  prisoners  of  '98 
314;  330 

Suffolk,  Earl  of,  and  O'Connor  324 
Stiff  rage,  elective,  theory  of  57 ;  universal, 
and  United  Irishmen  243:  507 


586 


Index 


Supremacy,  Act  of,  in  Ireland  13 
Supreme  Court,  New  York,  Emmet  me- 
morial 535 

 Court,  U.  S.,  Emmet's  admission  406 

Surgeons,  College  of,  Dublin  176 ;  built  248 
Swarthout,  Mrs.,  442n;  and  Emmet  family 

442  ;  444  ;  445 
Sweeney,  John,  United  Irishman  333  ;  3j:2n  ; 
371 ;  and  Committee  of  United  Irishmen 
379;  and  Corbet  393;  and  Emmet,  T.  A. 
352;  372;  384;  at  Fort  George  273;  and 
French  aid  401 ;  and  French  army  393 ; 
and  Irish  expedition  373 ;  385 ;  and 
O'Connor  359 
Sweetman,  Edward,  Major,  and  Catholic 

Emancipation  93 
 John,  United  Irishman  333;  394;  ar- 
rest 322 ;  507 ;  and  Catholic  Committee 
103 ;  and  Emmet,  Thomas  Addis  339 ; 
384 ;  at  Fort  George  273 ;  Government, 
agreement  with  250;  255;  257;  memorial 
to  Government  318;  and  Napoleon's 
answer  to  Emmet's  memoir  386n;  and 
Relief  Bill,  Catholic,  1793  102;  and  Secret 
Committee's  report  104 ;  and  United 
Irish  committee  376  ;  377  ' 
Swift,  Dean,  and  "The  Press"  231 

 Jonathan,  hospital  founded  by  149 

Swiney.    See  Sweeny 

Sydney,  Sir  Henry,  Irish  policy  42 

Symes,  R.,  reform  resolutions  243 

Synod  of  Ulster.    See  Ulster,  Synod  of 


Talleyrand,  and  Macneven  332  . 

Tandy,  James  Napper,  Defender  oath  101 ; 
trial  for  treason  211;  vs.  Westmoreland 
207  ;  208 

Tax,  popular  consent  to  57 

Taxation,  involuntary,  of  Ireland  65;  Se- 
cret Committee's  report  110;  session  of 
1795  125 

Taylor,   Michael   Angelo,   and  O'Connor 

324 

 Samuel,  of  Waterford  162 ;  163 

Teeling,  Charles  Hamilton,  on  T.  A.  Em- 
met 512;   "Personal  Narrative  of  the 
Irish  Rebellion  of  1798"  cited  512 
Temple,  town,  New  Hampshire  vi 
Temple   family,   characteristic   traits  188; 
and  Emmets  188;  Hannay,  James,  on 
189;  and  Masons  189 
 Mrs.,  annuity  185 

 Anne   Western.     See   Emmet,  Anne 

Western  Temple 

 Augusta.  See  Palmer,  Augusta  Tem- 
ple 

 Earl.    See  Buckingham 

 Elizabeth,  of  Dublin,  legacy  162;  164 

 Sir  Grenville  296;  on  legal  profession 

in  U.  S.  308;  marriage  291 

 Harriet,  pension  record  177 

 Sir  John  177;  death  291;  and  family, 

painting  by  Trumbull,  facing  291 ;  Miss 

Guiney  on  190 
 Mehetabele.    See  Blackwood,  Meheta- 

bele  Temple 


Temple,  Sir  Purbeck,  grandfather  of  Re- 
becca Temple  Emmet  161 

 Rebecca.   See  Emmet,  Rebecca  Temple 

 Robert  177 ;  political  views  177 

 Capt,  Robert  152;  Miss  Guiney  on  190 

 Thomas,  father-in-law  of  Christopher 

Emett  152;  161 
"Tenez  le  Vraye",  heraldic  motto  150 
Ten  Hills,  Temple  country  seat  190 
Tennent,  William,  at  Fort  George  273;  and 
French   army  393;  394;  and  O'Connor 
336 ;  reform  resolutions  243 
"Tentamen    Chymico-Medicum    de  Aere 
Fixo  sive  Acido  Aereo",  by  T.  A.  Emmet 
203 

"Tentamina  Medica  de  Mensium  Fluxu, 

etc.",  by  R.  Emmet,  M.D.  165n 
Test,  of  United  Irishmen  134 
Thanet,  Lord,  and  O'Connor,  Arthur  325 

Thompson,   ,  schoolmaster  402n ;  423 

 Margaret.      See    Colville,  Margaret 

Thompson 

 Smith,  Judge  457n;  and  T.  A.  Emmet 

522;  and  T.  A.  Emmet's  funeral  486; 

and  T.  A.  Emmet's  letter  to  456;  and 

Gibbons  vs.  Ogden  case  459 
Tierney,   ,  and  French  army  394;  and 

O'Connor,  Arthur  325 
Tilghman,  James.  Duponceau  on  501 
Tillary,  James,  Emmet's  letter  to  408 
Tipperary,  town,  Emmet  family  161 
Tithes,  in  Ireland  80;  346n 
Todd,  Thomas,  and  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden 

case  459 

Toler,  John,  1st  Earl  of  Norbury.  See 
Norbury 

Toleration,  religious,  of  United  Irishmen 

68;  of  Volunteers  67 
Tom,  Mrs.  (nee  Riker).    See  Macneven, 

Mrs.  William  James 
 Anna.    See  Emmet,  Anna  Tom  (Mrs. 

T.  A.,  Jr.) 

Tompkins,  Daniel  D.,  candidacy  420;  and 
Emmet,  T.  A.  395  ;  406;  556 

Tone,  Theobald  Wolfe,  and  Adet  138; 
139;  appeal  in  behalf  of  267;  and  Beres- 
ford,  Marcus  267 ;  and  Catholic  Commit- 
tee 226;  as  Catholic  delegate  129;  130; 
and  Catholic  Emancipation  xiv ;  533 ; 
547 ;  Catholic  petition  93 ;  and  Clare 
267;  forms  Directory  of  United  Irishmen 
507 ;  emigration  to  America  138 ;  and 
Emmet  xvi ;  212;  214;  266;  267; 
463 ;  declines  escape  117 ;  expat- 
riation 267;  268;  France,  ne- 
gotiations with  270 ;  and  French  aid  268 ; 
in  French  army  139;  imprisonment  266; 
on  Ireland,  state  of  116;  and  Jackson, 
William,  116;  and  Knox,  George  267; 
Lecky  on  xv ;  and  military  organization 
xvi ;  pamphlet  82  ;  and  Ponsonby  267  ;  pur- 
pose 226 ;  at  Rathfarnham  267 ;  and  Rus- 
sell 269 ;  Savage  on  269 ;  and  Separation 
83;  and  United  Irishmen  225;  226;  316; 
547:  and  Wolfe  (Kilwarden)  267 

 Theobald,  Wolfe,  Commentary  on  the 

Memoirs  of"  by  Roche  Fermoy  ix 


Index 


587 


Tone,  Captain  William  Theobald  Wolfe, 
and  Wm.  Sampson  528 

Towns,  representation  in  Grattan's  Parlia- 
ment 58 

Trade.   See  Commerce 

Trafalgar,  battle  382  ;  387n 

Transportation,  and  Banishment  Act  410 ; 
of  Defenders  140;  of  Irish  139;  and 
State  prisoners  of  '98  311 

Treasurer,  of  United  Irishmen  134 

Treasury  Board  Bill  126 

"Trebor",  pseudonym  231 

Trevor,  Dr.  Edward,  and  Emmet,  Robert 
511;  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  313;  510;  and 
Mason,  St.  John  265n;  prisoners,  treat- 
ment of  249 

Trial  by  jury,  Carhampton's  procedure  239 

Trinity  Church,  New  York,  illustration, 
facing  483 ;  trial,  Emmet,  T.  A.  464 

 Churchyard,    New    York,  Hamilton 

monument  538 

 College,   Dublin,   Christopher  Temple 

Emmet  at  191 ;  202 ;  Emmet,  Robert,  dis- 
missal 182;  T.  A.  Emmet  at  202;  fac- 
simile of  T.  A.  Emmet's  diploma,  facing 
206;  Grattan,  address  to  130;  Letter  to 
the  Students  of,  in  the  "Press"  231;  Li- 
brary (ill.),  facing  310;  parliamentary 
representation  58 

Troy,  John  Thomas,  Archbishop  of  Dub- 
lin, and  Catholic  education  109 

Truguet,  Laurent-Jean-Frangois,  and  Em- 
met 361;  362;  363;  380;  and  Garat  362; 
and  Irish  expedition  364;  372;  380 

Trumbull,  Col.  John,  on  Emmet  418;  Tem- 
ple, Sir  John,  and  family,  painting  of, 
facing  291 

Tucker,  Byrd.    See  Emmet,  Byrd  Tucker 

(Mrs.  John  Patten) 
 St.  George  469 

Turner,  Samuel,  informer  273 ;  337 ;  death 
338;  and  Emmet  338;  at  Fort  George 
338;  Froude  on  338;  at  Kilmainham  338; 
and  O'Connor  338 ;  trial  338 

Ulster,  Catholics  banished  142;  Defender- 
ism  115;  Dissenters  77;  disturbances 
139;  140;  estates  confiscated  13;  Orange- 
men 141;  Plantation,  system  of  100; 
United  Irishmen  xvi ;  United  Irish  pro- 
vincial committee  139 

 Synod  of,  King,  address  to  the  108 

 Convention,  1793  98 

Uniformity,  Act  of,  in  Ireland  13 ;  74 

Union,  Anglo-Irish  xv;  218;  and  Catholic 
Emancipation  130;  Clare's  services  184; 
compulsory  224 ;  227 ;  effects  548 ;  and 
Emmet  548;  Gladstone,  William  Ewart 
4;  and  Grattan  243;  O'Connell  on  271; 
and  Parliamentary  reform  548;  Pitt's 
policy  215;  216;  228;  248;  316;  381;  and 
Rebellion  of  '98  316 

 Irish.    See  United  Irishmen 

United  Irishmen,  Society  of  xv ;  68;  82; 
133 ;  and  Amiens,  Peace  of  341 ;  in  An- 
trim 400;  "Argus"  attack  379;  380; 
baronial  committee  134;  of  Belfast  118; 


119;  Belfast  meeting,  1795  133;  bigotry, 
conciliation  of  140;  and  British  army 
381;  and  British  soldiery  245;  and  Cath- 
olics 142 ;  and  Catholic  Committee  84 ; 
and  Catholic  Relief  113;  545;  character 
135;  committees  134;  Constitution  133; 
134;  County  Committees  134;  and  Cov- 
enanters 133  ;  and  dimming,  George  550  ; 
and  Defenders  143;  144;  Directory  of. 
See  Directory  of  United  Irishmen ;  in 
Dublin  226;  Dublin  Journal  attacks  325; 
and  Emmet,  Robert  333n ;  and  Emmet, 
T.  A.  xvii;  207;  211;  214;  223;  228; 
316;  317;  320;  352;  488;  507;  523;  Em- 
met on  213;  278;  463;  Emmet's  agency 
in  Paris  342;  343;  344;  350;  351;  354; 
355  ;  Emmet's  memoir  272  ;  383  ;  and  Es- 
tablished Church  320;  Executive  139; 
Fitzgerald,  Lord  Edward  246;  247;  Fitz- 
patrick  on  259 ;  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall 
128  ;  226;  at  Fort  George  269  ;  France,  ne- 
gotiations with  138  ;  139  ;  257  ;  335  ;  French 
aid  132;  137;  244;  320;  331;  333;  340; 
342;  350;  351;  356;  in  French  army  374; 
375;  385;  386;  French  citizenship  387; 
389;  and  French  Government  349;  fund 
134 ;  and  Government,  English  356 ; 
Government,  English,  agreement  with 
249;  250;  256;  Grattan  113;  225;  507; 
and  Harty  350;  351;  352;  353;  356;  im- 
prisonment 249 ;  and  insurrection  317 ; 
322 ;  and  Jackson  507  ;  Kavanagh  on  72 ; 
Kildare  massacre  255;  King,  Rufus  411; 
leaders  arrested  x;  247;  257;  317;  318; 
322 ;  and  McCabe  346n ;  Macneven's 
proclamation  386 ;  Madden's  work  212 ; 
memoir  of  State  prisoners  252 ;  261 ; 
military  character  xvi;  246;  248;  321; 
and  militia  145;  mutual  fidelity  523;  and 
Napoleon  374;  376;  "narrative"  332; 
333 ;  national  committee  134 ;  members, 
admission  of  134;  in  New  York,  and 
Orangemen  466;  oath  118;  246;  546; 
549;  object  95;  101;  214;  225;  507; 
O'Connor,  Arthur  324;  336;  339;  344; 
351 ;  355  ;  356 ;  363 ;  opposition  to  87 ; 
and  Orange  outrages  142 ;  143 ;  organs 
230;  Ovidstown,  capitulation  of  255;  in 
Paris  341;  344;  350;  352;  360;  372;  373; 
in  Paris,  Committee  375;  377;  378;  384; 
385;  386;  Parliamentary  examination 
250;  252;  318;  and  Parliamentary  repre- 
sentation 507 ;  Parliament,  annual,  ad- 
vocated by  507;  patriotism  533;  and 
Peace,  Friends  of  111;  pensions,  French 
350;  policy,  change  of  507;  "The  Press" 
212;  as  prisoners  of  war  353;  356;  357; 
and  Protestant  ascendancy  90;  Provin- 
cial committees  134 ;  and  rebellion  549 ; 
and  Rebellion  of  '98  260;  317;  rebellion 
restrained  245 ;  reclamation  commission 
353 ;  357 ;  and  reform.  Parliamentary 
111;  114;  545;  547;  reform  resolutions 
243;  reorganized  342;  republicanism  135; 
and  resistance  214;  Reynolds  247;  507; 
and  Rowan  207;  507;  and  Scotland  342; 
343;  Seal  of.  bv  R.  Emmet  (ill.-)  title 


588 


Index 


page;  secrecy  enjoined  246;  secretary 
134;  and  secret  committee,  oath  of  102; 
Separation  83 ;  135 ;  spies  among  245 ; 
246  ;  256  ;  258  ;  261 ;  332  ;  spread  129  ;  and 
State  prisoners  of  '98  312;  State  prison- 
ers defence  of  256;  and  suffrage,  uni- 
versal 507;  and  Tandy  207;  211;  test 
134;  Tone,  Theobald  Wolfe  138;  547; 
treasurer  134;  trials  258;  trials,  Emmet's 
defence  212;  in  Ulster  xvi;  and  Whigs 
243;  244 

United  States,  Alien  legislation  397;  411; 
412;  Americans  as  Saxons  iv;  ancestry  of 
people  iv ;  and  British  press-gangs  138 ; 
and  Catholic  Emancipation  547 ;  Emmet, 
T.  A.  309;  331;  332;  389;  401;  and  Eng- 
land iii ;  iv;  v;  and  French  republicanism 
508;  Irish  population  vi ;  viii ;  x;  391; 
merchant   marine  v ;   residential  disad- 
vantages 308 ;  and  State  prisoners  of  '98 
311  ;  415;  War  of  1812  556 
Universities,  answers  to  Pitt  88 
University  of  Ireland.    See  Trinity 
"U.  S.  F.",  on  Emmet  memorial  inscription 
536 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  and  Astor  suit  471; 
and  T.  A.  Emmet's  funeral  486 

Verplanck,  Gillian  C,  and  Emmet  monu- 
ment. English  inscription  539;  540;  544 

Viceroy  of  Ireland.  See  Lord  lieutenant 
of  Ireland 

"Vincent",  pseudonym  231 

Vinegar  Hill,  battle  249;  250;  255;  257 

Volunteers,  Irish  223;  225;  ammunition 
prohibited  99  ;  assemblage  prohibited  107  ; 
Belfast  Assembly  89;  and  Catholic  Re- 
lief 79;  506;  547:  and  Charlemont  506; 
and  commerce  547;  decline  55;  dispers- 
ed 113;  Dissenters  among  78;  England, 
effect  on  51 ;  and  English  law  in  Ireland 
547;  equal  protection  104;  and  Lisburn 
outrages  105;  106;  107;  and  Orangemen 
141 ;  and  Parliament  of  1782  54 ;  reform, 
parliamentary  xiv;  55;  59;  60;  547;  and 
secret  committee  103;  toleration,  reli- 
gious 67 

Wainhouse-Emmott,  Richard  149 
Ware,  Hugh,  United  Irishman  357n ;  393 
War  of  1812,  Irish  regiment  424 
Warren   Street,  New  York,  Emmet  resi- 
dence 438 

Washington,  Bushrod,  and  Gibbons  vs. 
Ogden  case  459 

Waynneet.  William.  Bishop  of  Winchester 
220;  221  :  portrait,  facing  221 

Webster.  Daniel,  and  Astor  suit  471 ;  Gib- 
bons vs.  Ogden  case  559 

Weldon.  .  Defender  145 

Well.   .  lawyer  421 

West,  Benjamin,  and  Fulton  427n 

Westmeath,  military  outrages  242 

Westmoreland,  John  Fane,  10th  Earl  of, 
and  Catholic  Emancipation  83 ;  94 ; 
Tandy's  suit  207:  209;  Tandy's  suit,  Ma- 
son on  208 


Wexford,  County  of,  and  Catholic  Eman- 
cipation 93;  and  Fitzwilliam's  recall  129; 
militia  law  opposed  108;  Rebellion  of 
1798  249;  257;  Rebellion  of  '98  and 
French  aid  358 

Wexford,  town,  battle  261 

Wheaton,  Henry,  Pinkney,  Life  of  460 

Whig  Club  81;  and  Peace,  Friends  of  111; 
and  United  Irishmen  87 

Whiggism,  revived  81 

Whigs,  English  and  "Courier"  326;  and 
O'Connor  324;  and  Pitt  119;  and  Tory 
Government  120;  and  United  Irishmen 
243 

 Irish,  Lecky  on  xv ;  Ponsonby's  Bill 

113  ;  and  Union  xv 
"Whigs  of  the  Capital"  81 
Whitaker,  Mrs.  H.  0.,  Emmet  letter  425n 
Whitbread,  Samuel,  and  O'Connor,  Arthur 

325 

White,  General,  and  Lisburn  outrages  105; 
106;  107 

 Campbell  P.,  and  Emmet  431 ;  and  Em- 
met's death  475 ;  and  Emmet  memorial 
496;  497;  and  Emmet  monument  490; 
Emmet  monument  subscription  552 

 Henry  447 

 John,  &  Co.,  and  Emmet  monument 

subscription  551 
 Joseph  163 

 Joseph,  Esq.,  executor  of  C.  Emett's 

will  162;  163 

 Nathaniel,  of  Plymouth  152;  163 

 Samuel,  letter  from  Dr.  Emmet  178 

 Street,  New  York,  Emmet  residence 

438 

Whyte,  Samuel,  and  Edkins  collection  195 

Wickham,  Right  Hon.  William.  Castle- 
reagh,  letter  to  271 :  272 ;  "The  Confiden- 
tial Letters  of"  215;  and  Irish  relief  350 

Wicklow,  County  of.  and  French  invasion 
342;  military  outrages  242;  Rebellion  of 
1798  249 ;  257 ;  and  State  prisoners' 
agreement  312 

Wilford,  General,  insurgents  surrender  to 
258 

Wilkinson,  Abraham,  and  Fitzwilliam's  re- 
call 129 

William  I,  England,  invasion  of  11 

 Ill,  alienism  397;  Boyne,  Battle  of  the 

506 

Williams,  Elisha,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  520 
Williamson,  Gen.  Andrew,  and  Hayne  417n 
Wilson,  Hugh,  United  Irishman  333;  393; 

442 ;  and  Byrne  368n ;  at  Fort  George  273 
 Hugh,  Jr.,  and  Emmet  family  442n ; 

and  Emmet  monument  subscription  551 
Winchester,    Cathedral,   Waynfleet's  tomb 

221 

Windham,  William.    See  Wyndham. 
Winthrop  family,  and  Temples  190 

 Robert  C.  152;  394 

Wirt.  William,  and  T.  A.  Emmet  521 ;  and 

Gibbons  vs.  Ogden  case  459 
Wister,  Dr.  Casper,  and  Emmet,  T.  A.  205 
Wolfe,  Arthur,  Viscount  Kil warden.  See 

Kilwarden 


Index 


589 


Woodruff,  Thomas  T.,  and  Emmet's  death 
475 

Wyndham,  William,  and  Fitzwilliam  217 ; 
and  Lord  Milton  123 

Yates,  John  Van  Ness,  Judge,  Emmet's 

letter  to  430 
Yates  vs.  Lansing,  suit  423 


Yellow  fever,  epidemic  in  New  York  456; 

in  United  States  286 
Yielding,  Mrs.  See  Thompson,  Mary  Anne 

Cornell 

Yorksire,  England,  Emmotts  in  154n 
Young,  Edward,  Dr.  Emmet's  imitation  of 
170 

Young  Ireland  Party,  Emmet's  views  x 


Too  long  <we  fought  for  Britain's  cause. 
And  of  our  blood  tuere  never  chary; 

She  paid  us  back  tvith  tyrant's  laivs. 

And  thinned  the  Homes  of  Tipperary. 

But  never  more  toe'U  tvin  such  thanks; 

We  smear  by  God  and  Virgin  Mary, 
Never  to  list  in  British  ranks; 

And  that's  the  votu  of  Tipperary. 

Davis. 


THE  FRANK  MEAN Y  CO.  PRINTERS,  INC.,  NEW  YORK. 


1 

Date  Due 

- 

— MA/?  1  9 

1996 





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